Customer Reviews

Grace: Legacy Edition (Bonus Dvd) (Spec)

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

One Small Problem...

The first time I popped in the Legacy Version, I noticed something- "Hallelujah" didn't give me the same spine-tingling sensation that the version on Grace did. The reason? Simply put, the version of "Hallelujah" on the original Grace album had a much better balance, level wise, between Jeff's vocals and guitar playing. If you do a side-by-side comparison, you will find that Jeff's vocals are too harsh and forward on the remastered version of Hallelujah, when compared to the version found on the original Grace CD.

However, all the other tracks on this reissue actually sound BETTER than their previous incarnations.

There's more impact on the drums, deeper bass, more detailed instruments and better separation (listen to the strings on "Last Goodbye"), and Jeff's vocals (his greatest strength) are clearer and higher up in the mix.

The unreleased song, "Forget Her," is definitely the highlight of the second disc. The remainder of the second disc proves to be an interesting listen that demonstrates the versatility of Jeff Buckley as an artist.

The Bonus DVD showcases the music videos, which range from average-well done, and a 25 minute documentary that features interviews with Jeff, Steve Berkowitz, and "behind the scenes" footage. Buckley makes some interesting quotes about the impact of music on his life, that will undoubtedly find their way on an Internet fan site some day. A welcome addition.

My other suggestion for Columbia would have been to include more information in the included booklet- perhaps more commentary on the Grace album as was done with the tracks on the second disc.

Overall, well worth the purchase for Jeff Buckley fans, and any music lover looking to be challenged and inspired. Just remember to extract track 7 ("Hallelujah") onto your hard drive before you give away or sell your original copy of Grace.


UPDATE:

This is in response to S. Johnson's "are you people HIGH?" review. Buddy, I read the same article by Rip Rowan a long time ago so please don't try passing off his arguments as your own (including his examples comparing Rush CDs over the past few decades). Next time quote your source.

Now if you don't feel that the remaster & remix job is any better, all power to you. I actually agree with Rip Rowan's remarks on how music today is geared towards radio-friendly compressed loudness. In fact I think everyone should give the article a good read (just google it).

However, when in comes down to it, I trust my ears over anything else. I've purchased many "24 bit digitally remastered" over the years and end up returning about half of them because they just don't sound as good as the original CD master. I'm anal about music to the point where I'll do A/B tests between remasters and original masters using anything from Alessandro and Beyerdynamic headphones to an Eastern Electric Minimax Tube CDP to a regular car stereo system as a point of reference- before I make a decision on which version to keep. I don't analyze soundwaves for compression or normalization or loudness- I trust whatever sounds better to my ears.

If you prefer something different, that's perfectly fine with me. But if you want to act like a condescending audio-snob and insult everyone who prefers the overall sound of this remaster, that's another story...

So, ten years later, we have a spruced up re-release of what some people would call one of the greatest albums of the 90's (I would be one of those people). Most reading this have probably already heard Grace and have a copy of it. So the real question is, is it worth getting the Legacy Edition?

The First Disc:
What can I say that hasn't already been said? It's magical. I couldn't tell any difference between this remaster and the original.

The Second Disc:
The second disc starts of with "Forget Her", an oft-bootlegged tune that was cut from Grace in favor of "So Real". "Forget Her" is gorgeous, although I understand the personal decision Jeff made not to release it. What follows is a slew of rare tracks - some can be found on EPs, promo CD's (and one from the First Love, Last Rites soundtrack), but some are completely new. Amazon's track listing is incorrect, by the way - the second track is an alternate take of "Dream Brother" - it's between "Forget Her" and "Lost Highway", for a total of 12 tracks.

Stuff like "Alligator Wine" makes you smile, when you hear Jeff laughing and fooling around in the studio. There is a version of "Alligator Wine" that Jeff did on WMFU that's floating around somewhere, and which I like more...on this he forgets the words and starts ad-libbing, and I don't think the drum beat really adds anything.

This disc will probably get JB completists like me riled up after they hunted down stuff like Peyote Radio Theatre, or the First Love, Last Rites soundtrack, but there is still plenty of stuff they didn't put on here. There's his awesome collaboration with the Jazz Passengers (actually I'm surprised they didn't put "Jolly Street" on here) and his work with Chris Dowd.

