Product Description
It was Bono who said that "Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise." During his 30 years, Jeff Scott Buckley lived many lives: suburban loner, music school misfit, and rock and roll gypsy. His real life was only revealed after his tragic death 10 years ago, when he was found in the Mississippi river just hours before he was due to start rehearsals for the follow-up album to Grace. In this startling new bio, Jeff Buckley's friends, peers, enemies, lovers, collaborators, and others all speak of the Jeff Buckley they knew - or, in some cases, thought they knew. The contents of his many personal letters are revealed for the first time. His struggle with writer's block is explored, as are his battles with the concept of stardom, his desire for escape, and his attempts to deal with the unavoidable legacy of his equally gifted father, Tim Buckley. Even 10 years after his death, Buckley is still influential - Radiohead and Coldplay readily confess to the debt they owe him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A sterling work
I knew Jeff Buckley. I know Jeff Apter as a writer. I played lead guitar with Tim Buckley and wrote about Tim and Jeff Buckley in my book, Blue Melody: Tim Buckley Remembered. Having explored Tim and Jeff Buckley's lives in depth, I can vouch 100% for Apter's Pure Drop.
His research is solid and comprehensive. His insights are right-on. His appreciation for Jeff Buckley's struggles and accomplishments is above reproach. His understanding of Jeff's domineering mother, Mary, is unmatched for accuracy, insight, and mature judgment. Five stars for Jeff Buckley, five stars for Jeff Apter, and five stars for A Pure Drop!

On "A Pure Drop: the Life of Jeff Buckley"
Allow me to lay my biases on the table: I am a dyed in the wool Jeff Buckley fan. If I could reshape the world, there would only be one biography about Jeff, and there would be no such thing as rumor mongering and gossiping, for no one would be prone to commit, or listen to, that sort of thing. But this is the real world: I have lost count of biographies written about my hero; and they keep on coming. They have spread so much innuendo, smut, over the Jeff's legacy. With this in mind, I salute Apter's biography: it is factual, generally avoids exploiting gossip or sensationalism. It more often than not demonstrates a dispassionate examination of the subject. When it draws inferences, or throws its weight in one direction, in my opinion it comes fairly close to the truth as a reasonable person with the facts would perceive them.

Apter obviously is familiar with the music scene, coming from Australia's Rolling Stone magazine. The reader benefits from the author's relevant background. Discussions about Jeff Buckley's interactions with fellow musicians and acquaintenances during his short career, from L.A. to New York; the burden of having to deal with his dead father's musical legacy; his being thrust into the paws of the media monster, AKA Columbia/Sony, and how he endeavored to foster his career yet remain true to his professional principles, all make for extremely interesting reading.

On the enticing, but very problematic and subjective topic of Jeff Buckley's frame of mind, his psychology, Apter succeeds in refraining from unsubstantiated melodrama. Unlike Browne in Dream Brothers, he avoids drawing inferences based on hearsay, he refuses to exploit the sensational for the sake of selling more books. Based on what Jeff's closest friends have said, there is absolutely no reason to conclude, or suspect, that Jeff Buckley was ever on the verge of a nervous breakdown or that he ever contemplated suicide. Yes, even as a young adult he can be accused of immaturity, though his prolonged Grace tours seem to have propelled him to emotional maturity towards the very end. He can accurately be suspected of not being professionally focused, though I never would have thought that this constitutes a psychological pathology. Yes, he resented the fact that his biological father, Tim Buckley, abandoned him. Yet, who wouldn't harbor resentment over abandonment by one's parent? Nothning bizarre or pathological about that. And again, yes, Buckley suffered from a writer's block. But that is hardly what most of us would consider a pathology. Apter provides some very good insights on the topic of Jeff's writing inertia. The author draws a portrait of a very talented young man, who is essentially honest, caring and loyal to his friends to a fault. Yes, he had some emotional baggage. But don't we all? I wouldn't mind being the type of person Jeff Buckley was. Not at all.

