Lover, You Should Have Come Over. Jeff Buckley

What is the best ballad ever?, 2. This Wednesday I claimed Jefferson Starship's 'Miracles' to be the best ballad ever made. Let me nuance it just a little.

To me there is only one contender and that is the song that moved the heart of my, now, wife. Also, the song I dared to perform solo for her on her birthday party some years ago with family and friends present and got away with it.

'Grace' is the album, released in 1994 and the only album Jeff Buckley released while alive. He was still struggling with recording his second album three and a half year after the release of 'Grace' when he tragically drowned in the Wolf River in Memphis, on the day his band arrived to start the recording, again.

'Grace'' is a legendary album by now. For me the proof that Buckley was touched by angles and then called back to heaven. To me it seems that writing songs came very hard to him. He was 27 when he recorded the ten song album. of which he (co-)wrote seven. He did make the final version of 'Hallelujah', on the side putting the spotlight on Leonard Cohen's fading career in the process.

The one time I saw Jeff Buckley play live, I simply fell in love with the man, his voice and his music. There is no other word for it. Pure musical magic was in the air that evening in Rotterdam. His album was extremely dear to me and still is, although I do not play it a lot any more.

There's one song that stands out among all the strong songs on 'Grace'. It is Lover, You Should Have Come Over. One of three written by Buckley without assistance from others. It opens with this weird harmonium sound, played by Jeff Buckley. Or better, with a hissing sound as if air is moving through the pipes and valves of the harmonium. When the band comes in led by an acoustic guitar, it is clear from the get go that something special is going to happen. The tempo seems to drag itself forward, slow like a garden snail but just as effective once it reaches your garden plants.

The electric guitar adds a few gracing notes while an organ fills the holes in between the other instruments but there's also the harmonium in there again. A big complement has to go to drummer Matt Johnson who is able to play fantastic accents in the song while seemingly slowing the song down. Meticulously recorded as well.

In the meantime Jeff Buckley's voice is slowly warming up to go all the way. You can feel that he means every word he's singing here. There's passion and desperation for the situation that caused her "to be a tear inside my soul forever".  His voice goes up and up and up, showing the reach and suppleness of his voice. (When I went to the show in, probably, 1995, I could not imagine that he could do this live, night after night. The first song seemed to prove me right and then the miracle of Jeff Buckley's voice manifested itself. There has never been a second like him since.) If ever pain for something that hadn't happened but should have was voiced beyond convincing, it is here.

What strikes me every time I play the song, like I do now, is its richness. In that it is similar to 'Miracles'. Also Lover, You Should Have Come Over has this lush arrangement where the whole team was not satisfied with the first, second and third version of the song. The extras in the arrangement attest to that. Both songs have a tremendously rich arrangement, beside having a lot to say and play at 6.52 and 6.44. No one was allowed to attempt and shorten it. The result is two epic rock ballads.

'Grace' and Jeff Buckley came out of nowhere to me. After reading the review in 'Oor', in my recollection in the winter of 1995, but I could be wrong, I knew I had to go and listen. The album touched me immediately at the deepest possible level. There was only one level left and that is where only the very, very best songs land. The ones that last a lifetime. The special ones and that is where 'Lover, You Should Have Come Over settled.

This is the end of this small series. I could have done a third on 'Love, When You Don't Want It' by then The Lightning Vishwa Orchestra, now The LVE. It already has a solo review and was lauded a few times since on the blog. Do check it out though (in the 2014 version).

Wout de Natris