by Chelsea Ives

Amidst the insurgence of the pop-rock-grunge-alternative music scene, Jeff Buckley was the steadfast stone against the current that was the onslaught of popular punk-rock music. While Greenday released their first major studio album, Dookie, and ushered a new era of pop-culture music, Buckley instead chose to be the resistance. Combating the music scene which threatened to be homogenized into the new and growing sound of grunge-punk, Buckley flooded the music scene with his original folk-rock songs and re-vamped versions of classics like Led Zepplin’s, “Night Flight”.

The most important aspect Buckley brought to the table was his incredible voice. Somehow both ephemeral and tangible at once; Buckley’s voice truly is angelic, and I understand where the title of the album comes from. The album opens with his original song, “Mojo Pin,” which features Buckley’s voice breaking through silence in a haunting and sublime interference, as the song fades in so slowly it is almost imperceptible at first, before building with Buckley’s vocals.

Buckley had a huge impact on the music scene in New York in 1994. Where other musicians had tried to kick off their career by doing covers of songs that were (already) over-done, trying to play them in the exact same way; Buckley shone through the masses like a lighthouse. His renditions of the same songs were always vastly different and always stimulating. Take for example his cover of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah”. Arguably a favourite to be covered by artists, all of them always sounding the same. Except of course, for Buckley’s version. Indeed, Buckley’s version of the song has come to be the most popular version of the song. Included as the sixth track on the Grace album, Buckley’s rendition of “Hallelujah,” could not be more different than Cohen’s. Where Cohen’s version is comprised of a heavy, jazzy-blues sound, Buckley turns “Hallelujah,” into a light, airy melody which truly gives the impression that he knows the secret chord.

Jeff Buckley’s album, Grace, is one that has stood the test of time, only becoming more popular since it’s release in 1994. Grace will continue to inspire for years to come.