Apter shows considerable courage in raising the topic of just which parent ultimately may have done Jeff Buckley more harm: his deceased biological father or his still very much alive mother, Mary Guibert? He informs the reader about how Jeff constantly moved from one location to another while growing up. We learn that Buckley was ashamed to apply for a job upon graduation from High School because he never spent more than a few months in any one school and would have had to list the reams of schools he attended within the space of a few years in any job application. He lets the reader know that Jeff as an adult purposefully kept minimal contact with his mother. This topic is quite relevant to the masses of Jeff Buckley fans who very much want to benefit from and enjoy the products of Buckley's genius, and to show their respect for this phenomenal musician, but run into the brickwall known as the Jeff Buckley Estate, controlled by Mary Guibert, its Executor. In the Coda of the book, Apter provides a short but meaningful discussion on just how the Estate has managed, or exploited, the development and release of Jeff Buckley's musical legacy.

A Pure Drop is a well-written and researched biography. It treats its subject with respect and impartiality. It portrays Jeff as human like the rest of us, but doesn't exploit his foibles to the extent that his undeniable genius and basic humanity are overshadowed. Bravo, Jeff Apter, for a work well done!

The Buckley Industry Strikes Again
I haven't read Dream Brother, but the thoroughness of Aptley's research and the balance he's struck from a host of insiders promises a summation. He meticulously sources facts, but not at the expense of opinions. And these cursory quips at other talents in the Buckleys' orbit, I'm mostly in accord with. Celebrity was a state Jeff, sadly, was ill-equipped to deal with. The echoes of his father's life abound; appearance, fabulous larynx, magpie musical tastes, and rootlessness. Tim's recorded edifice, 10 albums versus the astounding, but singular,'Grace', remained an Oedipal challenge. Though the mum's questionable packaging of so much material since his death seems bent on redressing that digit, minus the quality. Aptley's insiders bemoan the existence of so much material they believe Jeff, the perfectionist, would never have condoned. I, for one, am gladthe Paris concert at the Olympia has seen the light of day. Not only for the versions of,'Lilac Wine' and 'Hallelujah' but the tacked on coda,'Say You Will' with mugham master,Alim Qasimov. If Nasrat Ali Faht Khan was a formative inspiration for improvising, Qasimov's magnificently expressive tenor, which humbled Buckley, was a logical successor. It's this head-fizzing singing I return to both father and son for. Not the Led Zep arena-styled din. For the connective tissue, the company he kept, the doubts and exhilerations of this human jukebox, Aptley's book will do the Buckley's saga for me. Doubtless the industry will grind out more fodder for the racks. I'll settle for the music. ... Read more

Product Description
The power and influence of Grace increases with each passing year. Here, Daphne Brooks traces Jeff Buckley’s fascinating musical development through the earliest stages of his career, up to the release of the album. With access to rare archival material, Brooks illustrates Buckley’s passion for life and hunger for musical knowledge, and shows just why he was such a crucial figure in the American music scene of the 1990s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Poor Writing, Great Musician
I love Jeff Buckley and have for quite some time. The 33 1/3 series is a marvelous chain of books with varied authors, all of them taking a different approach to explaining how an album is important to them. I bought this with a batch of other 33 1/3 books, and this one is the weakest by far.

I began reading it and quickly grew tired - it isn't that Jeff Buckley doesn't deserve praise, but the third time I read "oceanic" regarding his vocals, it really started to grate on me. This book is less facts and much more a breathless rush of fawning adjectives. The writing veers into what reads like an intro college-level paper at times. By the end of the book, the author's adoration of him is evident, but little else has been gained.

This type of communication as to why an album is important to someone isn't a bad thing. Colin Meloy's (lead singer of the Decemberists) 33 1/3 book on the Replacement's Let It Be is almost exclusively a personal exploration of Meloy's life as a boy, gradually leading up to the inclusion of the album in his life. The resonance of why it means so much to Meloy is apparent in a much more graceful conclusion to his tale, as opposed to a constant blast of praise, over and over again, as this book practices.

There's a lot of feeling here, but no traction for it to move beyond that.

My review of small book Jeff Buckley
I love this book and when I had time read it on Jeff buckley !
Great for Jeff Buckley fan on a good book to read !

Whatever useful facts there are, they are buried in almost unreadable prose
Daphne A. Brooks' GRACE, part of the "33 1/3" series of influential album histories, is a overview of the work of Jeff Buckley, whose debut album launched a career of great passion cut short by his untimely death. Brooks had been hired to write the liner notes for the tenth-anniversary edition of "Grace", though ultimately another writer's work was used, and she made use of many interviews with Buckley and his circle, and reviews of his work.

