"He was as handsome as Jim Morrison in his sleek prime as well as to my eye Adam Ant with a touch of Neil Innes. Amy Berg's arresting documentary of a death foretold explains how young Jeff and his mother were abandoned when he was an infant by his father, Tim Buckley, a singer and counterculture figure who was to die of a heroin overdose in his late 20s."
"Jeff was to die at about the same age, in an accidental drowning in Wolf River Harbor, Memphis, Tennessee, in 1997, when he was just 30. His high-spirited mum was in many ways the great love of his life but it was singing at his dad's memorial service that astonished the congregation and kickstarted Jeff's career; he was a superb vocalist with a range and delicacy inspired by Nina Simone and Judy Garland."
Jeff Buckley combined exquisite beauty, mercurial temperament and prodigious musical talent to create Grace, an acclaimed debut that failed to meet US commercial expectations. Contractual obligations forced exhaustive touring and a multi-album commitment after he had invested his twenties in the first record. Early abandonment by his father, Tim Buckley, and deep devotion to his high-spirited mother shaped his emotional life and public image. Early reliance on cover versions, notably Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, complicated the growth of original material while industry and celebrity praise intensified pressure. He drowned accidentally in Memphis in 1997 at age 30, cutting a promising career short.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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