Grace (Jeff Buckley album)

Grace
Studio album by Jeff Buckley
Released August 23, 1994
Recorded Late 1993–1994 at Bearsville Recording Studio, Woodstock, NY
Genre Alternative rock, folk
Length 51:44
Label Columbia
Producer Jeff Buckley, Andy Wallace
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live at Sin-é
(1993)		 Grace
(1994)		 Live from the Bataclan
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau (C)[2]
Drowned in Sound (10/10)[3]
The Guardian (positive)[4]
Q [5]
Slant Magazine [6]
Sputnikmusic [7]

Grace is the only complete studio album by Jeff Buckley, released on August 23, 1994. While the album initially had poor sales, peaking at #149 in the U.S., and received mixed reviews,[8] it gradually acquired critical and popular acclaim and has now sold over 2 million copies worldwide. An extended version of the album (subtitled "Legacy Edition") celebrating its tenth anniversary was released on August 24, 2004, and it peaked at #44 in the UK.

Grace re-entered the albums chart in Australia at number 44 for the week of January 29 to February 5, 2007 – 13 years after its original release date. It is currently certified 6x Platinum in Australia.

Contents

Music

Jeff's version of "Corpus Christi Carol" was based on a version by Janet Baker. A childhood friend introduced him to the song, and Buckley sang a version on the album as a way of thanking him.[9]

Critical reception

Grace has been highly rated in magazines such as Q, in which readers voted Grace the 75th greatest album of all time in 1998; the same vote was taken again in 2005 and Grace then ranked 13th.[10][11] In 2003, the album was ranked number 303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[12] In 2006, Mojo named Grace the #1 Modern Rock Classic of all Time.[13] It was also rated as Australia's second favourite album on My Favourite Album, a television special aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on December 3, 2006.[14] In 2003, Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" was ranked #259 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[15] VH1 also rated the album #73 on its "100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll" show/list.[16]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Entertainment Weekly United States Best 10 Albums of the Year[17] 1994 6
Eye Weekly Canada Best 30 Albums of the Year[18] 1994 4
Juice Australia 100 Greatest Albums of the 90s[19] 1999 10
Les Inrockuptibles France Best 25 Albums of the Year[20] 1994 14
Melody Maker United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[21] 1994 9
Mojo United Kingdom Best 25 Albums of the Year[22] 1994 1
NME United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[23] 1994 21
Q United Kingdom Best Albums of the Year[24]
Reissues of the Year[25]		 1994
2004		 *
*
Rocksound United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[26] 1994 2
Rolling Stone United States The Essential Alternative Recordings of the 90s[27] — *
Select United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[28] 1994 41
Technikart France Best 5 Albums of the Year[29] 1994 2
The Face United Kingdom Best 30 Albums of the Year[30] 1994 18
The Guardian United Kingdom Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever[31]
1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die[31]		 1999
2007		 15
*

* denotes an unranked list.

Singles and EPs

Four proper singles were released from the album, along with additional editions, two posthumous releases, and promo-only releases (see also: The Grace EPs).

Singles
  • "Grace" (January 1995)
  • "Last Goodbye" (January/March 1995)
  • "So Real" (June 1995)
  • "Eternal Life" (August 1995)
EPs
  • Peyote Radio Theatre promo EP (July 1994)
  • Live from the Bataclan EP (October 1995)
  • The Grace EP (February 1996)

Posthumous

Buckley's cover version of "Hallelujah" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 2 during Christmas 2008, following the release of another cover version by series 5 of the British version of The X Factor winner Alexandra Burke which took the number 1 slot.

Singles

Legacy

In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organized a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and Grace was placed at #23 on the list.[32]

Use in film and television

Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" remains one of his most well-known recordings, and has been used extensively in many U.S. television series and films, including The West Wing, The O.C., House M.D., Without a Trace, One Tree Hill, The Edukators, Lord of War and Saint Ralph.