In what is sure to disappoint many fans who read the Columbia press release, "Strawberry Street" is NOT on here. I don't know what happened. You can find a bootleg taken from his Babylon Dungeon demos if you look hard enough, but it would have been nice to hear a high-quality version of it.

The DVD:
The DVD has the original music videos for "Grace", "Last Goodbye", and "So Real". They are all pristine and much better than anything you could download. They also included a "video" for "Eternal Life", but it's just the road version of the song poorly synced to low-quality footage of his performance in Chicago (which can be found on the Live in Chicago DVD). There's also a video for (an edited down) "Forget Her", which has some random Jeff footage - some has been in the many documentaries about him, most of it new.

Also on the DVD is "The Making of Grace". When it started I was disappointed, because the first few minutes are just the Grace EPK (which is also on the Live in Chicago DVD). But then! New interviews with Steve Berkowitz, Andy Wallace, and the bandmembers (you finally get to hear Mick talk!). Also some new footage of Jeff in the studio, Jeff live, and Jeff talking about the record. Good stuff. It's about 25 minutes long.


The Verdict:
If you're a fan of Jeff, this is a must-buy. Even if you've gotten all of the released rare tracks, downloaded the music videos (which haven't been *officially* available until now), and have the Live in Chicago DVD, the *totally new* recordings and the new footage in "The Making of Grace" make it worth the price of admission. If you haven't seeked out those rare-but-released recordings, then this is a no-brainer - it will all be new to you.

Although the new stuff/old stuff ratio isn't as great as the Legacy Edition of Live at Sin-e (which I'd highly recommend as well), it's still solid and still worth getting. Hopefully in a few years we can look forward to a Legacy Edition of Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, but until then I'll keep my fingers crossed.

KEEP your original copy of "Grace" or buy a used one while you still can. First, the "Grace" album itself warrants five stars. It is stunning from start to finish. The problem is with this "remaster". Like most of the dung the industry and record companies continue to heap on us, this remaster is s**t. It is UNNECESSARILY over-compressed, overmodulated, and DISTORTED. The only passages you need to hear to prove this are the loud peaks in "Hallelujah" - i.e. "I've seen your flag..." or "And every breath we drew...". The digital distortion in Jeff's voice is a direct result of George Marino's LOUSY mastering. It makes me want to vomit. Marino either has NO ears or didn't have the stones to stand up to Columbia and tell them he would not desecrate this beautiful record by mastering overly hot according to current industry "standards". These passages are NOT distorted on the original CD of "Grace". Howie Weinberg's mastering on the original issue sounds wonderful, especially by comparison to this monstrosity, and keeps in perfect balance the dynamic highs and lows and "breath" in the music and without distorting the peaks. This remaster is not the way this album should be heard and experienced. Everyone who allowed this to happen should be ashamed.

