Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Jeff Buckley - Grace
There are albums that touch me in such a deeply personal way that I try and convince everybody that they must hear it. Jeff Buckley's Grace is one of those albums.
Through this blog, I not only hope to expose you to some good music, give you my opinion, but also share with you a little about me and how music is such a part of my life.
As for the "and More" part ... not sure what that's going to be yet. Just an indication that some entries could have nothing to do with music. Just reserving myself the right to write about a movie, a book, an experience or even a Disneyland Fireworks show that brings out emotions in me.
So with that introduction out of the way, how about we get to the album.
For those of you familiar with the album, you may be wondering why I'm talking about an album that is 15 years old. Well admittedly, I only heard the album for the first time about 3 months ago.
It was one of those albums that I heard so much about through the years, from friends, magazine articles and even books, but never got around to getting. It wasn't until my 2nd read-through of Neil Peart's (drummer/lyricist for Rush) book "Traveling Music", about music that influenced his life that I finally decided to check the album out for myself.
Part of me feels cheated that I missed out on 15 years of hearing this absolute masterpiece (that has a rock-solid place in my top 10 albums EVER). But another part of me feels that I may not have "gotten it" 15 years ago. I'm not sure I would have heard the magic of the album, the raw emotion, the sadness, the love that Jeff put into it. I was in a VERY different place at the age of "just" 19 than I am at the age of 34 (duh).
At 19 I hadn't felt the joy of being a husband or father, the heartache of losing a loved one far too young or most of the trials and tribulations that come with simply living life.
At 34 I have enjoyed 14 years of being married to an amazing woman, had the joy of my two amazing kids, felt the unimaginable pain of losing a beloved niece and father in-law when they were far too young and of course, all of the other things that life throws at you for good or ill.
To be able to re-discover something for the first time, 15 years after it was made, and have it feel so current and bring out such emotion in me is a rare thing indeed.
From the opening track to the final note on Forget Her, there is not one weak song on this album. From original tracks to covers such as Lilac Wine, Corpus Christi Carol and the most amazing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" ever.
Grace is one of a few albums that literally gives me chills when I'm listening to it, and more than once. And not that you could ever re-create anything so amazing, but I'd LOVE to hear Adam Lambert do a cover of the title song "Grace" as he's probably one of VERY few people who could hit the high notes and make them sound good.
To say that I recommend this album is probably over-stating the obvious. I realize most music that I listen to is probably not for everybody, but this is one that I really hope everybody tries out at least once.
Next time: Bowling for Soup's "Sorry for Partyin'". A very recent discovery for me thanks to some friends who won't shut up about them. (you know who you are).
Through this blog, I not only hope to expose you to some good music, give you my opinion, but also share with you a little about me and how music is such a part of my life.
As for the "and More" part ... not sure what that's going to be yet. Just an indication that some entries could have nothing to do with music. Just reserving myself the right to write about a movie, a book, an experience or even a Disneyland Fireworks show that brings out emotions in me.
So with that introduction out of the way, how about we get to the album.
For those of you familiar with the album, you may be wondering why I'm talking about an album that is 15 years old. Well admittedly, I only heard the album for the first time about 3 months ago.
It was one of those albums that I heard so much about through the years, from friends, magazine articles and even books, but never got around to getting. It wasn't until my 2nd read-through of Neil Peart's (drummer/lyricist for Rush) book "Traveling Music", about music that influenced his life that I finally decided to check the album out for myself.
Part of me feels cheated that I missed out on 15 years of hearing this absolute masterpiece (that has a rock-solid place in my top 10 albums EVER). But another part of me feels that I may not have "gotten it" 15 years ago. I'm not sure I would have heard the magic of the album, the raw emotion, the sadness, the love that Jeff put into it. I was in a VERY different place at the age of "just" 19 than I am at the age of 34 (duh).
At 19 I hadn't felt the joy of being a husband or father, the heartache of losing a loved one far too young or most of the trials and tribulations that come with simply living life.
At 34 I have enjoyed 14 years of being married to an amazing woman, had the joy of my two amazing kids, felt the unimaginable pain of losing a beloved niece and father in-law when they were far too young and of course, all of the other things that life throws at you for good or ill.
To be able to re-discover something for the first time, 15 years after it was made, and have it feel so current and bring out such emotion in me is a rare thing indeed.
From the opening track to the final note on Forget Her, there is not one weak song on this album. From original tracks to covers such as Lilac Wine, Corpus Christi Carol and the most amazing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" ever.
Grace is one of a few albums that literally gives me chills when I'm listening to it, and more than once. And not that you could ever re-create anything so amazing, but I'd LOVE to hear Adam Lambert do a cover of the title song "Grace" as he's probably one of VERY few people who could hit the high notes and make them sound good.
To say that I recommend this album is probably over-stating the obvious. I realize most music that I listen to is probably not for everybody, but this is one that I really hope everybody tries out at least once.
Next time: Bowling for Soup's "Sorry for Partyin'". A very recent discovery for me thanks to some friends who won't shut up about them. (you know who you are).
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