Rock n roll is bigger than life, and death does not omit the artist from releasing his records. Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Tupac and Johnny Cash have all been releasing their masterpieces after they left this planet. Jeff Buckley is getting close to the heavinly royalty, as he is the biggest rock n roll legends after Kurt Cobain.
You and I is a collection of the unreleased material Jeff Buckley recorded in 1993. It mostly contains covers of famous songs, either his own (one from the album Grace and the other one from Sketches From My Sweetheart, The Drunk) or someone else’s.
The album You and I is a love letter to Bob Dylan, Sly Stone, Led Zeppelin, The Smiths, Louis Jordan, Bukka White. Everything is very simple, with guitars creating a journey through the artist’s inner world. Familiar songs are just coordinates for Buckley to swim across the sea of endless expression. In fly-on- the-wall approach, the listener has a chance to feel Buckley’s insecurity and rawness. I had an impulse to travel back in time and hug Buckley while he was singing these songs in the studio. It is an intimate recital for special occasions, without decorations and corrections.
You won’t get anything new on this album. You already know Buckley’s God given talent. He knew how to use his fantastic voice. If he was to perform at the talent show, the judges would probably cry a river. With all the above being said, I need to be realistic and say that Buckley has left us many songs that sound better than this collection. Although this won’t harm anyone’s impression of the great singer, I recommend you to listen to his full-length studio albums after You and I. He deserves it. I hope you are resting in piece, Jeff. Love, Filip.
