While up late one night a few weeks ago, insomnia and my cable provider came together and gifted me this gem. A Jeff Buckley live performance of "Last Goodbye", recorded here in Chicago back in 1995. It was a great reminder of just what an incomparable talent Buckley was. The man could sing 3.5- 4 octaves without going into falsetto. Ridiculous! Hearing that ability combine with the passion of his performances can raise the hair on the back of your neck.
It seems so strange to me that it has been 16 years since his death, and nearly 20 years since his only studio album, Grace, was released. It was also crazy to learn that Buckley didn't die from an overdose, as was so widely rumored back in the day. As it turns out, he drowned in Wolf River Harbor, a channel of the Mississippi, on May 29th, 1997. He was last seen swimming in the channel, wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus to "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. His body was found two days later. He had gone swimming there many times before, and an autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol. He was only 30 years old. A tragic ending for such a young and promising artist.
So, as a bit of a trip down memory lane I thought I would see what other great Buckley performances I could find out there in the electronic ether. Here you will find a playlist of six live performances: "Last Goodbye"; "Hallelujah"; "Lover, You Should've Come Over"; "Sweet Thing" ; "I Shall Be Released"; and "Grace". All of these are worth a full listen, but I am particularly fond of the recordings of "Hallelujah" (listen for the sound engineer's reaction at the end) and "I Shall be Released" (a strange live radio interview followed by a stunning over-the-phone performance).
