Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Today I bought the expanded edition of Jeff Buckley's Grace album. One disk is the original album, the second disk is about an hours worth of extra songs from that time period, and the third disk is a dvd with "making of" footage as well as the videos from the album. Did I really need this? Probably not, but I guess it is nice to have some of this bonus material to pass the time with. I can say that I love this album, though I do not worship at its altar. I'm not not too keen on the deification of Buckley since his death and I suppose this repackaging lends itself to doing just that to a certain extent. I don't want to exalt him out of proportion, but I simply do love his voice. It is one of the most beautiful things you could hear in this world. I will also always remember Jeff Buckley for the great bass line in "Last Goodbye" as well as the lyrics to "Lover, You Should've Come Over." "My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder," indeed.
For some reason, when I first heard Jeff Buckley I was reminded of Gordon Sharp from the band Cindytalk. He's probably better known for his vocals on the first This Mortal Coil album and that is where I first heard him. They don't sound the same, but yet I still find them similar. I guess that might sound like a contradiction, but I stand by it. Buckley is the better singer technically of the two and it is interesting to compare their versions of Big Star's Kanga Roo. Gordon Sharp's is found on This Mortal Coil's first album and Buckley's is on the second disk of the expanded edition. To be honest I don't think either version holds a candle to Big Star's version, but I think that the This Mortal Coil version wins out over Buckley's. It is just more concise and seems to flow better to my ears and the emotional tone seems to be better maintained. Sharp's vocals on this album are really great, and it's a good album period. It was a real surprise to hear the first Cindytalk album and find out how abrasive the music and vocal approach was compared to This Mortal Coil.
There is also the coincidence of Elizabeth Fraser playing a role in both their lives. She was the singer in Cocteau Twins and she sings some songs off the first This Mortal Coil album, one of which is Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren." The way she sings is just as amazing as Jeff Buckley. Gordon Sharp sang some back up vocals on some early Cocteau Twins songs as well. I read an article in Mojo magazine where it mentioned that she had a relationship with Buckley and that is something I had never heard about and I wish I could find out more about it. I would have loved to hear them sing together.
For some reason, when I first heard Jeff Buckley I was reminded of Gordon Sharp from the band Cindytalk. He's probably better known for his vocals on the first This Mortal Coil album and that is where I first heard him. They don't sound the same, but yet I still find them similar. I guess that might sound like a contradiction, but I stand by it. Buckley is the better singer technically of the two and it is interesting to compare their versions of Big Star's Kanga Roo. Gordon Sharp's is found on This Mortal Coil's first album and Buckley's is on the second disk of the expanded edition. To be honest I don't think either version holds a candle to Big Star's version, but I think that the This Mortal Coil version wins out over Buckley's. It is just more concise and seems to flow better to my ears and the emotional tone seems to be better maintained. Sharp's vocals on this album are really great, and it's a good album period. It was a real surprise to hear the first Cindytalk album and find out how abrasive the music and vocal approach was compared to This Mortal Coil.
There is also the coincidence of Elizabeth Fraser playing a role in both their lives. She was the singer in Cocteau Twins and she sings some songs off the first This Mortal Coil album, one of which is Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren." The way she sings is just as amazing as Jeff Buckley. Gordon Sharp sang some back up vocals on some early Cocteau Twins songs as well. I read an article in Mojo magazine where it mentioned that she had a relationship with Buckley and that is something I had never heard about and I wish I could find out more about it. I would have loved to hear them sing together.
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