Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

"Jeff Buckley was piecing together a contemporary popular music history for himself that was steeped in the magic of singing," notes Daphne A. Brooks in her book on the late vocalist/guitarist's scintillating Grace. A debut that keeps growing in stature, the mystical album harnesses doo-wop, pop, rock, Indian, jazz, and folk idioms and reshapes them into an elegant aural concoction that has no likeness. Buckley's tragic passing shortly after the record's release has only heightened its magnificence and status. So, too, have the prized sonic merits. ORG's reissues represent the first time this otherworldly title has been available on audiophile-vetted pressings. Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, this 180g 45RPM gatefold 2LP pressing immediately jumps to the top of the best-sounding audiophile rock album lists. The immediacy, presence, airiness, depth, and balance are seriously that good. You truly need to hear this version. Recorded in the fall of 1993 at Bearsville Recording Studio in Woodstock, NY, and ranked #304 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Grace wonderfully captures the incredible stylistic range of the promising singer/songwriter. Unhinged and full of life, Buckley harnesses dramatic choruses, bold arrangements, and mystical lyrics while singing everything from devotional love songs to philosophical musings in a rich, textured voice that has no equal. The impassioned 10-song set features seven originals, one cover performed with his band, and two covers performed solo. At times sounding like Robert Plant, Van Morrison, and his father Tim, but with an emotional gravitas all his own, Buckley takes the listener on a heartfelt and nuanced journey highlighted by the atmospheric opener "Mojo Pin," the soaring title track "Grace," yearning "Last Goodbye," and an immaculate rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." "Buckley had a voice like an oversexed angel, and the songs here shimmer and twist. The fierce rocker "Eternal Life" upends Led Zeppelin's take on the blues while honoring it: Instead of a hellhound on his trail, Buckley, who drowned in 1997, evokes immortality bearing down on him." --Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time