I must admit, I was waiting a while for this reissue to come out, and ever since the first time I read the press release I've been excited about it. Did it deliver, now that I have it in my hand?
Yes. Even though I've scraped my way into owning nearly everything I can (within fiscal limits) that has been put out about Jeff, and the fact that I already had versions of many of these songs did not taint the fact that I was no longer stuck with versions that were in 128 kbps or less with everything above 12khz garbled horribly, but could now listen to Jeff in crystal clear 44100 kbps and enjoy every nuance that the recordings have to offer. Sure, some of the tracks have been included on other releases such as the Grace EPs box, but only three of them, one of which (Lost Highway) is now in better context with its pared-down brethren, were available before, and the chance to own the previously unreleased cuts along with the DVD make the release worth it.
Everyone has made a big to-do about the fact that "Forget Her" was included on the second disc, but what I think are the real worthwhile cuts on the extra material are the Shudder to Think collaboration (which even though it was done extraneously to the sessions for Grace is still a great song that highlights the ever-floating contextual relevance of Jeff's voice against different stylistic backgrounds), and the unaccompanied covers of Nina Simone's "The Other Woman" and Bob Dylan's "Mama, You've Been on my Mind." If for no other reason, these last two covers are worth their salt because of Jeff's interpretation of the songs, which although they don't deviate very drastically from the originals still breathe with the importance of being songs that are important to Jeff, songs that he decided to do off the cuff because he knew them that well, the kind of songs that we don't see on other releases because they were the type of songs that he played for himself. That's what makes the included solo outtakes worth it--Jeff is playing to hear himself play (painfully though hilariously obvious on "Alligator Wine"). A studio is a damned intimidating place to be; you are there strictly because you will create something before you walk out of it. So the fact that in the face of this expectation, even though not holding to the main focus, Jeff softly reads through something like the Nina Simone song, makes the recording worth a listen.
Simply stated, having all the videos on one DVD is great... Now if only the BBC documentary could be packaged by itself for commercial release...
In short, if you like Jeff, this is worth it. For all the controversy surrounding Mary Guibert's handling of his estate, the decisions to license songs to places, etc., this package is definitely worth putting your reservations aside (if you have any) and purchasing.
I've never figured out why there seems to be such a collective thirst for Jeff's material; maybe because there is actually a tangible point where his archives are exhausted? Maybe simply due to the fact that he's deceased? Whatever the case may be, I also look for the answers. In every chord change, in every song that he played in multiple guitar tunings, in every melody, there is this surge... and I think that the reason people have invested their time into fully digesting what Buckley had to offer is because his music is driven purely by emotion, and that's what makes it so striking. It is the fact that there is nothing under the surface with his music that draws us to it again and again. There is nothing under the surface because it's all there out in the open, different parts beauty, anger, melancholy, and joy, all there for people to have. He never said that he wanted people to take anything specific from his music, merely whatever they wanted. This release offers you ample opportunity for that. Enjoy it. You'll be glad.

Has it already been ten years? Ten years of listening to the wonderful "Grace"? Seven years without Buckley?

I often wonder what type of artist Jeff would have been had he lived. Would he have done a Dylan by sticking to his integrity? Would he have lived with a dash of eccentricity? Would he be ducking behind walls, and falling in love, wearing his heart on his sleeve? Would he have sold his beautiful downtown New York heartbreak to the corporate budget line? Or would he live in SoHo and jam in clubs despite all his Grammys?

Grace stands alone as the first and last officially finished and released album that Buckley had ever done before his death in 1997. The album itself is a pure gem. After almost 10 years of listening to this gorgeous and poignant work, it's a pleasure to celebrate this music with an anniversary edition packed with sensual outtakes and those hard to find, not seen in years music videos. I still get chills when I hear those haunting shivering guitar strings at the beginning of "Last Goodbye". Jeff was like a confused choir boy, with a voice like an angel and a fire in his belly that came through in a tidal wive of grief and longing. One minute he's singing in his sleep in "Mojo Pin", making a song sound like a sexual prayer, and then suddenly he bursts forth in a coital rythmn. "Grace", the title song laments the demise of purity and a fall from virtue. The cover of Leonard Cohen's "Halleluah" is haunting, cutting, it can send you on your knees. The longing and horny-ness of "Lover You Should have Come Over" melt into the religious "Corpus Christi" straight into the angry drive of "Eternal Love". You're left panting from exhaustion on the last track "Dream Brother". Did I leave out "Lilac Wine"? It's like velvet against your skin. "So Real"? It's like listening to a confession that turns into a burst of cathartic expression.

Who knows what kind of music Jeff would have made, or what kind of name he would have made for himself if he lived today. The fact is, we lost a wonderful, remarkable talent who had so much ahead. He left us with a refreshing sound and sensibility that other groups are trying to emulate today. Like Nick Drake before him - he was a quiet force, struck down too young. For those who know this album and don't understand the beauty, it's your loss. The re-master provides more depth to the sound and is a great tribute to its beauty. The technical quality is wonderful. For those who don't have the original album, or this special edition...get either one. Now! Go on. Go to the top of your webpage and click "add to basket".

The reason why this is actually the greatest male solo album of all time, is because no other album on earth has such a perfect harmony of so many genres of music - rock, pop, jazz, neo-soul, and even sufi melodies.

I can safely say that twenty years from now, "Grace" will be hailed as probably the most important cultural document arising out of the rock movement of the 1900s. The passion here is more palpable that anything put out by say, The Beatles or Eric Clapton (geniuses in their own right). Its one thing to here people say "Oh, this is the greatest album ever!" and "Best Album of all time!", or when fans go "This makes the entire catalog of The Rolling Stones look like kindergarten!" - but that, dear reader, is the happy reality of this album - its better than almost all of the artists mentioned above. It really is.