Those expecting an indepth study of the recording process will be disappointed by Brooks' book, since in spite of what one might expect from the title, it is not limited to the making of his debut album, and instead covers pretty much his entire career. The actual album's tracks are interspersed among reminisces of his live performances, his early days in New York, and so forth. Many things are missing. For example, the addition of strings to "Eternal Life" during the recording process was a major improvement, yet Brooks doesn't cover this or Buckley's thoughts on strings. The book also suffers from some major problems of general writing style. For one, Brooks interjects her own experiences into the text left and right, talking about the first time she heard this song, the first time she met that person, etc. The word "I" shows up so many times this ceases to become an interesting study and more a fan's account of how the music changed her life. Brooks also enthuses too much about the music, calling every single song "sweeping" or "glorious"; chances are, anyone reading this book has already fallen for Buckley, so there's no need to hype the album. At the same time I read this book, I was also reading LUTOSLAWSKI STUDIES, ed. Zbigniew Skowron (Oxford University Press, 2001), which showed how far Brooks' writing was from serious scholarship.

If you are a committed fan of Jeff Buckley, you might want to give this book a look, but unfortunately it does not fill the need at all of a well-written account of Buckley's early career and the making of his heavenly debut album.

A Warning
For those who already love Jeff Buckley's album, or simply wish to enhance an appreciation of a certain line of rock music, this book will surely ring true.

However, if you don't like Jeff Buckley, or if you believe that a lot of writing about rock music (and a lot of rock music, for that matter) is not much more than an immature exercise in self pity and self indulgence--teenage tears set to music--this book will either prove virtually intolerable for more than two paragraphs...or provide the perfect kindling for your desire to look down on people who don't share your taste. It will make you angry.

The writing is the most self-indugent, feeling-driven drivel imaginable. The analysis of the music itself rarely rises above the "swirling guitar anthems echo endlessly and wrap themselves like a big warm blanket around the dizzying vocal syrup as I touch myself tenderly in this dark corner of my lonely room" variety that one would hope to encounter only in a college newspaper or the diary of a 15-year old goth chick.

Brooks places Buckley's music in the context of rock history and traces his influences, much in the fashion one would with a legitimate author (here, Brooks's literary training is a bit more evident). Well, whoopty doo. Everything has a context within the history of something--that doesn't make it worth paying attention to.

Translating Music into Words
I got out of music school some 25 years ago, and I'm still in love with the electric guitar, and great music made with it.It's a pleasure to see Brooks' focus on Buckley's terrific record.But her efforts to translate the poetry of the music into the written language demonstrate how hard it is to do.Phrases like "swirling guitars," "crunching power chords," "resonant swirl of punked out romance and passion," become tired and vague after awhile.I'd rather see some more objective analysis of the music...for example, a chapter could have been written on the peculiar--and brilliant--cliche-busting structure of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over"--not to mention the complexity of the recording process in that and many of the other songs.Brooks touches on these issues to some extent, although I think she tends to tie Buckley too closely to his influences, rather than focus on the amazing way that he ultimately transcended them all, and recreated himself and his music into something magnificently unique.I respect Brooks' effort to describe his uniqueness in poetic terms, but, in the end, some of us (I think) would like to see greater objective, technical analysis.I guarantee the material is there. ... Read more

Product Description
During his thirty years, Jeff Scott Buckley lived many lives: suburban loner, music school misfit, rock and roll gypsy. His real life was only revealed after his tragic death, more than 10 years ago in the Mississippi river, hours before he was due to start rehearsals for the follow up album to "Grace". Buckley's friends, peers, enemies, lovers, collaborators and others all speak to author Jeff Apter. The contents of his many personal letters are revealed for the first time. The book explores his ongoing battles with the concept of stardom, his desire for escape and the attempts to deal with the unavoidable legacy of his equally gifted father, Tim Buckley. Even after his death more than 10 years ago, he is still influential. Bono once said 'Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise.' ... Read more

Product Description
Now in Softcover! When Jeff Buckley drowned in Memphis in 1997, the music world lost one of its most original and promising voices. His 1994 debut LP Grace showcased his soaring vocals and fluid guitar playing, and was hailed as an instant classic. Photographer Merri Cyr was there from the beginning, shooting his album covers and accompanying him on tour, capturing Buckley's boundless charisma. This edition features an all-new photo section. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Jeff Buckley Book
I bought this as a gift for my daughter.She absolutely loves it. Great seller.

