Chooned in: He gave us grace

Most people have heard the song, ‘Hallelujah’, through the years, but nobody sings the Leonard Cohen-penned classic like Jeff Buckley.

‘Hallelujah’ is a part of one of the greatest collections of songs ever recorded, in my opinion, and it takes pride of place in Jeff Buckley’s only studio album, ‘Grace’.

Buckley died at the tender age of 27, meaning that this is the only studio-recorded work from this supremely talented singer-songwriter.

The album needs no introduction to many, but to others who may have only heard Hallelujah, I implore you to stop what you’re doing, turn around, put on your headphones, and listen to this album.

Buckley is a unique talent who blended his influences perfectly.

The sound of late analogue recording of the ‘90s and grunge-like guitar tones shine through on this masterpiece.

It was very hard to compile a list of highlights as every track is unskippable.

I would say, however, that my personal highlight is the song, ‘Last Goodbye’. It’s iconic, and showcases everything that makes Buckley special.

It’s not often you come away from a song humming the bass line, but the opening part of this song, ever-present and weaving, is so memorable.

Buckley’s voice, too, is perfect; with notes ranging from low-to-high, and into an incredible incendiary falsetto tone.

Building to a spectacular end, it crescendos to an epic conclusion, before gently fading away.

However, Buckley is best known for his transcendent cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.

Ironically, it was but an afterthought on a later lesser-known Cohen album before Buckley got his hands on it.

His version turned it into a modern classic.

And while it has been covered hundreds of times, Buckley’s is considered the seminal version of the song.

It is such a pity that Buckley did not record more music in his career.

But, this album shows the potential he had, and this album will forever be a classic.