If you're new to Jeff Buckley, heres a quick rundown of what this album actually sounds like - take a 27 year old boy-man with a soaring, beautiful, jazz-suited voice, and hear him sing touching slow-rock songs, and some unlikely covers ("Lilac Wine" by Nina Simone, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen). The voice is the instrument here. Production is flawless. He can sound like a little girl whose hearts' been broken for the first time, or a 70 year old singing from wisdom and experience - all on one song. If that isn't amazing, what is?

For years now, I've held that Tori Amos' "Scarlet's Walk" is the greatest album ever recorded. Well, musically and conforming to my tastes, I'd have to say that the Amos album still ranks high on my list. But I listened to "Grace" when it first released in 1994, and its been a friend to me since then. What an experience that was, me as a gangly 17 year old with headphones on to shut the rest of the world of - Jeff Buckley was easy to idolize when you're that age, but what I didn't count on was this album becoming a permanent fixture in my life even in my thirties. I guess `timeless' would be the word, but I don't want to use adjectives here that I would use for just any other album.

Many Tori Amos fans seem to love this album as well, even though Tori is a completely different sort of performer. While Amos sings primarily of life through her eyes (fair enough), Buckley reaches out to you and sings about YOUR life, which is something that not many singer-songwriters are capable of doing.

If you haven't heard this before, lucky you! I can only imagine the goosebumps you're gonna get when you slide this CD into your player and hear the opening verse of "Mojo Pin", Track 1. The title track is a bonafide classic, but its on "Lilac Wine" that this album finally finds its wings and soars. How can a human voice sound like this, you ask yourself. If heaven was packaged in a three minute track on a CD, this would be it. Nothing can come close, and if the original songwriter were alive today I can only imagine his amazement at what it has been transformed to in Buckley's hands. Another ancient lyrics "Corpus Christi Carol" is just as stunning.

Jeff Buckley died in 1997. Since then, this album has been hailed as a classic, but I find this to be quite cheap and derogatory, because its too easy to hail something once an artist is dead. I mean, I did like Nirvana, but lost all interest in them after their catalog was plundered and sold out to commercial gain upon Kurts' death. Thankfully, that hasn't quite happened to Jeff (though we have had a few posthumous releases, not of the magnitude of Nirvana, however), because Jeff was only starting his career and there wasn't a whole lot available to readily release. His estate, now in his mothers' hands, have released some Live albums, a double-CD of his unfinished work, and a DVD, but nothing compares to "Grace" which is the only album he released in his lifetime.

You know, in this world, its hard to find a thing of beauty that retains its' power and hold over you. Friends come and go, relationships fade away, and family sometimes isn't all its cut out to be. I find that music has been my sole companion through most of lifes' ups and downs, and "Grace" has been a constant support. In times of highs or lows, all I need to do is to listen to "Lilac Wine" or "Eternal Life" and its' as if fresh new liquid energy is being poured into me by some divine entity (well, the experience is other-worldly, for sure). But more than that, it's a thing of wonder that a record soon celebrating fifteen years of release has been a constant soundtrack to my life, mirroring my moods and emotions, and being the best friend through it all. For this, I can only thank Buckley. I bet even he didn't know what he was creating.

The new version of "Grace" is entitled the "Legacy Edition" and I highly recommend you get that over the single-CD version. Yes, the single CD version is what Jeff released originally, but this new version, supervised by his mother, is what I now consider the most essential version of this album. Its my No. 1 Desert island disc (over Amos' Scarlet's Walk" in its' current form). The second disc, in my opinion is not `better' than the first disc, its just `different'.

The most beautiful new track here is the shimmering ballad "Forget Her", which had been spoken of for years, but now that we have it, it exceeds our expectations. This has got to be the most underrated rarity of all Buckley's work. There is also the long `Kanga Roo', and the amazing `Mama, you be on my mind'. I must say though, that the second disc, save for Track 1, has a rougher, edgier sound, but at no point do these sound like `demos' or `cheap live recordings' as many people assume them to be. In fact, even though it probably didn't go through the multi-layered studio instrumentation as the first disc did, the second is just as well produced and impeccably put together, and is a worthy addition to the catalog. For those of us who were fans of the original CD, this new Legacy Edition is the most glorious musical occasion in recent memory.