Worthwhile for fans
This is a beautiful book of photos and interviews. Cyr and Buckley had an excellent artistic relationship that produced insightful work. I found myself turning the pages carefully so as to not leave fingerprints on the photos. The interviews were emotionally charged, and said many things over and over, a re-enforcement of the mark he left on many. I am glad I followed my impulse to buy this. Were I not a Buckley fan, I'd enjoy the book simply for the quality of the art.

Soothing book, a must have.
I must thank Merri Cyr for this great book.I discovered Jeff Buckley recently which is kind of amazing to me as I am an avid music lover. I believe I found him when I was ready to understand the depth of his talent.What I was not ready for was the grief that followed my discovery.This book especially the comments from his friends have given me some peace.Now I know that though he struggled to write the second album he was not unhappy in the days leading to his passing.He was a happy man when he walked into the Wolf river singing and enjoying the view.You cannot imagine what comfort that gives me and will give all of us who never met him but have come to love him through that part of himself he gave so fully to us... his musical soul.

Own Hardback Copy
Last year I bought the hardback copy of this for myself as a gift.It was one of the best gifts I've ever received.Haha.For any Buckley fan, it is a true wonder to flip through these pages and read excerpts from interviews with his closest friends and business partners.Some of them recall moments with adoring fans, and others recall moments with Jeff.There are also comments made on how he affected people and the music industry as a whole.(You'd be surprised at some of the modern musicians who sight Jeff as a main influence)The pictures capture him in serious posed moments, and in many beautiful candid shots as well.I'd say about half of the pictures were ones I'd never seen.
If you love Buckley the way most of his fans do, this book will touch you and perhaps, like me, it will rekindle your wonder.

The Phenominal Jeff Buckley Caught in Pictures
I bought this book when it first came out and I still pull it off the shelf and marvel at not only the care that was expressed when being put together but also the beauty of each photograph.This book wasn't released to exploit the fans of this tragic artist in order to make a quick buck but was a well thought out pictorial of his experiences with Merri Cyr.Although I didn't order this book through Amazon, I still felt the need to comment on it because it is a stirring pictorial of a life cut much too short. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Do we really need another Jeff Buckley book?
the answer is no.

this book features almost nothing new to the myth that was Jeff Buckley. A couple of new interviews from some of his friends is the only thing worth buying this book, so if you're not a hardcore Jeff Buckley, i will rather recommend the detailed and much better written Dream Brother by Browne.

Great book about singer-songwriter by singer-writer
I bought this book because I love the music Anthony Reynolds did with his band Jack, and the music he's doing now
(check out "British Ballads", the album he released last year).
I was intrigued about his prose, so I went for this book, and I have truly enjoyed it.
Many times, the first chapters of a biography can be quite boring. Kids are kids,
so the early stages of even a genius can be "too normal" to raise interest. But in this case the figure
of Tim Buckley comes to the rescue, and the author gives a very interesting vision on how little did Tim get to know about Jeff, how little time they shared,
but still how deep the bond between them was and how the ghost of his father would both guide and haunt Jeff.
The ammount of information, even about this teenage years, is overwhelming. Reynolds talked (literally) to everyone and their mothers.
By the time it gets to Jeff moving to New York, you're already hooked on it.
The description of the NY atmosphere in those days is fascinating,
the welsh humour breaking loose now and then
(like when he talks about Jeff's early band, Gods and monsters, saying that Jeff looked like "a God among monsters, or better yet, a prince among plumbers").
The chapters about Jeff signing to a major label and recording "Grace" are specially interesting. As an insider of that industry, and having compiled a huge
pile of data about gear, setlists, recording equipment and sessions, it seems no detail is left unexplained. Once again the battle between music itself
and music industry shows up and is soulfully described.
In the final chapters, the poetic prose raises to top heights, avoiding all trace of morbid details, just focusing on the vanishing of a pure soul
under a starry night.
Amusing, accurate, well documented and emotional.
A must, even if you're not a total fan of the young Buckley.



... Read more

Product Description

When Jeff Buckley drowned at the age of thirty in 1997, he not only left behind a legacy of brilliant music -- he brought back haunting memories of his father, '60s troubadour Tim Buckley, a gifted musician who barely knew his son and who himself died at twenty-eight. Both father and son made transcendent music that mixed rock, jazz, and folk; both amassed a cadre of obsessive, adoring fans.

