Covers from Jeff Buckley
image courtesy of Merri Cyr, 1995
Besides Grace, which was Jeff Buckley’s only officially completed album, the legacy of songs and material that remain comes mainly from his incredible live shows which consisted of playing various covers from a vast array of artists. His vocal range was such that he took on many songs from powerful female singers. Many times, he took the originals and made them his own, as is the case with his version of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Here are some unique covers with the originals, or the version that he was inspired by. He has inspired, and continues to inspire other artists, as is the case with Radiohead.
from the recent Word magazine interview with Radiohead:
It’s funny how their own records are often punctuated by seeing other bands, he (Colin Greenwood) says. “Making The Bends in spring 1994, we were having a crap day in the studio so John Leckie said, ‘Come on, let’s go and see Jeff Buckley at the Garage.’ Then we went back to the studio and Thom recorded Fake Plastic Trees straight away. It was genuinely, properly inspiring.”
Bob Dylan – Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind – this track is from the Bootleg series
Jeff Buckley – Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind – from the Grace Legacy Edition
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Nina Simone – Lilac Wine – from the 1966 Wild Is The Wind album.
Jeff Buckley – Lilac Wine (Live)- from the Palais Theatre in Melbourne Australia, on the Mystery White Boy release. a great slowed down version of the song.
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Big Star – Kangaroo – written by Alex Chilton who also inspired Paul Westerberg from the Replacements to write the song Alex Chilton from the excellent Pleased To Meet Me album.
Jeff Buckley – Kangaroo (Live) – live form the Logo Club in Hamburg Germany. recorded February 22, 1995
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Van Morrison – The Way Young Lovers Do (Live) - live from the Fillmore in San Francisco, recorded 4/26/1970 (((link removed at the request of the publisher)))
Jeff Buckley – The Way Young Lovers Do (Live)- from the Live From The Bataclan (Paris) release. he takes the original jazzy version of the song and turns it into bluesy guitar fueled rant.
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Genesis – Back in N.Y.C. (demo #4) – from 1974, a demo of this track from the classic Lamb Lies Down On Broadway release. this was the period when Peter Gabriel fronted the band.
Jeff Buckley – Back In N.Y.C. – a demo from the Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk release.
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Nina Simone – The Twelfth Of Never (Live) – from the out of print Nina Simone At Carnegie Hall. Buckley covered more tracks by Nina Simone than any other artist. I think he related to the soulfulness and the unique phrasing from her voice.
Jeff Buckley – The Twelfth Of Never (Live) - from Live At Sin-e´. he rarely altered Nina Simone’s version of the songs.
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For more Buckley stuff, click HERE