The Legacy Edition, while bestowing the album with the greater respect it deserves, also offers us a DVD with all Jeff's official music videos, with a documentary thrown in as well. This definitive 3-Disc package is the way to go, if you need to get "Grace".

Throughout my life, I've always been fascinated and felt kinship toward Buckley due to his obsession and love for Sufism and the Qawwali genre of music. He was a follower of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and in fact, one of Nusrat's posthumous releases is even dedicated to Buckley. While "Grace" does not have any songs of this nature, I find that Buckley's voice is strangely very "exotic" sounding in places, almost as if he were channeling a Moslem preacher from the wilds of the Afghan highlands (I'm sure Jeff would consider this a compliment). Listen to this album again, and note what I'm saying here - his voice is just so adaptable and I think that he channels Nusrat in more than a few places on this record. Now, this is a fabulous experience, and I only understood the relevance of this years later, when I read an interview that Buckley did with Nusrat during a US tour. Jeff also lists Patti Smith (one of my musical gurus) as one of his icons (he even toured with her at one point), and her influence upon his music is quite evident (traces of her debut album are present through strains of "Grace").

Let me not mince words - "Grace" is the best thing to happen to the world of music, since, well... ever. This is one album that not many people know about, but those who do most certainly live a charmed life upon possession of this record. If your musical inclinations and `best-ofs' lie with "Abbey Road" and "The White Album", well, what can I say. You've certainly missed out on what is obviously the true blueprint for what music ought to be based on. This is genre bending, music-revolutionizing stuff here, and you should do yourself a favor and just buy this.

I would also highly recommend the new Legacy Edition of "Live at Sin-E", which is actually Jeff's first album. It was released early on as an EP, and now has been extended into a mega two-hour event. What a treat! Other than the usual tracks, the standout for me on this record is "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hain", which was incidentally the first song by Khan that Jeff ever heard. I would say that if you're reading this review, check out the link above to this Live set, and add to your cart. I know that it's a pretty obvious endorsement, but I'd really like you to get both these Legacy Edition records and listen to them. These are records you NEED to own.

To sum things up, what we have here is the Greatest Male Solo Record of all time. It breaks new ground, reinvents a whole new genre, and introduces you to the most beautiful male voice I have ever heard. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.

If Music were Religion, consider this your Bible.

Five Stars - Jeff Buckley, you will be missed.

Usually when I review an album, I will make detailed observations on the music, meaning, impact, and production. For this, I'm just going to review the production of the re-master of the ten songs of the original album.

Like most Buckley fans, I purchased Grace and after falling in love sought out everything I could get my hands on. So in response to those who may complain about Jeff's mother and Columbia records exploiting Buckley fans for more money, I feel the quality of the mixes and bonus materials easily warrant the additional expenditure.

As to the mix itself, I do feel that it is mostly superior to the original. All the instrumentation is clearer without sounding artificially boosted. The background noises that hide behind most of the songs have been brought out without sounding too compressed. It's much easier to hear and visualize what is going on in the mix. The drums and bass feel like they have been mixed MUCH better and sound a lot more like a solid platform for Jeff's voice and guitar. There are a few moments when it feels like Jeff's voice is a touch harsh or perhaps the slightest bit of clipping on the cymbals, but it could also be in my listening chain (laptop through Presonus interface through M-Audio BX8 studio monitors). I keep hearing things out of this mix that feel like they were added to the original recording but when I listen to my old copy I find they are just much better mixed. It may have been Mr. Wallace's relative inexperience with a project of this scope, but I can assure you it is not simply a copy of the original disc run through a multiband compressor and jacked up 10 dB to the point of clipping.

So yeah if you loved the original, you probably have scratches all over the disc like I do and owe it to yourself to pick up this copy. Well worth the $23.

_Grace_ has been my favorite album for about a year now. When I heard about the remastered legacy edition, I was apprehensive - the production on the original version is perfect; its dynamics fit perfectly with the mood and atmosphere of the album itself. The good news is that I have no problem with the remastered version. Anyway, I didn't care so much about the production - I always have the original copy to fall back on. I was mainly interested in Disc 2 of this release - the rare, b-sides stuff or whatever that Buckley fans will buy this album to hear.

