Grace | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 15, 1994 | |||
Recorded | Late 1993 – 1994 | |||
Studio | Bearsville, Woodstock, New York | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:48 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Andy Wallace, Jeff Buckley ("So Real") | |||
Jeff Buckley chronology | ||||
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Singles from Grace | ||||
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Grace is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, released on August 15, 1994 in Europe and on August 23, 1994 in the United States by Columbia Records. The album had poor sales and received mixed reviews at the time of its release.[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 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 8× platinum in Australia. The album has been cited by critics and listeners as one of the greatest albums of all time.[5]
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.[6]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Chicago Tribune | [8] |
Entertainment Weekly | A+[9] |
The Guardian | [10] |
NME | 9/10[11] |
Q | [12] |
Rolling Stone | [13] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
Select | 4/5[15] |
The Village Voice | C[16] |
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.[17][18] In 2003, the album was ranked number 303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[19] and 304 in a 2012 revised list, and later 147 in the 2020 list.[20][21] In 2006, Mojo named Grace the No. 1 Modern Rock Classic of All Time.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] VH1 also rated the album No. 73 on its "100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll" show/list.[25] It was voted number 99 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[26] 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.[27] Jimmy Page considered Grace close to being his "favorite album of the decade".[28] Robert Plant was also complimentary,[29] 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."[30] Others who had influenced Buckley's music lauded him:[31] Bob Dylan named Buckley "one of the great songwriters of this decade",[29] 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."[32]
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.[33]
On 2 April 2014, it was announced that Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" would be inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry; the entire album has yet to be inducted.[34]
In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Grace at number 26 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[35]
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Entertainment Weekly | United States | Best 10 Albums of the Year[36] | 1994 | 6 |
Eye Weekly | Canada | Best 30 Albums of the Year[37] | 1994 | 4 |
Juice | Australia | 100 Greatest Albums of the 90s[38] | 1999 | 10 |
Les Inrockuptibles | France | Best 25 Albums of the Year[39] | 1994 | 14 |
Melody Maker | United Kingdom | Best 50 Albums of the Year[40] | 1994 | 9 |
Mojo | United Kingdom | Best 25 Albums of the Year[41] | 1994 | 1 |
NME | United Kingdom | Best 50 Albums of the Year[42] | 1994 | 21 |
The Wire | United Kingdom | 50 Records of the Year (1994)[43] | 1995 | 32 |
Pitchfork | United States | Top 100 Albums of the 90's | 2003 | 69 |
Platendraaier | The Netherlands | Top 30 Albums of the 90s[44] | 2015 | 7 |
Q | United Kingdom | Best Albums of the Year[45] | 1994 | * |
Reissues of the Year[46] | 2004 | * | ||
Rocksound | United Kingdom | Best 50 Albums of the Year[47] | 1994 | 2 |
Rolling Stone | United States | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[48][49][50][51] | 2003 | 303 |
2012 | 304 | |||
2020 | 147 | |||
2023 | 147 | |||
The Essential Alternative Recordings of the 90s[52] | — | * | ||
Select | United Kingdom | Best 50 Albums of the Year[53] | 1994 | 41 |
Technikart | France | Best 5 Albums of the Year[54] | 1994 | 2 |
The Face | United Kingdom | Best 30 Albums of the Year[55] | 1994 | 18 |
The Guardian | United Kingdom | Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever[56] | 1999 | 15 |
1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die[56] | 2007 | * | ||
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | United States | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[57] | 2010 | * |
* denotes an unranked list.
Four proper singles were released from the album, along with additional editions, two posthumous releases, and promo-only releases (see also: The Grace EPs).
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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.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mojo Pin" | 5:42 | |
2. | "Grace" |
| 5:22 |
3. | "Last Goodbye" | Jeff Buckley | 4:35 |
4. | "Lilac Wine" | James Shelton | 4:32 |
5. | "So Real" |
| 4:43 |
6. | "Hallelujah" | Leonard Cohen | 6:53 |
7. | "Lover, You Should've Come Over" | Jeff Buckley | 6:43 |
8. | "Corpus Christi Carol" |
| 2:56 |
9. | "Eternal Life" | Jeff Buckley | 4:52 |
10. | "Dream Brother" |
| 5:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Forget Her" | Jeff Buckley | 5:13 |
To promote Buckley's 1995 Australian tour, a two-CD edition was issued. It featured the following songs on the second disc:
Grace (Legacy Edition) | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | August 23, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 1993–94 | |||
Length | 117:00 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | George Marino (executive) | |||
Jeff Buckley chronology | ||||
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Singles from Grace (Legacy Edition) | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Blender | [60] |
Mojo | [61] |
Pitchfork | 9.0/10[4] |
Q | [62] |
Stylus Magazine | A−[63] |
Uncut | [64] |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Forget Her" | Jeff Buckley | 5:12 |
2. | "Dream Brother" (Alternate Take) | Buckley, Grøndahl, Johnson | 4:56 |
3. | "Lost Highway" | Leon Payne | 4:24 |
4. | "Alligator Wine" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 3:21 |
5. | "Mama, You Been on My Mind" | Bob Dylan | 3:26 |
6. | "Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues" | Bukka White, Robert Johnson | 6:20 |
7. | "The Other Woman" | Jessie Mae Robinson | 3:05 |
8. | "Kanga-Roo" | Alex Chilton | 14:14 |
9. | "I Want Someone Badly" (with Shudder to Think) | Nathan Larson | 2:36 |
10. | "Eternal Life" (Road Version) | Buckley | 4:50 |
11. | "Kick Out the Jams" (Live) | Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Dennis Thompson, Rob Tyner | 3:05 |
12. | "Dream Brother" (Nag Champa Mix) | Buckley, Grøndahl, Johnson | 5:24 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Strawberry Street[A]" | Buckley, Andrew Goodsight, John McNally | 5:26 |
No. | Title | Directed by | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Making of Grace" (documentary video) | Ernie Fritz | |
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 |
Credits adapted from Grace's liner notes.[65]
Additional Performers
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Technical Personnel
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Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[79] | 8× Platinum | 560,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[80] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[81] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[82] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Italy (FIMI)[83] | Platinum | 50,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[84] | 2× Platinum | 600,000* |
United States (RIAA)[86] | Platinum | 1,060,000[85] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[87] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Release date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom, Europe[88] | August 15, 1994 |
|
Columbia Records (Sony) |
United States[88] | August 23, 1994 | CD | |
Compact cassette | |||
Vinyl | |||
MiniDisc | |||
Promo cassette | |||
Japan[88] | September 1, 1994 | CD | |
Australia[88] | September 19, 1994 | CD | |
Worldwide[89][90] | August 23, 2004 | Legacy Edition (2×CD+DVD) |
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
After he signed with Columbia in the fall of 1992, Jeff treated himself to a few pieces of gear—a new acoustic guitar, a small amp, and, seen here, a used harmonium. A portable keyboard operated by way of a pump that pushes air into it, the harmonium is prevalent in Qawwali, the South Asian devotional music that made such an impression on Jeff when he first came to New York. Part of Jeff's devotion to Qawwali involved learning how to play the instrument, which can be heard on the introduction of "Lover, You Should've Come Over (as well as on a cover of Van Morrison's "Madame George" cut during his 1993 session with producer Steve Addabbo). He also purchased language tapes to properly learn Urdu. Jeff could be seen walking around New York with this harmonium under his arm, wrapped in a blanket.