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Jeff Buckley
Mystery White Boy
Columbia
The line between martyred messiah and whiny annoyance is a thin one, as evidenced by Jeff Buckley’s posthumous live effort, Mystery White Boy. His first full-length CD, Grace, easily qualified as one of the best releases of the ‘90s, and Buckley’s unique vocal talent and musical vision remain a worthy component of the contemporary musical landscape; but following the artist’s death in 1997, his surging popularity has forced his record label to satisfy fans with an ever-dwindling supply of material, beginning with a two-CD collection of half-finished demos (1998’s Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk), and (hopefully) ending here. Mystery White Boy is Buckley crude. Born from soundboard DAT recordings on his ’95-‘96 international tour, the CD’s 12 tracks display the
Vocalist’s ability to lead his group through a weighty palette of moods and emotions. Buckley’s band (guitarist Michael Tighe, bassist Mick Grondahl and percussionist Matt Johnson) smokes for sure, and its leader is on a long leash as his voice shifts from whispery falsetto to larynx-shredding scream in the course of ‘Mojo Pin’. Fans will rejoice in the resurrection of their icon, caught in his unrestrained glory. Interpretations of Gershwin’s ‘The Man That Got Away’ and Alex Chilton’s ‘Kanga Roo’ may be embraced as further evidence of Buckley’s amazing talent, but Mystery White Boy is a fans-only expedition. Granted, the singer’s amazing skill is evident through the oft-improvised passages, but what works onstage may become nails on the chalkboard in a different context. At its best, Mystery White Boy is proof positive of Jeff Buckley’s tragic potential; at its worst, the collection is tedious and self-indulgent. With luck, Columbia will end their search for unearthed Buckley artifacts.
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