So, is it worth getting this album again to hear Disc 2? My answer is a resounding 'yes'. "Forget Her" is a beautiful piece that sounds like it was a hidden track on the original version of _Grace_ (in fact, I believe it was supposed to be included on the album, but was taken off at the last minute for a reason unknown to me). It has the same "feel" as everything else from the album (aka: the song is freakin' awesome). The alternate take of "Dream Brother" is quite interesting, and reminds me of the live version from _Mystery White Boy_. Buckley's cover of "Mama, You've Been On My Mind" is a wonderful little tune.

The very Gospel/doo-wop song "I Want Someone Badly" is pretty sweet (complete with lady background singers doing little "oohs" or "wops" or something - it reminds me of the Back To The Future ice cream parlor scenes). The "road version" of "Eternal Life" is intense and heavy - it's so metal. I think there are even a couple of harmonics and/or pull-offs (!), plus the "death" breakdown before Buckley wails "WHAT IS LOVE!" Great stuff!

The centerpiece of the second disc, though, is "Kanga-Roo", a brooding, 14-minute epic that for some reason reminds me of Tool jamming away. The song is played on the "Live In Chicago DVD", and I love that version for its intensity and "live"ness, but this version is totally supreme. The buildup is even more intense and wrenching, and Matt Johnson's drumming is even more amazing (which is probably the reason the track reminds me of Tool).

Basically, if you like Buckley and want to hear more of what he was capable of, get this ASAP. If you don't have _Grace_ (for whatever stupid reason), just go ahead and get this. And just to make this review a bit longer, I will now paste my review for the original version of _Grace_ (in case someone hasn't heard it and is wondering, since I've concentrated on the bonus stuff):

"Jeff Buckley released but one fully realized album during his all-too-brief stay with us on earth, but that album is one of the most passionate and spiritual albums I have ever heard. Imagine a fiery young singer/songwriter who is influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Smiths. Oh, and this dude has the most amazing voice ever. Also imagine his band (bassist Mick Grondhal, drummer Matt Johnson, guitarist Michael Tighe) knew his playing inside and out and acted more like a backing band for John Coltrane or Miles Davis than a traditional rock ensemble. Then you have a rough idea of the amazing album known simply as _Grace_.

_Grace_ beings with the beautiful "Mojo Pin," fading into a soft guitar line along with Buckley's gentle crooning. With Zeppelin-esque intensity the track grows stronger and louder to it's climax. The wonderful guitar work ties the song together while Matt Johnson's drumming accentuates each change of pace. "The welts of your scorn, my love, give me more/Send whips of opinion down my back, give me more" Buckley's singing builds, "Well it's you I've waited my life to see/It's you I've searched so hard for," soaring into the ether with the last phrase. This flows into the next track, "Grace", which serves as a beautifully fiery compliment to the atmospheric "Mojo Pin." The climax found within is glorious, with sweet guitar strumming and then Buckley belting out with incredible emotion: "And I feel them drown my name/So easy to know/And forget with this kiss/I'm not afraid to go" His voice now more intense than ever, nearly screaming "But it goes so slow". He holds the last note for what seems like an eternity.

The Gospel flavored "Lover, You Should've Come Over" moves from a harmonium opening to a solemn acoustic guitar backdrop grounded by Grondahl's tasteful bass playing. Over the sweet Hammond organ and the R&B styled backing vocals, Buckley builds the song to a desperate crescendo: "It's never over/My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder/It's never over/All my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her," his own fine guitar work adding to the beauty of the lyrics, "It's not too late."

The highlight of the album comes with Buckley's emotionally-jarring rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". It is as if Cohen wrote the song specifically with Buckley's voice and style in mind. As tender as the heart that broke to write this song, just Buckley and a guitar, he confesses to us: "Well maybe there's a God above/But all I've ever learned from love/Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you." The song is impossibly gorgeous - easily one of my all-time favorite songs. A minimal stripped back performance but with such a spiritual, devotional vocal. It has been known to draw tears to the eyes of lumberjacks.

_Grace_ has this incredibly spiritual, romantic feel to it that I can't describe. Buckley's extreme intensity and emotional sincerity make _Grace_ what it is - a flourishing achievement in every conceivable way."

