Gary Lucas, Jeff Buckley - Songs to No One 1991-1992
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Free Music Notes for Songs to No One 1991-1992
Free Music Review: Endearing, no-drama music from Jeff before he became a star
Hit: 4 Stars
While this album has a sloppy, workshoppy feel, I have to say that it gives me lots of pleasure! It's nice to see Jeff looking adorable, young and androgynous in the photos (the booklet is nicely put together). Gary Lucas' willingness to experiment obviously gave Jeff a chance to work some melodies out, so this is a jazzier, more experimental Jeff Buckley than we've ever heard before. There's a kind of mellowness and humor in these songs, and little sense of the urgency, intensity and potential tragedy of records like Grace, and Sketches. It's Jeff before the myth took hold. Maybe he still had a sense of hopefulness about life and his future when he created these songs.Particular standouts for me are "Hymne a l'Amour," which roams all over the place in an interesting way, "Song to no one," which does the same thing, "She is free," and "Harem Man." I enjoyed hearing the tentative early versions of "Mojo Pin" and "Grace." There's an emotional version of "Satisfied Mind" which doesn't have the piercing clarity and perfection of the version on "Sketches," but that's all right. The only clunker for me is "Cruel," which is a sort of morose heavy metal screamer.
This project was put together with love by Hal Willner, and it shows. Gary Lucas should feel proud too. He nurtured Jeff's rising talent and didn't get a lot back, but you can tell while listening to the songs that these two musicians had fun together, and that Gary gave Jeff a safe, supportive place to develop his vocal chops! To sum up, a good-hearted album that devoted Buckley fans will want to add to the collection.
Free Music Review: there's that voice again.
Hit: 4 Stars
the saddest day in music for me was the day that jeff buckley died. we'll never know where he was going to take us with that voice. this cd is only able to offer us some more insight into where those places might have been. "hymne a l'amour" alone is worth a trip to the record store and the price of the cd. "harem man" is also a necessary addition to any buckley collection. the man had passion. the man had an incredible gift. this cd proves it once again.Free Music Review: Gods And Monsters
Hit: 3 Stars
In 1991 the chief draw to these tapes would have been the acclaimed former Magic Band guitarist Gary Lucas. Now, of course, the presence of a 25-year old Jeff Buckley who was yet to make his recording debut is of overriding interest and the reason for these shelved demos, radio broadcasts, club performances and studio sessions recorded between August 1991 and April 1992 seeing the light of day. One of the major voices of his generation, he was sadly only to live another five years and to produce only one finished album in his lifetime.
No shoddy cash-in, this collection was commissioned and assembled under the watchful eyes of Mary Guibert, Jeff Buckley's mother, and Michael Dorf, from the Knitting Factory, where some of these live recordings originated. Its eleven tracks, beginning with a shattering performance of Edith Piaf's Hymne A L'Amour, document a critical moment in the formative period of Buckley's career, and include early versions of Mojo Pin and Grace, pivotal songs that Jeff Buckley wrote in collaboration with Gary Lucas while they were in the band Gods And Monsters, and which appeared on the album Grace with Gary Lucas guesting on guitar. The pair had met in April 1991 at the time of a tribute concert held at St Ann's Church in Brooklyn for Tim Buckley, Jeff's father, when both had wanted to perform the song Sefronia.
The twelve months that followed were transforming for Jeff Buckley's singing and musical direction and some of the key moments are documented here, including moments from the night at the Knitting Factory on 22 March 1992, broadcast live on the Music Faucet Show on WFMU, ten days after he had announced his decision to leave the band for a solo career, where, at the end of a tension-filled performance, he stayed on stage to perform an unaccompanied and poignant rendition of A Satisfied Mind.
This track has been embellished for this release for some reason, with additional guitar performed by Bill Frisell. This is a questionable practice but the end result does not sound unnatural or overstated. One other track has been doctored; She Is Free, which was a duet rehearsal recording made at Gary Lucas's home in January 1992, now more extravagantly features the band Sex Mob simulating the sort of direction Jeff Buckley was to develop within his music in the following year. Both Mary Guibert and the producer Hal Willner assure us that these overdubs improve the original recordings and that Jeff Buckley would have approved, though I feel slightly uneasy listening to something by him that he never heard.
Listening to the raw talent on show in these recordings, the subsequent success of Jeff Buckley, live and on record, was clearly inevitable
Free Music Review: By The Standards Of Grace, This Is Awful
Hit: 2 Stars
If I was told that, for the rest of my life, I could only listen to one artist or band, I'd go with Jeff Buckley. I'm not obsessed with the guy and his music, but I just see so much to appreciate and respect.
That's why Songs To No One is so hard to stomach. It's not great.
To compare this to his other work is pointless; even Sketches, as uneven and unfinished as it was, it's lows would be considered highs for most other artists. Here, the bar for greatness is lowered a few feet.
"She Is Free" & "Song To No One" sound rough and raw, but the demo sounds suits them. Both songs, particularly the former, are solid additions to the Buckley catalogue. They don't sound like anything he went on to record, but, as a testament to Jeff's versatility, they're still great.
The rest of the CD, not so much. I'd say there's a reason that Mojo Pin and Grace are the only songs from this collection that he wanted to release. You'd think that listening to two takes of Grace would be a treat, but suprisingly, it's not. Why listen to crappy versions of an excellent song when you could just listen to it on Grace?
Aside from the songs I mentioned, there's no reason to own this CD besides compulsion.
If you really, really love Jeff Buckley's music, then be warned. Otherwise, skip it.
Free Music Review: We all want more music from Jeff but...
Hit: 1 Stars
We all want more music from Jeff but I think the vault of unreleased material is empty and we should just enjoy what he put forth for us to hear. Songs to No One sounds like Jeff trying to find his voice and his sound, not an album that was ever supposed to see daylight. There is nothing notable on this album and it has convinced me once and for all that I will just have to be satisfied with Grace and Mystery.
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