Track listing

Original track listing[33]
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Mojo Pin"   Jeff Buckley, Gary Lucas 5:42
2. "Grace"   Jeff Buckley, Gary Lucas 5:22
3. "Last Goodbye"   Jeff Buckley[34] 4:35
4. "Lilac Wine"   James Shelton 4:32
5. "So Real"   Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe 4:43
6. "Hallelujah"   Leonard Cohen 6:53
7. "Lover, You Should've Come Over"   Jeff Buckley 6:43
8. "Corpus Christi Carol"   Traditional, Benjamin Britten 2:56
9. "Eternal Life"   Jeff Buckley 4:52
10. "Dream Brother"   Jeff Buckley, Mick Grondahl, Matt Johnson 5:26
Posthumous releases additional tracks[35]
No. Title Writer(s) Length
11. "Forget Her"   Jeff Buckley 5:13

To promote Buckley's 1995 Australian tour, a two-CD edition was issued. It featured the following songs on the second disc:

  1. "So Real" – live and acoustic in Japan, January 1995
  2. "Dream Brother" – live in Hamburg at Club Logo, February 22, 1995
  3. "Grace" – live in London, March 4, 1995 (exclusive to this release)
  4. "Mojo Pin" – live at Wetlands, New York City, November 1994

Legacy Edition

Grace (Legacy Edition)
Compilation album by Jeff Buckley
Released August 23, 2004
Recorded 1993–1994
Genre Alternative rock, folk, blues
Length 117:00
Label Columbia
Producer George Marino (Executive)
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition)
(2003)		 Grace (Legacy Edition)
(2004)		 So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [36]
BBC (favourable) [37]
Blender [38]
Pitchfork Media (9.0/10)[39]
PopMatters (Positive)[40]
Stylus Magazine (A-)[41]
Original disc

Bonus disc

  1. "Forget Her" (Jeff Buckley) – 5:12
  2. "Dream Brother" (Alternate Take) – 4:56
  3. "Lost Highway" (Leon Payne) – 4:24
  4. "Alligator Wine" (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) – 3:21
  5. "Mama, You Been on My Mind" (Bob Dylan) – 3:26
  6. "Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues" (Bukka White/Robert Johnson) – 6:20
  7. "The Other Woman" (Jessie Mae Robinson) – 3:05
  8. "Kanga-Roo" (Alex Chilton) – 14:14
  9. "I Want Someone Badly" (with Shudder to Think) (Nathan Larson) – 2:36
  10. "Eternal Life" (Road Version) – 4:50
  11. "Kick Out the Jams" (Live) (MC5) – 3:06
  12. "Dream Brother" (Nag Champa Mix) – 5:24
  13. "Strawberry Street" (Jeff Buckley/Andrew Goodsight/John McNally) – 5:26*

(*does not appear in the track listing; previously unreleased, appears here in a rehearsal recording from the Knitting Factory in May 1993, with the Washington Squares frontman Tom Goodkind on bass guitar)

Personnel

Additional musicians
Technical personnel

Charts and certifications

Album

Chart (1994–2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[42] 9
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[43] 39
Dutch Albums Chart[44] 84
French Albums Chart[45] 47
Italian Albums Chart[46] 73
Norwegian Albums Chart[47] 38
UK Albums Chart[48] 42
US Billboard 200[49] 149

Certifications

Country Certification
Australia 6× Platinum[50]
Europe Platinum[51]
France 2× Gold[52]
United States Gold[53]

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1995 "Last Goodbye" Modern Rock Tracks 19
UK Singles Chart 54
2008 "Hallelujah" US Hot Digital Songs 1
UK Singles Chart 2

Release history

Region Release date Format Label
United Kingdom, Europe[54] 15 August 1994 CD, LP Columbia Records (Sony)
United States[54] 23 August 1994 CD
Compact Cassette
Vinyl
MiniDisc
Promo Cassette
Japan[54] 1 September 1994 CD
Australia[54] 19 September 1994 CD
Worldwide[37][55] 23 August 2004 Legacy Edition (2×CD+DVD)

References

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Jeff Buckley
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
DVDs
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