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 Buckley's greatest live performances miraculously saved from oblivion Sep 13, 2007
Fans have rightly complained about too many posthumous Jeff Buckley releases, but this import-only live album is something special. Buckley considered his Summer 1995 performances at the Paris venue L'Olympia, once the haunt of his idol Edith Piaf, to be among the best of his career. Incredibly, Buckley had a cassette tape of the performance which, except for a little hiss and some slightly unideal miking, sounds quite fine.
The first Buckley live release, MYSTERY WHITE BOY, was a mishmash of American concert dates. Though they show Buckley still in fine vocal form--by the L'Olympia dates his voice had been weakened from excessive smoking--the selections for that album are tame and unexciting. On the L'Olympia recordings, however, he really lets loose. The album starts with an extended version of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" that improves over even that on GRACE. The electric version of "Dream Brother" complements the album version well, and some added lyrics make its allusion to Jeff's father Tim Buckley all the more poignant. "Eternal Life" is played savagely, easily moving into a cover of MC5's "Kick Out the Jams". And the wild performance of "Grace" here lacks the control of the album, but goodness, he's doing such vocal acrobatics live!
There's also a great rapport between singer and crowd here. A brief break has Buckley playing Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" as if it were a 33 RPM record played at 45. In "Hallelujah", he makes a slight change in the lyrics to "I used to live with Leonard before I knew you." And, as insensitive as it might occasionally seem, Buckley taunts the crowd with mentions of Piaf and the little French he knows. And very touching is the way this crowd adored the singer. Buckley found instant fame abroad while he remained an underground figure in the US. At one moment Buckley has to interrupt his sound to say as if overwhelmed, "You people, you crazy people".
I suppose this album was import-only because MYSTERY WHITE BOY was selling sluggishly in the US and the label thought there was insufficient market for Buckley there. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the singer, you absolutely must seek this out.
Viva La France! Jan 10, 2007
Thoroughly enjoyable--it is evident by listening to this EP of the live concert in Paris that JB had the time of his life performing for his beloved french audience. Very original performance of some of his best material.
0 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Beautifully packaged album masks Buckley's disdain for some of songs Oct 11, 2006
I was not particularly aware of Buckley until I heard "Hallellujah" on a TV show. I bought this album since it had the longest version of the song on it, of any of his albums. What a disappointment. He seems to play it as a duty, showing little respect for a truly wonderful song.
He also sounded tired of some of the other songs, substituting loud sound for music.
On the other hand he covered "Grace" and "What will you say" beautifully. The album itself is a masterpiece of presentation, and I am keeping it for that reason, but will look to find a better version of him singing "Hallellujah."
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Fine live album, BUT... Aug 31, 2006
I grew up in NYC, and the east village was my place of choice to hang out. It was there that several times I caught Jeff Buckley playing live, including at Sin-e, well before his recordings were made; he was an entertaining and charismatic performer, to be sure. I was and remain a fan of his first full LP "Grace", a pretty, if slight album that does grow with each listen. His unfortunate death at such a young age is, of course, a tragic happenstance. But facts are facts; Jeff Buckley was a work in progress when he died. He had a long way to go, before he could live up to the "musical prodigy" hype that has been bestowed upon him by cultish, obsessive teen/twentysomething fans who have his posters adorning their walls. Like Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Tupac before him, Jeff Buckley has now joined the ranks of rock martyrdom, and is being eagerly milked by greedy record companies and sold to lonely, sensitive, misunderstood girls and boys who prefer relationships with dead icons over flesh and blood. Lets face it, if Jeff Buckley looked like "Skreech" from "Saved by The Bell", would anyone other than the extremely dedicated still be talking about "Grace" today? I am not knocking the artist, mind you, only those who milk the bones (record companies and fans, alike) of an artist who simply did not live long enough to fulfill his potential. Let the man RIP, already!
Incidentally, this is the best Jeff Buckley live album to get...
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
R.I.P. Jeff Buckley Feb 04, 2006
It has been 9 years since his death and record companies are still releasing some new stuff about him.This album is his third live album and for me it's the best.Although it was recorded from a casette found after his death,the sound is absolutely perfect and you can easily feel the atmosphere.This album was recorded on 6th and 7th of July 1995 at the Olympia Theatre in Paris in 2 soldout concerts and has 11 great songs featuring covers of the MC5's 'Kick out the jams' and Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir'.This is precious for any Jeff Buckley fan,but if you have no idea about him this is a good place to start.
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