Why is it that the best ones are always taken away?

That question lingers over Sketches For My Sweetheart the Drunk, a fitting eulogy to Jeff Buckley, an artist snatched away far before his prime. Listening to what's left of Buckley's art--- Sketches, his lone proper album Grace, and a smattering of live recordings--- to familiarize one's self with Buckley's work is to be awestruck by the sheer volume of this man's talent.

Whether wielding a guitar, a voice, or a pen, Jeff Buckley was an artist that could move in ways that few artists before or since have been able to. Fluid guitar playing was a crucial staple of Buckley's albums, and a testament to the vastness of his talent as a musician. Yet it's Buckley's *voice* that establishes him as undoubtedly one of the purest musicians around. Buckley sings--- or sang, as it were--- with an overwhelming passion, possessing the most soulful voice around, or at least the most soulful one that doesn't belong to a by-the-books "soul singer." The fervent ardor with which Buckley put so much of himself out there is almost overwhelming at times.

As a songwriter, Buckley's words went hand in hand with his voice. Neither his words or his voice would be as effective without the other as they are together. Again, Buckley's eagerness to let his emotions bleed, to let them run rampant throughout his gorgeous wordscapes can be startling. Musician's blood runs thick, as it did throughout Grace's indescribably beautiful, lush, crisp sound landscapes.

Yet, as Sketches indicates, Grace wasn't the pinnacle of Buckley's creativity. This, therefore, makes it all the more of a tragedy that Buckley perished in a 1997 drowning accident--- though any loss of life is tragic, that Buckley never hit that creative pinnacle makes it all the more unfortunate. Buckley's specter is all over Sketches, a two-disc collection of recordings somehow related to Buckley's ne'er-completed sophomore album, My Sweetheart the Drunk, culled, courtesy of his mother, Mary Guibert, from discarded tracks recorded with producer Tom Verlaine (of Television) and Buckley's own 4-track demos.

Although bittersweet, Sketches successfully avoids morose characterizations of Buckley as a perpetually depressed troubadour. There's little that's appropriately lachrymose or eerily prescient of Buckley's 1997 death. It is at the same time lighter and darker than Grace--- there's less of a dark, smoky vibe than that present on Grace; yet, Buckley's bittersweet essence presides over the proceedings, and any stray line that may potentially allude to death causes the listener to jump to conclusions, citing a creepy prescience that Buckley had about his demise. (Case in point: when Buckley repeats "you know damn well where you'll go" in "Nightmares By the Sea," it's jarring for that exact reason.)

Sketches marks a departure from Grace--- the lush, breathy soundscapes, carried along by Buckley's lilting croon and his peerless falsetto, are all but ditched in favor of similarly expressive rockers and, surprisingly, a few bouncier numbers. The jettisoned remains of his Tom Verlaine sessions, collected on the first disc, exhibit the broad scope that Buckley evidenced with Grace, while stripping down that record's glossy production. While the production didn't hinder the emotional impact of Grace one speck, it's interesting to hear Buckley in this setting, and it proves that Buckley's voice was far from a studio creation. (That is, assuming you haven't heard 2000's live compilation Mystery White Boy or Buckley's debut EP, Live At Sin-E.)

The songs themselves in some ways are even better than those on Grace. Buckley's take on Nymphs frontwoman Inger Lorre's "Yard of Blonde Girls" is the most exciting recording here, a chugging, invigorating rocker--- Buckley's inflection on the "very sexy" pre-chorus is impeccable. (Inger's version of "Yard" can be found on her solo album Transcendental Medications, along with a duet with Buckley, "Thief Without the Take.") The crashing, haunting "Nightmares By the Sea" is a decidedly faster Grace-ish rocker, along the lines of "Grace," perhaps, or "Eternal Life."

The vitriol of "The Sky is a Landfill," a socio-political diatribe, is a stone that went unturned during the songwriting sessions for Grace, and the smoky groove of "Everybody Here Wants You" testifies to Buckley's broad scope and musical influences. Chilling disc one closer "You & I" recalls Buckley's earlier album, as does the elegance of "Morning Theft," but the mid-tempo bounce of the quirky "Witches' Rave" is something new and exciting.

Disc two is the raw one--- while the first disc explored finished tunes that Buckley just didn't feel were up to snuff, the second uncovers a number of solo demos, among other interesting nuggets. Remixes of "Nightmares By the Sea" and "New Years' Prayer" lead off the disc. They're not entirely different from their disc one counterparts--- in fact, while I appreciate the second version of "New Years' Prayer" to an extent, the only discernable difference between the two versions of "Nightmares" is album placement, and the only purpose of the second version is to, if you're listening to the album straight through, get the chance to hear the great "Nightmares" again.

Buckley's 4-track demos are where Sketches leaves something to be desired. They're well-done, and I respect Guibert's decision to leave the recordings untouched, but some of these tunes could have used a little polishing. They seem unfinished and, at times, abrasive. Nevertheless, the songs are great. "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave," one of the rawest tracks here, could certainly benefit from a full-band treatment, as could Buckley's woefully overlong take on Genesis' "Back In NYC." "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted To Be)" is a wonderful recording, and the relentlessly randy "Your Flesh Is So Nice" is an amusing glimpse of Buckley's less serious side. And, while "Haven't You Heard" is highly overrated full-band outtake--- I refer to it as "overrated" because the entire band unanimously touts this one as their best performance of the sessions for Sweetheart--- the last two tracks on Sketches all but redeem the collection as a whole: "Jewel Box" is one of the most gorgeous things Buckley ever touched, and his cover of "Satisfied Mind"... oye!

As with Grace, three Buckley covers--- two of them, as with Grace, recorded as solo vocal-and-guitar pieces--- appear on Sketches. It's his beautiful closing take on Porter Wagoner's "Satisfied Mind" that impresses the most--- it soars even more than his ballsy, seminal reworking of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" from Grace. And while both "Lilac Wine" and Benjamin Brittan's hymnlike "Corpus Christi Carol" (both from Grace) are far more listenable than his abrasive Genesis remake, it's hard to top his take on the aforementioned "Yard of Blonde Girls."

Sketches For My Sweetheart the Drunk is one of the most vital, most necessary posthumous releases of any artist. It broadens the scope of the already-great Grace, and showcases the talent of an artist ripped from the pop landscape far too early. The one thing it doesn't do is satiate the appetite of Buckley fans. Hopefully, his upcoming collection of early demos well help that along, although, for an artist of such prodigeous talent, it's unlikely anybody will have their fill of his music. As more b-sides, demos, and live performances exist, let's hope that Mary Guibert continues to rummage through Buckley's back catalogue--- until then, Sketches cements his legacy quite nicely.





Recommended: Yes