This absorbing dual biography -- based on interviews with more than one hundred friends, family members, and business associates as well as access to journals and unreleased recordings -- tells for the first time the intriguing, often heartbreaking story of these two musicians. It offers a new understanding of the Buckleys' parallel lives -- and tragedies -- while exploring the changing music business between the '60s and the '90s. Finally, it tells the story of a father and son, two complex, enigmatic men who died searching for themselves and each other.

Customer Reviews (39)

A B Minus Way of Telling one of Rock's most compelling Stories
As a biographer, David Browne is a little flat.Resembling nothing more than the closeted travelogue writers of the 1930s and forties.

Here is a man who wanted to grow up to be his mother.

But the story... as it exists more so than as he is presenting it... is SO compelling it pulls you along.

Browne certainly has his strong points: His reporter's rugged determination as demonstrated by him obviously going all the way down to Memphis to interview people and quite literally follow in the footsteps of the younger Buckley. Over the wall and off to the river.

However it's this same collection of facts and the somewhat biased way he's chosen to present them that dilutes his narrative.You get the impression that Buckley's mother might have been a nightmare to deal with. Browne mentions this, but does his best to downplay it. But there he's working against the same facts he's presenting.

"Although married, and the father of two children, stocky, mustached George Vandergrift soon became romantically linked with Mary."

There's a bit of J. Edgar Hoover's male companion in that sentence...

This was actually Mary's THIRD go around following Tim Buckley and some mechanic. There's a Jennifer Anniston-like story in there about what drove these men away... but Browne never gets around to it.

He's far less indulgent with Jeff and Tim Buckley actually... for obvious reasons.

If he wasn't trying so hard not to offend the living he would've actually done a better job of telling the story of the dead.

The body of work Browne's amassed is impressive: I'm sure his source material and recordings would fetch a fortune on ebay.

But the sum is not greater than its parts.

Still... here you have a story that practically, and literally, tells itself.

The depth and connection between father and son cannot be denied.

They rise above David Browne's, Reader's Digest attempt at a narrative.

They soar as high as each of them could sing.

My review on the 1st book of Jeff Buckley
I find out that there was one simlar in the Dream Brother of Jeff Buckley that we adopted and change our last names ! We kept our first name as I read the Jeff Buckley that is where the simliars are in the book !
I read the book when I had time or after being sick and could not go out !
I had enjoy reading this book when I had it a couple of year ago !

One of the Best Biographies I've Read in 15 years
I read this book because I love Jeff Buckley's music. I knew very little about Tim Buckley before I picked up the book to read. This is a very well written dual biography of a father and his son, both musicians, both barely famous (though Jeff Buckley has gained greater recognition over the last few years), and both dying at very young ages.

The book begins with Jeff's death and then backtracks to his Father's upbringing, telling the story from Tim Buckley's (the Father) childhood up to Jeff and Tim's death. It provides all the necessary details regarding their music careers, their influences, their backgrounds, etc. The book interchanges chapters between the two men. In other words, one chapter will focus on the life of Tim, and the next chapter will be devoted to Jeff, back and forth from chapter to chapter in this fashion.

The research and detail put into this book is amazingly well developed and detailed. Interviews with close friends and associates of both men are included. The best feature of this biography is that it does not read like a factual history text - this is what happened on this date, etc. Rather, it reads like a novel, including emotions, discussions, reactions, etc. Which all make this biography much more interesting. This book is difficult to put down, and that being said from a person who only knew one of the persons featured (like I said, I bought this book to read about Jeff, not Tim).

The book was so well written, and grabbed my attention so much that I have, since reading it, begun to buy Tim Buckley's music, and one DVD featuring his television appearances. I found it very interesting that Jeff barely knew his father, and yet they have quite similar charactersitics, manners, albeit Jeff was quite independent of his Father in any sense when it came to his music. I personally think the son was a far better musician than his father.

If you are interested in Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley, rock music, 60's and 70's rock, 90's rock, or music in general then you will truly love this book. Both Buckley's made their mark on music history, both of their lives were ended way too soon, and this book gives all the details inbetween. I highly recommended it.

True story told well
Clearly, Jeff Buckley was a troubled young man when he drowned just as his father od'd, at about the same age. Bipolar, at least. Possibly other unmedicated illnesses. The book only speculates because no one knows, but some of the post-mortems by friends are a bit naive about what was really ailing Buckley. Tim Buckley's story is equally well told, and brings to light a tragic tale all but forgotten now. The book inflates Jeff Buckley's musical importance a bit. He's all but forgotten now, too, just as his rock star father was soon after he died. It's a well reported glimpse into the parallel making and unmaking of two related rock stars and how the industry pressured them to death. Great reading, in general.

Everything You Need to Know
As a Tim Buckley devotee from his first LP, having followed him as a great fan, attended many of his appearances, (even bought, with my high school best friend, the identical kind of lace-up "moccasin boots" mentioned in the book, and somehow ended up hanging out with Carter C.C. Collins and taking him home to play chess with my expert chess-player brother), I was mainly interested in the part of the book about Tim - and then found that learning about his son was just as compelling as reading about someone I felt much closer to. So very sad that their lives had such parallels, so unfortunate for all of us that each of them had to leave us so soon. Now I will see if I can find and listen to Jeff's music as well. Despite his apparent recognition as a musical phenomenon, I was hardly aware of his existence, and don't remember reading or hearing much about him during his career - odd, really, since music has always been so important to me!

At any rate the book is a thorough and detailed examination of the music and the lives of both Buckleys, interwoven in a way that is sometimes confusing chronologically (alternating chapters about each, back and forth), but still fascinating... I must admit toward the end I skipped forward to complete the Tim chapters before going back and finishing reading about Jeff. Anyone who considers her/himself a fan would be interested in reading this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Parsons, Drake and Buckley were three young musicians who died before they had made their mark on the musical world, yet left behind them a legacy that was as rich as it was beautiful. Ex-preacher Parsons was outrageous, outspoken but impeccably polite. He recorded with various bands including The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds and very nearly the Rolling Stones. His light shone brightly but briefly before his mysterious death, and more bizarre cremation, at the age of 26. Almost a polar opposite, Nick Drake was intensely shy with crippling stage fright, who made less than 40 public appearances. Handsome yet fragile, he composed beautiful melodies. He sank into depression in the family home, before overdosing on medication - whether deliberate or not, nobody knows - at the age of 26. Jeff Buckley's vocal range spanned an astonishing four octaves. He could sing any style - from Piaf to Gershwin, from scat and jazz to Oum Kalthoum, alongside his own superb realist compositions. In 1997, on the brink of stardom, he never returned from a fully-clothed swim in the Mississippi River.Only in death was the true potential of these talented young men appreciated, their songs still appearing in ads and Buckley had his first number 1 in 2008. With every passing year, their legends grow. And posthumously they have influenced a whole host of singers who now crowd the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. This is their remarkable story. David Bret was born in Paris. His acclaimed books include biographies of Marlene Dietrich, Morrissey, Freddie Mercury and Edith Piaf among many others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It was given to me
Knowing my enjoyment of the artists profiled in this book, a dear friend bought it for me on her recent trip to England. I haven't the heart to tell her how bad it is.

It's poorly written, tawdry and factually incorrect.How this senstionalist author gets books published is a mystery to me. I shall certainly never read another.

Frustrating
The only positive thing about reading that book writen by Mr. Bret is the way how it made me check dates and events of those three artists life.
It's ordinary to say that public people can afford whatever is said about them, doesn't matter if it's true and sordid lie. In this case it's so shocking the collection of absurdities that makes one wonder: is the biographed person or the public the one to afford what is said?
After checking Parsons, Drake and Buckley, the feeling is of having been cheated as buying the book or reading it.
Dates, events, important facts of these men's life just don't fit. Taking Nick Drake's pseudo biography by Mr. Bret, for instance, is frustrating and defies the minimal of sense. So many mistakes in basic aspects of his life, so many imprecisions and so many delusional conclusions, that I wonder if the writer took some of his time to interview a real person linked to that english composer.
If the intention of Mr. Bret was to risk a fiction book, he should have told it, for sure he may find a market for that.
Biographies are more demanding and doesn't go on the sordid common hole were some people believe human lives are to be. ... Read more

Product Description
This Guitar Recorded Versions collection includes over 20 songs from Jeff Buckley, the enigmatic singer/songwriter whose untimely death has made his music even more intriguing. Titles include: Dream Brother * Eternal Life * Everybody Here Wants You * Grace * I Know We Could Be So Happy, Baby * I Woke Up in a Strange Place * Jewel Box * Last Goodbye * Mojo Pin * Opened Once * So Real * Vancouver * What Will You Say? * and more.Also available:A Wished-For Song: A Portrait of Jeff Buckley00330881 $30.00 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A good start, or a good clarification
First off, in regards to another review: "Hallelujah" is probably not included because Jeff didn't write that song - Leonard Cohen did. As Jeff fans know, he enjoyed covering songs, and there were a few covers on the album "Grace".

