Sketches
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Release dates Columbia Records (Sony) released Jeff Buckley's first posthumous release, Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk), on Tuesday, May 26th in the US. The international pressings of Sketches were all released earlier in May. All international pressings include the non-US track "Gunshot Glitter," culled from the four-track recordings Jeff made in the spring of 1997 in Memphis. The details of the specific releases are below. How many releases of Sketches are there? So far, Sketches has been released in four different pressings, each with subtle differences. The different versions are as follows, in order of release: What does "My Sweetheart the Drunk" refer to? "My Sweetheart the Drunk" was the working title that Jeff Buckley was using while writing and recording the album. The title was mentioned in a poem that Jeff had written titled "Sexpot Despair." The album that will be released is called Sketches because Jeff's work was not finished, therefore it is just a "sketch" or outline of what would have been released, had Jeff been able to complete this project. What was Jeff planning for My Sweetheart the Drunk? When Richard Kingsmill from Australia's JJJ (a youth-oriented, government-run radio station) asked Jeff in December 1995 what we should expect, Jeff replied: How did Chris Cornell get involved with this project? Chris Cornell is another long-time friend of Jeff's, and was invited by Mary Guibert to produce Sketches. Jeff and Chris were admirers of each other's work, and Cornell is a respected musician and producer in his own right. How did Tom Verlaine become involved with My Sweetheart the Drunk? Jeff had met Tom Verlaine in 1996 when they had both made guest appearances on Patti Smith's Gone Again. There were three recording sessions for what would have been My Sweetheart the Drunk: one in Manhattan in the summer of 1996, another in Manhattan in early 1997, and the last in Memphis shortly after, in 1997. From where were the recordings on Sketches taken? The first CD features the recordings taken from the sessions Jeff and the band had done with Tom Verlaine, founding member of the legendary and influential band Television. These sessions had been scrapped because Jeff was not satisfied with their outcome. Will singles be released? "Everybody Here Wants You" will be released as a two-part single in the U.K., as well as a single and a two-part digipak in Europe. Details on the "Everybody Here Wants You" singles are listed on the Singles page of the discography. Will the lyrics be made available? At some point, Mary Guibert would like to make the lyrics available to everyone via the Official Jeff Buckley Web Site at Sony. She believes that it is important that the actual lyrics be known instead of the inaccurate transcriptions that make their way around to fans. The lyrics are currently included in the international releases of Sketches. From where does "Yard Of Blonde Girls" come? "Yard of Blonde Girls" is a cover of a Nymphs song. Jeff first worked with Nymphs member Inger Lorre on the Jack Kerouac tribute album Kicks Joy Darkness. Jeff provided music (on guitar, sitar, and mouth sax), while Lorre did a reading of "Angel Mine." Lorre also contributed guitar and keyboards, and Jeff ended the reading with a vocal ad-lib on the outtro. The track was recorded at Spa Recording Studios, NYC. How is Bill Flanagan involved with Jeff Buckley? Bill and Jeff had met at the 1991 Tim Buckley tribute at St. Ann's in New York. He had written a number of articles about Jeff Buckley throughout his career. But, Bill Flanagan's role was not only journalist, he was a very sincere Jeff Buckley fan. Shortly after the Tim Buckley tribute, Flanagan published an article in Village Voice. Jeff had this to say about the article:
In February of [1997], Buckley introduced a set's worth of new songs at the Knitting Factory. Many were exceptionally good. Lou Reed was in the audience and he said he'd like to work with Buckley. Tom Verlaine was also there and signed on to produce his demos. That week David Bowie was quoted in Pulse magazine calling Grace one of the 10 albums he'd bring with him to a desert island, and Jimmy Page was on the cover of Mojo holding up Grace and calling it "The best thing I've heard all year." When all this was mentioned to Buckley he laughed and said yes, he had built a great following among 50-year-old rock stars. What is the significance of ending Sketches with "Satisfied Mind"? Jeff's mother decided to end the album as Jeff's memorial service ended, with a tape of him singing "Satisfied Mind." It's a good reminder that music for Jeff was, more than anything else, a source of joy.12 7 Irvin, Jim. "It's Never Over." Mojo, August 1997, Issue 45, Pages 32-38 10 Kingsmill, Richard. Triple J Radio Interview. December 1995. 1 Dye, David. "World Cafe." WXPN Interview, Winter 1993/94 11 Flanagan, Bill. "Jeff Buckley Missing, Presumed Dead." Village Voice, June 10, 1997, Issue 23, Page 62 12 Flanagan, Bill. Sketches liner notes, New York, February 1998 Last Updated: 20 Jul 1998
|
BACK
