Jeff Buckley: You and I

Justin Jacobs on May 11, 2016

Nearly two decades after he tragically drowned in the Mississippi River, Jeff Buckley’s legacy is very much alive. The fact that he released only one proper studio album, 1994’s Grace, and that the album is a singer-songwriter classic doesn’t hurt. But there’s a sense of unfinished business that keeps his memory afloat—that heartbreaking voice, the bank of unreleased demos and covers, and the uncertain circumstances surrounding his death. There hasn’t been a shortage of music for Buckley fans to sift through, most notably Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, the 1998 demo collection that would’ve become his second album. But few have felt quite like You and I. The 10-track release features eight covers and two originals, all taken from his first Columbia Records sessions in 1993. The feeling is intense—slip on some headphones, and it’s just you, that trembling voice and a guitar. Buckley’s take on Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” is gorgeous and tender; his pair of Smiths covers will wreck you. But we also get some funkier cuts: Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and Led Zeppelin’s “Night Flight” have loose, gritty, street-busker feels. The album’s namesake comes from “Dream of You and I,” in which we hear Buckley describe a dream (“I was in an auditorium at a college, and everyone was congregated and singing the same words”) from which My Sweetheart’s “You and I” was born. You and I isn’t required listening, but for fans, it’s a captivating, personal look at an artist singing for no one but himself.

Artist: Jeff Buckley
Album: You and I
Label: Columbia / Legacy