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 Life's too short Nov 25, 2008
The startling beauty in this piece is its fragility. It plays, if one can say so, like a quiet evening amongst close friends, where little is forced, and the occasional silences come to play as well as the impromptu jokes, allowing one ephemeral moment to blend within the next, permitting an occasional smile from the listeners. I have found myself listening to this amazing collection on repeat, making my way through the day, occasionally losing myself in work only to be drawn back by a certain song or joke. It is all the more powerful because it does not play like a collection of individual pieces, but like Grace, with an incredible unity - a harder feat here I believe, given the length of this collection. Buckley's occasional commentary, jokes, and imitations (which have been commented on by other reviewers - my favorite is the Jim Morrison) give those who are already fans of his small body of music, another confirmation of his rarity, and our loss. The few covers included here also permit one to delve in a little deeper than most studio albums will also allow. Indeed, some of these are so remarkably captured by Buckley that I would not have been surprised if, not having heard some of them before, someone had told me he wrote them himself.
A Different View Jun 09, 2007
This CD set, probably more than any other product released, reveals more of the personality and charm of Jeff while interacting with the audience, and more importantly, shows his passion and emotion for the music he plays. Listeners familiar with the songs released on the Grace album will find them re-presented in a new, but certainly not diminished, light. Some songs in particular that show their more sentimental sides are "Eternal Life", "Grace", and "Lover, You Should've Come Over".
This is an exquisite representation of Jeff's talent and charisma. A must have.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Back to the beginning... Apr 30, 2007
I had the EP when it came out. I was floored when I heard it... "one guy"???
He's another "sing the telephone book and it would sound awesome".
My opinion is this: he wasn't intending to release the whole thing when he had the tapes rolling, but was capturing his cafe days "in the moment" before he started playing larger venues (although theaters were the norm for him and a few festivals). This was a place he served coffee at AND played his heart out.
It is funny to hear his swipes at the then current "grunge scene" and then going into all these different styles that cover the spectrum of the 20th century, not just in America but internationally. You could tell he was already fighting being pigeonholed, not just in with Nirvana and Pearl Jam but his own father. If you see the music videos it just seemed like one of those mandatory things that he would rather not have done. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant among others became huge fans. One would've hoped he would've done his father's "Song to the Siren" when he recorded this.
I can't believe how much material was recorded, and this is probably 1% of the songs he knew.
I think Mary's (his mom) paced the releases out nicely. This year the limited release movie about Jeff is supposed to be on home video.
1 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 This blows Jun 29, 2006
I am a fan of him and Grace is still one of the best cds of the 90s but this sure does blow. His voice is mostly awful on this. I especially dont like those very long covers he does on here. The way young lovers do does not need to be 10 minutes with a bunch of annoying sounds. The listable songs on here are the short ones . The reason Grace was good is becasue it was well produced and his voice was more polish. It surprised me that this thing averages 5 stars on amazon. If he did not die young this cd would not even seen the light of day. I am so glad i did not buy this i found it at the libary. This show's you how awful this cd is this thing retails for 30.00 yet i found it at a libary.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Indescribable. May 03, 2006
I got this 2-disc set for Christmas. Having been only a mediocre fan of Jeff Buckley before, I was unsure what to expect, but even before the first CD had ended, I was in pure awe.
Jeff Buckley weilds his guitar with a loving ferocity that most guitarists can only dream of. His unique and tantalizing voice flows through the music he plays. It says in his book that Jeff's renditions of cover songs (and indeed, some of his original creations as well) were never the same, and that each performance was vastly different from all the others.
But the renditions he does in this recording are virtually flawless and even turned me on to artists I hadn't previously given a chance. Even Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" on his "Grace" release pales in comparison to the live recording of it on this set.
Many reviewers are labeling this a great "historical document," but I must protest. This is not an historical document that captures an intimate performance of a short-live, underrated artist. This is an indescribable record evidencing the beauty and unsurpassed talent of a man who died before his time, but certainly not before he came into his own as a guitarist, singer, performer, and even songwriter.
Beautiful in every way!
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