SEWARD: Prodigal son — reflections on Jeff Buckley
Column: Exploring Humanity with Sam Seward
Our society has a pre-eminent fascination with celebrities.
Super fans of a certain celebrity will give themselves a collective nickname and know every aspect of that celebrity's personal life. This knowledge even extends to the individual's children, who often pale in comparison to their more famous parents.
Some celebrities lead normal lives, content with acknowledging their fame while still attempting to distance themselves from it, with mixed success. Some are famous for the wrong reasons — they still continue their family legacy, but only due to their heinous actions.
For example, Edinho, the son of famous soccer player Pelé, is currently serving 13 years in prison in Brazil for drug trafficking. Both technically became famous due to their involvement with white lines.
The problem is that one of these activities is a game, while the other is a serious felony.
Very few children turn out to be more famous than their parents. The Kardashian-Jenners immediately pop into mind as an exception — although whether their fame is deserved or not is a debate for another day.
On the other hand, Jeff Buckley is another case of famous parentage, and unlike the Kardashian-Jenners, he is most definitely deserving of his fame.
Jeff Buckley's father was not famous in the traditional sense. Tim Buckley garnered a cult following in the late 1960s for his eclectic stylings, drawing from jazz, folk, psychedelia and experimental music to create otherworldly beauty.
The elder Buckley's commercial impact was minimal. But his avant-garde leanings and incredible voice — which served as an extra instrument within the sound web that he wove — are now seen as a major influence on future musicians.
While Tim Buckley's musical stylings were second to none, he was not exactly winning any awards for Father of the Year. The elder Buckley left Jeff Buckley and his mother before Jeff Buckley was born and only met his son once when he was eight years old, mere weeks before Tim Buckley died of a heroin overdose.
Jeff Buckley was raised and greatly influenced by his stepfather, Ron Moorhead, who gave him Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti," an album that inspired not only a lifelong love for the British quartet — Jeff Buckley's song "Eternal Life" is said to have been an attempt to emulate Led Zeppelin — but also inspired Jeff Buckley to make music.
Jeff Buckley's initial progress as a musician was limited. He featured in a series of unsuccessful bands, which limited his prodigious voice to only backing vocals.
Ironically, it was his absent father who inadvertently helped him get his big break, as a tribute concert titled "Greetings from Tim Buckley" attracted the attention of former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, who helped form some of the songs that would later appear on Jeff Buckley's only official studio release, "Grace."
Jeff Buckley later distanced himself from Lucas, instead choosing to make his name through a series of performances around the East Village. Columbia Records signed him off the strength of these performances, releasing the "Live at Sin-e" EP as a taster for his full-length debut, "Grace."
Based on the posthumous acclaim that "Grace" has achieved, one would assume that it was a commercial smash. This was not the case, as it only appeared on the charts for several weeks in 2004 — seven years after Jeff Buckley's death.
Yet the ones who listened were in for a treat.
"Grace" is a 1990s alt-rock record in the sense that it sounds nothing like a 1990s alt-rock record. There were no grungy hooks (barring "Eternal Life"), no laissez-faire attitude à la Pavement and no depressed or sarcastic lyricism.
What we got instead was a virtuoso at work. I have told people many times that I consider Jeff Buckley to be the most talented musician of all time, and this record is a perfect summation of that.
While he certainly had mixed feelings toward his father, his voice mimics the elder Buckley's, and many would argue — myself included — that it surpasses it.
The lyrics are stunningly poetic, conjuring up vivid images of heartbreak that pierce even the toughest of skins. The musicianship is top-notch, covering a range of genres from folk to hard rock to psychedelia, all with a jazzy feel and masterful touch that no musician has been able to pull off since. And this was his debut!
We will never know what could have been for the musical career of Buckley due to his premature death. That being said, "Grace" stands as a monumental triumph of artistry. Jeff Buckley had a single-minded vision for his masterpiece, refusing to be defined by his absent father and usurping him in the process.
No matter what, we should not let ourselves be defined by anyone in our lives, instead carving our own futures based on what we want.
So next time you hear the climax of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" playing over a relationship-themed TikTok, just take heart in knowing that, in a certain way, you can also be like the late, great, Jeff Buckley.
Samuel Seward is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences, majoring in political science and minoring in English. His column, "Exploring Humanity with Sam Seward," runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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