 Tracks:
Hymne à l'Amour
How Long Will It Take
Mojo Pin
Song To No One
Grace
Satisfied Mind
Cruel
She Is Free
Harem Man
Malign Fiesta (No Soul)"
Grace
Notes taken from jeffbuckley.com:
one of the most explosive and experimental of Jeff Buckley's life up to that point. The preceding LA years had been dominated by efforts to hone his considerable guitar chops and embryonic songwriting efforts ("Eternal Life" and "Unforgiven" [a.k.a. "Last Goodbye"], early "Mojo Pin" lyrics), and collaborations with other musicians, creating a variety of musical projects of genre-spanning esthetics. Though we could only suspect it at the time, the penultimate moment of revelation came on the stage of St. Ann's performance space in Brooklyn, New York, at the tribute concert to his father, Tim, in April 1991. Jeff's solo performances of "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" and "Once I Was" stunned the audience, and brought him to the attention of some very important people in attendance that night, including ex-Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, also performing in the tribute. Jeff walked away with his pockets stuffed with business cards. What few knew or saw was that St. Ann's was also the scene of perhaps the most important moment in Jeff's life - when he met Rebecca Moore, then working as St. Ann's production assistant. A multi-talented artist in her own right, she became the love of Jeff's life, the spark that ignited a profound transformation. More than any other motive, it was to be with her that he made the permanent move to New York City in the fall of 1991, just in time to celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday. Rebecca introduced Jeff to a circle of poets, composers, actors, artists, musicians, and playwrights. Ensconced in his new surroundings, he performed in an eclectic assortment of projects and found himself at ease with a new set of friends he lovingly described as "intoxicated by their own eccentricity". He also started singing like he had never sung before. It was during this period that he found his voice - the voice he'd tried to deny as a teenager, and now dared to take possession of on his own terms.
Whatever self-consciousness had held him back before dissolved into thin air. He was on fire, very much in love, and deliriously happy.
Accepting the invitation to join the Gods & Monsters project, created in 1989 as a performance vehicle for Gary Lucas and a changing list of side artists, was for Jeff a chance to be seen and heard in the downtown music scene of Manhattan - an opportunity to join forces with a formidable talent. Jeff dove into the challenge of transforming some of Gary's instrumental compositions into sing-able songs with soaring melodies and penetrating lyrics [tracks 3,4,5,7,8,9,11] - the two most notable results being the songs "Grace" and "Mojo Pin", both of which appeared on the only full length Jeff Buckley album released during his lifetime, GRACE (Columbia-1994), which is listed among VH1's "100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll".
Though comprised of truly fine musicians, this incarnation of Gods & Monsters never quite "jelled". When the first choice of sidemen didn't work for Jeff, Gary hired Tony Maimone & Anton Fier. Then, Jeff declined signing a partnership agreement with Gary that would have prevented either partner from taking on any outside projects without the approval of the other. This was too confining for the younger man, just beginning to plumb the depths of his own talents. On March 13th, 1992, Gods & Monsters performed at St. Ann's, which was a tacit showcase for Imago Records, whose reps were in attendance. Though the audience was enthusiastic, the contention between Jeff's vocals and the other instruments was overwhelming. To make matters worse, the following Monday, the New York Times published a lukewarm review of the show. Jeff's discomfort with the situation came to a head on the night of a G&M gig at Knitting Factory on March 22. Jeff had recently informed Gary he wanted to leave the band and the tension between the two was palpable enough that more than one observer made note of the effect. To their credit, in spite of their personal issues, Jeff and Gary performed with unusual abandon that night. The three best moments of that gig are represented on this album [tracks 6, 7, 10], thanks to Nick Hill and WFMU. At the end of the G&M set, when the rest of the band left the stage, Jeff stayed behind to sing a surprise solo encore. It was an audacious act - a spur-of-the-moment emancipation proclamation. However stimulating the collaboration with Gary might have been for Jeff, however much he respected his friend, the desire to be his own man, to come into his own, proved far more powerful.
If not for Jeff's untimely death in 1997, the source recordings for this album might never have been considered for commercial release. On the other hand, they are, along with the archival ephemerae gathered by his estate, the vibrant remains of a phenomenal soul in transition - a life that was so very promising, inspirational, and excruciatingly brief. That fact alone gives us good reason to listen.
TRACK LISTING
"Hymne à l'Amour" - duet; rehearsal tape; recorded at Lucas residence, New York City; 2/92 * 11:30
"How Long Will It Take" - duet; soundboard tape; recorded at CBGB's, New York City; 4/23/92 * 5:17
"Mojo Pin" - duet; soundboard tape; recorded at the Knitting Factory, New York City; 4/18/92 * 5:44
"Song To No One" - duet; rehearsal tape; recorded at Lucas residence, New York City; 10/91 * 3:41
"Grace" - band; studio demo, recorded at Krypton Studios, New York City; 8/17/91 ** 4:15
"Satisfied Mind" - solo; live broadcast from the Knitting Factory on Nicholas Hill's Music Faucet, WFMU; 3/22/92 **** 3:24
"Cruel" - band; live broadcast from the Knitting Factory on Nicholas Hill's Music Faucet, WFMU; 3/22/92 *** 5:29
"She Is Free" - duet; rehearsal tape; recorded at Lucas residence, New York City; 1/92 ***** 4:30
"Harem Man" - duet; rehearsal tape; recorded at Lucas residence, New York City; 1/92 * 5:45
"Malign Fiesta (No Soul)" - band; live broadcast from the Knitting Factory on Nicholas Hill's Music Faucet, WFMU; 3/22/92 *** 4:21
"Grace" - duet; soundboard tape; recorded at club Roulette, New York City; 4/5/92 * 6:27
|
 A
five CD (EP) set from around the world, includes 2 EPs never commercially
released.
19 tracks in total
including 12 versions never available on album
Over 2 hours of music with new liner notes
Track Listing
Disc 1
1 Mojo Pin
2 Dream Brother (Nag Champa Mix)
3 Kanga-Roo
Disc 2
1 So Real (Live)
2 Grace (Live)
3 Dream Brother (Live)
Disc 3
1 Dream Brother (Live)
2 The Way Young Lovers Do (Live)
3 Je N'En Connais La Fin/Hymne A L'Amour (Live)
4 Hallelujah (Live)
Disc 4
1 Grace (Album Edit)
2 Grace (Live)
3 Mojo Pin (Live)
4 Hallelujah (Live)
5 Tongue (Rehearsal Demo)
Disc 5
1 Last Goodbye (Edit)
2 Mojo Pin (Live "Chocolate Version")
3 Kanga-Roo
4 Lost Highway (Live)
|