Covers from Jeff Buckley

image courtesy of Merri Cyr, 1995

Besides Grace, which was Jeff Buckley's only officially completed album, the legacy of songs and material that remain comes mainly from his incredible live shows which consisted of playing various covers from a vast array of artists. His vocal range was such that he took on many songs from powerful female singers. Many times, he took the originals and made them his own, as is the case with his version of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Here are some unique covers with the originals, or the version that he was inspired by. He has inspired, and continues to inspire other artists, as is the case with Radiohead.

from the recent Word magazine interview with Radiohead:
It's funny how their own records are often punctuated by seeing other bands, he (Colin Greenwood) says. "Making The Bends in spring 1994, we were having a crap day in the studio so John Leckie said, 'Come on, let's go and see Jeff Buckley at the Garage.' Then we went back to the studio and Thom recorded Fake Plastic Trees straight away. It was genuinely, properly inspiring."


Bob Dylan - Mama, You've Been On My Mind - this track is from the Bootleg series

Jeff Buckley - Mama, You've Been On My Mind - from the Grace Legacy Edition

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Nina Simone - Lilac Wine - from the 1966 Wild Is The Wind album.

Jeff Buckley - Lilac Wine (Live)- from the Palais Theatre in Melbourne Australia, on the Mystery White Boy release. a great slowed down version of the song.

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Big Star - Kangaroo - written by Alex Chilton who also inspired Paul Westerberg from the Replacements to write the song Alex Chilton from the excellent Pleased To Meet Me album.

Jeff Buckley - Kangaroo (Live) - live form the Logo Club in Hamburg Germany. recorded February 22, 1995

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Van Morrison - The Way Young Lovers Do (Live) - live from the Fillmore in San Francisco, recorded 4/26/1970 (((link removed at the request of the publisher)))

Jeff Buckley - The Way Young Lovers Do (Live)- from the Live From The Bataclan (Paris) release. he takes the original jazzy version of the song and turns it into bluesy guitar fueled rant.

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Genesis - Back in N.Y.C. (demo #4) - from 1974, a demo of this track from the classic Lamb Lies Down On Broadway release. this was the period when Peter Gabriel fronted the band.

Jeff Buckley - Back In N.Y.C. - a demo from the Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk release.

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Nina Simone - The Twelfth Of Never (Live) - from the out of print Nina Simone At Carnegie Hall. Buckley covered more tracks by Nina Simone than any other artist. I think he related to the soulfulness and the unique phrasing from her voice.

Jeff Buckley - The Twelfth Of Never (Live) - from Live At Sin-e´. he rarely altered Nina Simone's version of the songs.

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For more Buckley stuff, click HERE

Focus On A Blurry Distance

this week, the richie hawtin show at mighty on june01 was announced and since it falls on the same day of the arcade fire show that i got tix for, i will have to wait for the next go-around from arcade fire unless there is a bit of energy left for the saturday show, but i highly doubt it.

a slow year in terms of the number of shows, but with bjork in may and now hawtin, the season seems to be falling into place. also, with lcd ss playing next week, the possibility of the soulwax show, the lusine show tomorrow night @rx gallery, who knows what treats the rest of the year has in store.

and now, for some minor aoelian treats.....

Country Mike (The Beastie Boys) - How Do You Mend An Achin' Heart (Country) - one of the hardest things to find in the beastie's catalog. i believe most, or all of the pressing were on vinyl, but i got lucky enough to find a cd copy.

The Beach Boys - God Only Knows (Stereo Mix) (Pop)- an epic song in terms of production and has the melody and harmonies to make it a perfect pop song.

A Tribe Called Quest - If The Papes Come (Remix) (Hip Hop)- another album that somehow got lost and required another purchase. the 'revised quest for the seasoned traveller' remix album. some of the mixes sound dated, but it's still the tribe and i love the jazz drumming on this mix.

Funki Porcini - Long Road (Downtempo) - the ex introduced me to this excursion of blissful escape along with lamb. and this may appear to be an oversimplification of resulting matters, but i attach my ex-girlfriend's to the music that they opened for me. this album is a re-release of 'hed phone sex' from 1995.

Grant Lee-Phillips - Same Blue Devils (Singer Songwriter) - from his new release, 'strangelet', the peter buck, the man behind the guitar solo of 'i will dare' from the replacements as well as being a member of r.e.m. plays on a few tracks.

Genesis - Back in N.Y.C. (Rock) - from the peter gabriel led genesis, a classic album. i've always been of a fan of peter gabriel because of his constant reinvention and although it may not always work, it is better than the path taken by his former bandmates. this track was given a different take and perspective from jeff buckley off his posthumous 'sketches...' release.