In just two months’ time a long–lost collection of ten never-before-heard Jeff Buckley songs will be released.
Recently found in Sony’s vaults, as staff attempted to curate a special anniversary edition of his stunning debut album Grace, ten songs (a collection of covers and original cuts,) will be released on the highly anticipated You and I on March 18th.
The album will feature songs recorded in Buckley’s formative years, before he had even released his first, and only, completed album. The tracks date back to three days in 1993, when the singer decamped to Shelter Island Sound studio with producer Steve Berkowitz.
Previously, Buckley had been a club regular in New York, where his bewitching performances created a mad scramble from record executives as they tried to sign him. This collection looks to capture the singer when he was at his most vulnerable and raw, a time when he was yet to fully realise his endless potential.
Singer and guitarist Ben Harper has noted that Buckley was the most talented performer he had seen. “Never have I seen such infinite musical potential in anyone,” he said. While U2 front man Bono described him as a “pure drop in an ocean of noise.”
Despite the singer’s tragic passing, he still remains an important piece in music history, and he is often cited as a major source of inspiration for many musicians today such as Adele who admitted that, “he was always around me.”
One of the bands that are covered on the album is legendary 1970’s rock group Led Zeppelin. Guitarist Jimmy Page has heard the record and was keen to point out that what he heard, was “undeniably a glimpse of a musical genius at work.” While his former front man Robert Plant concluded that “it was mind altering – his voice. Spectacular singing.”
This year will mark 19 years since the enigmatic Buckley lost his life in the Mississippi river, but his memory and legacy have clearly long since lived on.
You can listen to his Bob Dylan cover here: