Grace (Jeff Buckley album)

Grace is the first and only studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, released on August 23, 1994 by Columbia Records. The album initially had poor sales and received mixed reviews,[4] however in recent years it has dramatically risen in critical reputation. An extended version of the album (subtitled "Legacy Edition"), celebrating its tenth anniversary, was released on August 23, 2004 and peaked at number 44 in the UK.

Grace
Studio album by
Jeff Buckley
ReleasedAugust 23, 1994 (1994-08-23)
RecordedLate 1993 – 1994
StudioBearsville, Woodstock, New York
Genre
Length51:43
LabelColumbia
ProducerAndy Wallace
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live at Sin-é
(1993)		 Grace
(1994)		 Live from the Bataclan
(1995)
Singles from Grace
  1. "Grace"
    Released: August 1994
  2. "Last Goodbye"
    Released: January 1995
  3. "So Real"
    Released: June 1995
  4. "Eternal Life"
    Released: August 1995
  5. "Forget Her"
    Released: August 2004 (from the Legacy Edition)
  6. "Hallelujah"
    Released: May 2007

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 7x platinum in Australia. The album has been cited by critics and listeners as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Music

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.[5]

Critical reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Chicago Tribune[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA+[8]
The Guardian[9]
NME9/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Select4/5[14]
The Village VoiceC[15]

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.[16][17] In 2003, the album was ranked number 303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[18] and 304 in a 2012 revised list.[19] In 2006, Mojo named Grace the No. 1 Modern Rock Classic of All Time.[20] 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.[21] In 2003, Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was ranked No. 259 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[22] VH1 also rated the album No. 73 on its "100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll" show/list.[23] It was voted number 99 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[24] Larkin stated "his music achieved a perfection that was staggering for a debut album."

Grace won appreciation from a host of revered musicians and artists, including members of Buckley's biggest influence, Led Zeppelin.[25] Jimmy Page considered Grace close to being his "favorite album of the decade".[26] Robert Plant was also complimentary,[27] as was Brad Pitt, saying of Buckley's work, "There's an undercurrent to his music, there's something you can't pinpoint. Like the best of films, or the best of art, there's something going on underneath, and there's a truth there. And I find his stuff absolutely haunting. It just... it's under my skin."[28] Others who had influenced Buckley's music lauded him:[29] Bob Dylan named Buckley "one of the great songwriters of this decade",[27] and David Bowie considered Grace to be the best album ever made, and had said it would be one of his ten "Desert Island Records."[30]

In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organised a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and Grace was placed at No. 23 on the list.[31]

In 2012, Radio Eksen, a Turkish radio channel ranked Grace No. 3 in its list named Last 20 Year's Best Albums.

On 2 April 2014 it was announced that Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" would be inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.[32]

In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Grace at number 26 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[33]

Use in film and television

"Hallelujah" remains one of Buckley's most well-known and critically acclaimed 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 Longmire.

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Entertainment Weekly United States Best 10 Albums of the Year[34] 1994 6
Eye Weekly Canada Best 30 Albums of the Year[35] 1994 4
Juice Australia 100 Greatest Albums of the 90s[36] 1999 10
Les Inrockuptibles France Best 25 Albums of the Year[37] 1994 14
Melody Maker United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[38] 1994 9
Mojo United Kingdom Best 25 Albums of the Year[39] 1994 1
NME United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[40] 1994 21
The Wire United Kingdom 50 Records of the Year (1994)[41] 1995 32
Pitchfork Media United States Top 100 Albums of the 90's 2003 69
Platendraaier The Netherlands Top 30 Albums of the 90s[42] 2015 7
Q United Kingdom Best Albums of the Year[43] 1994 *
Reissues of the Year[44] 2004 *
Rocksound United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[45] 1994 2
Rolling Stone United States The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[46][47] 2012 304
The Essential Alternative Recordings of the 90s[48] — *
Select United Kingdom Best 50 Albums of the Year[49] 1994 41
Technikart France Best 5 Albums of the Year[50] 1994 2
The Face United Kingdom Best 30 Albums of the Year[51] 1994 18
The Guardian United Kingdom Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever[52] 1999 15
1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die[52] 2007 *
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[53] 2010 *

* 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" (August 1994)
  • "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
  • "Forget Her" (August 2004)
  • "Hallelujah" (May 2007)

Track listing
Original track listing[54]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mojo Pin"
5:42
2."Grace"
  • Jeff Buckley
  • Gary Lucas
5:22
3."Last Goodbye"Jeff Buckley[55]4:35
4."Lilac Wine"James Shelton4:32
5."So Real"
4:43
6."Hallelujah"Leonard Cohen6:53
7."Lover, You Should've Come Over"Jeff Buckley6:43
8."Corpus Christi Carol"
2:56
9."Eternal Life"Jeff Buckley4:52
10."Dream Brother"
5:26
Posthumous releases additional tracks[56]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Forget Her"Jeff Buckley5:13

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, 22 February 1995
  3. "Grace" – live at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 4 March 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
ReleasedAugust 23, 2004
Recorded1993–94
Length117:00
LabelColumbia
ProducerGeorge 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
SourceRating
Blender[57]
Mojo[58]
Pitchfork9.0/10[4]
Q[59]
Stylus MagazineA−[60]
Uncut[61]

Track listing
  • Disc one: Remastered edition of the original 10-track album.
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Forget Her"Jeff Buckley5:12
2."Dream Brother" (Alternate Take)Buckley, Grøndahl, Johnson4:56
3."Lost Highway"Leon Payne4:24
4."Alligator Wine"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller3:21
5."Mama, You Been on My Mind"Bob Dylan3:26
6."Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues"Bukka White, Robert Johnson6:20
7."The Other Woman"Jessie Mae Robinson3:05
8."Kanga-Roo"Alex Chilton14:14
9."I Want Someone Badly" (with Shudder to Think)Nathan Larson2:36
10."Eternal Life" (Road Version)Buckley4:50
11."Kick Out the Jams" (Live)Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Dennis Thompson, Rob Tyner3:05
12."Dream Brother" (Nag Champa Mix)Buckley, Grøndahl, Johnson5:24
Bonus track on international CD editions
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Strawberry Street[upper-alpha 1]"Buckley, Andrew Goodsight, John McNally5:26
DVD
No.TitleDirected byLength
1."The Making of Grace" (documentary video)  
2."Grace" (music video)Ernie Fritz 
3."Last Goodbye" (music video)John Jesurun 
4."So Real" (music video)Sophie Muller 
5."Eternal Life" (music video)Gary Fisher 
6."Forget Her" (music video)Ernie Fritz 

Personnel

Credits adapted from Grace's liner notes.[62]

Music credits
Technical personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[73] 7× Platinum 490,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[74] Gold 50,000
France (SNEP)[75] 2× Gold 474,900[76]*
Italy (FIMI)[77] Platinum 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[79] Platinum 1,060,000[80]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[81] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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[82] August 15, 1994
Columbia Records (Sony)
United States[82] August 23, 1994 CD
Compact cassette
Vinyl
MiniDisc
Promo cassette
Japan[82] September 1, 1994 CD
Australia[82] September 19, 1994 CD
Worldwide[83][84] August 23, 2004 Legacy Edition (2×CD+DVD)

Notes
  1. Does not appear listed on the back cover, but is credited in the CD's accompanying booklet. A previously unreleased song, appears here in a rehearsal recording from the Knitting Factory in May 1993, with the Washington Squares' frontman Tom Goodkind on bass guitar.

References
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