Second, most Jeff fans who play guitar have used OLGA or other sites to try to figure out the songs... and that may be enough for most of us. However, this sheet music is just what other fans have been waiting for - clarification of tabs, so we can attempt to get one step closer to capturing the magic of Jeff's music on our own instruments.

If you're a big Jeff fan - whether a musician or a collector - this is a great addition to your library.

Missing Some Elements
I got this book because I wanted a physical copy of expert transcriptions of my hero's works.On one level, I had hoped that it would include all of the Grace album as well as assorted other tracks.On the second point, it succeeds in spades; not so much is it accurate on the first count.

While it has most of his best-known songs ("Last Goodbye," "Grace," "Mojo Pin") and best songs ("Lover, You Should Have Come Over," "Morning Theft"), there's nothing for "Hallelujah."Most people can figure that song out on their own, but its omission puzzled me.Also, it would have been nice to have the melodica intro to "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" instead of just the guitar parts.

Even with those little snafus, it's an excellent source for playing Mr. Buckley's songs.It beats printing out tabs online, plus you can use the musical notation for practice if you're not familiar with it or are otherwise too lazy to learn.

Excellent Book
...A great book, a few corrections however, mostly just solved the problem by puting my pinkie on an unlisted note and walaa.
...I once gave this book a bad review, however it grew on me and is just a little hard, which is good cause I can still learn from it.
...One thing that sucks is it dose not have Demon John, Gunshot Glittler, Murder Meter Suicide Slave, or Thousand Fold on it and those are some of my favorite songs by the man.

GET THE BOOK

difficult for beginners
as a beginning guitarist, i found that this book wasn't nearly as easy to read as the other jeff buckley tab book "Jeff Buckley: Grace & Other Songs" (ISBN 0711977747). For example, each song should list ALL of the chords that are used in the song, not just some of them. Also, i found some of the fonts a little small and hard to read while playing. Perhaps a more advanced guitarist would have less trouble using this book.
However, I still give it 3 stars because there aren't many Jeff Buckley guitar tabs, so something is definitely better than nothing!

So much talent, so little time...
This collection gives an evenhanded overview of the two studio releases with the remaining near-third encompassing songs from his live and/or EP releases.As my 'neighbor up the road' has alluded, the alternate tunings certainly sheds light on some previously puzzling arrangements.Had to have this one as soon as I realized it had been published and only wish that this was a 6 or 7 album retrospective and that Jeff was still exploring the outer sonic boundaries of passion and 'Grace'...Play guitar?Love Jeff's music?Pick this one up, okay? ... Read more

Product Description
This Guitar Recorded Versions collection includes over 20 songs from Jeff Buckley, the enigmatic singer/songwriter whose untimely death has made his music even more intriguing. Titles include

Songs: Eternal Life : Morning Theft : Moodswing Whi ... Read more

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The highly acclaimed dual biography of father and son Tim and Jeff Buckley, two of the most enduring musical icons of the late 20th-centuryWhen Jeff Buckley drowned in 1997, the music world was shaken to its foundations, not least because of the echoes of his father Tim's demise. He too had been a brilliant and innovative musician with an extraordinary five-octave voice; and he too had died young, twenty-eight in fact, after an accidental drugs overdose.But there the similarities end. Jeff hardly knew Tim, spending little more than a few weeks with him as a boy. Their careers were very different, Tim releasing eight albums in his lifetime, including the beautiful HappySad and the extraordinary and still out-there Starsailor, while Jeff released just one -- the brilliant Grace, generally acknowledged as one of the great albums of the 1990s.More than just a biography of two musicians, Dream Brother is the story of what happens when The Business hooks up with The Artist, ultimately to neither's benefit. ... Read more

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Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: Grace, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, Live at Sin-É, Mystery White Boy, Jeff Buckley Live à L'olympia, So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley, Songs to No One 1991-1992, Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley, Live in Chicago, the Grace Eps, Live From the Bataclan. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 50. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: 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., it received wide critical 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. Buckley'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. 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. In 2003, the album was ranked number 303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, Mojo named Grace the #1 Modern Rock Classic of all Time. 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. In 2003, Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" was ranked #259 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest son...http://booksllc.net/?id=510308 ... Read more