Jeff Buckley's "Grace" is one of those albums. One of those life-changing records that the first time you hear it (and I mean REALLY hear it-- it took me over ten years to really hear it), you stop what you're doing, no matter what, and you just listen. And somehow, when its done, you start it over again and it feels like everything's changed.

Buckley, who died at a young age after recording only one studio album (this one), has left a legacy with us. Showing signs of his pedigree in downtown New York, his music has that sort of unnamed quality you can't quite pin down. Simple folk songs or delicate blues somehow become quite a bit more. It could be Buckley's voice, a high tenor that feels a bit like a non-tempered instrument, is certainly evocative and filled with emotion. It could be the subtlety of the arrangements. It could be something else entirely.

The point is, its there, and the music really is transcendent. To single out any particular track is a bit unfair, its pretty much all unbelievably good, from blues-based rock ("Mojo Pin", "Eternal Life") to ballads ("Hallelujah", "Lilac Wine", "Corpus Christi Carol") and some material that just defies even such broad categories ("Last Goodbye", "So Real"). But really, star to finish, a superb record.

The Legacy Edition has been newly remastered, admittedly probably somewhat unnecessary given that the album is only a decade or so old, but noentheless the sound is crisp and clean. The bonus disc includes a dozen or so tracks, b-sides, alternate versions, and so on. The material isn't quite as essential as the album, but it's all awfully good, and certainly several of the tracks are as strong as the material on "Grace" ("Forget Her", "Mama, You Been on My Mind"). The set also contains a DVD with a "Making of Grace" documentary filmed in the '90s and updated for this set that is quite an interesting watch and runs about 30 minutes long. Buckley's band in particular is a treat to hear interviewed. The disc is also augmented by the videos for the album's singles. Finally, the liner notes contain commentary about all the bonus tracks by producer Steve Berkowitz and Mary Guibert (Jeff Buckley's mother) and a brief essay on "A Decade of Grace" by Bill Flanagan. All of this comes wrapped in a giant digipack and a plastic slipcase. All in all, it looks quite nice (and it matches "Live at Sin-E" well too-- now if only "My Sweetheart the Drunk" would get this treatment!).

All in all, this is one great value, and a nice way at looking at the legacy of what really is one of the best albums of its decade. Highly recommended.

Like similar one album legends such as The La's and the Sex Pistols (it's hard to argue anything other than Never Mind The Bollocks was a proper Sex Pistols release), the estate of Jeff Buckley has done very well off the back of such notably small output. It's the lavish packaging for this latest vault-digging adventure that initially grabs the eye, although it takes little time for the music to avert attention from the unreleased photographs, Bill Flanagan's interesting liner notes, the annotations from producer Steve Berkowitz and the overall polished sheen of this Legacy Edition. While cynics may scoff at this latest repackaging of Buckley music, fans are sure to lap up this special version of Grace. Any true Buckley aficionado's copy of Grace will no doubt be worn out due to years of loaning to unenlightened friends and soundtracking a decade of memories. This new version is a damn good excuse to update, although even an extra disc of rarities and a DVD inclusion cannot alter the fact the original Grace album remains a staggeringly beautiful enigma on its own. Ten years on, the record still holds an undeniable freshness and vitality. Corpus Christi Carol still divides listeners as to whether it is a beautiful piece or melancholy or simply a wishy washy medieval ballad, but there's no doubting the staggering worth of the Leonard Cohen cover, Hallelujah (also covered by Bono, kd lang and Rufus Wainwright, although never bettered) and Last Goodbye. Of the bonus disc tracks, the superfluous bluesy sketches of Alligator Wine and Parchman Farm Blues are quickly forgotten as the fantastic alternate version of Dream Brother and the haunting and desolate sounds of the Hank Williams track Lost Highway (made even more eerie by the similar age at which both artists died) drift by. The `short 14 minute' live version of Big Star's Kanga-Roo and the chilling bonus track Strawberry Street (when Buckley sings the line "born to die young" it's hard not to gasp) wrap up the bonus CD, while the Grace documentary and five music clips of the DVD add further weight to this hefty release. Unlike other estates that continuously dredge up unnecessary scraps from long deceased artists, Grace (Legacy Edition) has made a positive addition to Buckley's canon. With Grace a designated classic album, Jeff Buckley's spirit lives on through fitting tributes such as this.