Review Summary: It may be incomplete, but Jeff Buckley's "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" is a necessary album to own, and my personal favorite of all time.
When discussing an album as polarizing as "Sketches..." it is important for the critic to lay their cards on the table from the onset; in short, I love this album. More than that, I adore it. For me, listening to this broken masterpiece presents an experience nearly religious in proportions. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that this review is my attempt to judge the album as a whole, warts and all. However, being the die-hard fan that I am, an honest admission of bias is necessary.
I find it utterly ridiculous that Jeff Buckley nearly disposed of these tracks (and indeed would have done so, if not for his sudden death). The music here certainly isn't cut from the same fabric as that of his debut album, "Grace", but that doesn't mean that the songwriting here is worse. In fact, I would argue that the stripped-down, confrontational style of these tracks would have made Buckley's sophomore album even more of a triumph than "Grace". Part of this has to do with the change in producers; "Grace", mixed by Andy Wallace, was an incredibly slick album with sweeping strings and gossamer vocals. The first disc of "Sketches..." was the work of Tom Verlaine, who helped strip down Jeff's sound to its basest elements. The result was a much more streamlined album than its predecessor, which had occasionally felt emotionally exhausting and even a little overdone for a casual listener.
The second disc, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether. After Buckley had sent his band back to New York for another recording session, he rented himself a tiny shotgun apartment in Memphis and stripped down his music even further, resulting in a collection of songs that toe the line between beautiful and horrifying. This distinction between the two discs renders the album impossible to be judged as a whole. Instead, a track-by-track approach is needed.
Disc One:
1. The Sky is a Landfill - This song opens the album with a bang, and what an awesome bang it is! This song immediately signals that "Sketches..." is a completely different beast from "Grace". The loud, crunchy guitars sound more like a demo left off of Nirvana's "In Utero" than anything that Buckley had released up to that point. The vocals are also unusual, since they are far more overtly political than any other track on the album. The song itself does an excellent job of opening the album, and draws the listener in very nicely. 8/10
2. Everybody Here Wants You - I'll admit, this song always seemed a little bit out-of-character for Jeff. It's not something that I like to listen to on a regular basis, but the romantic power of the track cannot possibly be understated. This was the only single released off of the album, which makes sense since the song is easily the most radio-friendly on the album. If nothing else, it shows off Buckley' heavenly vocal talents. 7.5/10
3. Opened Once - Although it took a while to grow on me, this track is a perfect piece of music, and the first masterpiece on the album. I find it interesting to note that this particular song wouldn't feel at all out of place on "Grace", since it shares that album's loose and romantic groove. The lyrics are yet another work of passion, particularly the ending; "I am a railroad / track abandoned / with the sunset / forgetting / I ever happened." 10/10
4. Nightmares by the Sea - In a rather perplexing choice on her part Jeff Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, saw fit to release two versions of this song on the same album (The same is true for "New Years Prayer"). The two versions aren't particularly different, so only audiophiles and Buckley aficionados will particularly care. For what it's worth, this is another excellent song, and quite a disturbing one too. It's creepy and foreboding, yet oddly sexy at the same time. This track shows off the abilities of Buckley's band, who are very rarely given the respect they deserve. The driving beat behind the instruments never fails to get my heart pumping. Again, the lyrics are great, and reward repeated listens handsomely. 9/10
5. Yard of Blonde Girls - The albums first misstep. It is important to note that Jeff himself did not actually write this; it was performed as a favor to his friend Inger Lorre of The Nymphs. As far as the song itself is concerned, it's just a pointless addition to the album. Yes, it shows a side of Buckley's personality that was nowhere to be found on his debut album, but the song itself just doesn't warrant the change of pace. In short, it's too slow, too heavy, and too horny. 2/10
6. Witches Rave - Like "Opened Once" this one also took me a few listens to enjoy. At first it seemed way to poppy and upbeat to be a Jeff Buckley song, and it felt out of place along with "Yard of Blonde Girls". Then I listened to the lyrics. While they're certainly not Jeff's best work (lines like "Oh I feel the spell that you have cast, hot, pink, nasty / Bubble gum, coming down just like a big red coal" sound pretty ridiculous), they are sufficiently off-kilter and bizarre to make the song fun to listen to. That being said, the ending definitely goes on for too long. 6/10
7. New Years Prayer - Personally, I think this song is overrated. Many fans of the album point to this song as a high point to Buckley's career, but I just don't see the appeal. I've been known to enjoy trance-like music from time to time, but this just seems amateurish coming from the lyrical genius that wrote "Mojo Pin" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over". If anything, this song reminds me of "So Real", from Jeff's previous album, another song that I never liked very much. To be completely blunt, I simply find this song boring. 4.5/10
8. Morning Theft - Finally the album gets back on track! Quite simply, this is the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Not only is it the best on the album, but it contains some of the best lyrics Buckley ever wrote: "You're a woman, I'm a calf / You're a window, I'm a knife / We come together / Making chance in the starlight / Meet me tomorrow night / Or any day you want / I have no right to wonder / Just how, or when. / You know the meaning fits. / There's no relief in this. / I miss my beautiful friend." I could go on, but you really just need to listen to this song. Immediately. 10/10
9. Vancouver - The same level of quality can be found on this song, which is the fastest and most-rock oriented on the album. There is a tremendous energy contained in these 3 and a half minutes that most bands fail to capture in their entire careers. The only slight downfall is the lyrics, which I've never been able to decipher. They seem to carry some sort of profound meaning, but I just can't figure out what that meaning might be. Regardless however, most listeners won't even notice the odd lyrics behind the sheer power of the instruments. 9.5/10
10. You & I - This a particularly creepy piece of music; perhaps the closest Jeff ever got to an a capella piece. While it doesn't end the album, it works as a sort of gateway between more traditional first disc and the rough, experimental second disc. For this purpose the track succeeds wonderfully. A quiet minimalist dirge, Jeff's voice constantly stays above the whispering instruments. The whole song feels like a descent into hell, and the first time I listened to it I had never heard anything quite like it. Overall though, at nearly six minutes it does stretch a little too long. 7/10
Disc Two:
11. Nightmares by the Sea - Ultimately, this track and the following one are useless additions. They are apparently the original mixes of the songs before Tom Verlaine remixed them with Jeff's consent. Overall I think he made the right choice to do so, as the versions found on the first disc are slightly more polished than these ones. 8.5/10
12. New Years Prayer - Again, there's nothing new to say about this version, except that it is slightly shorter than the original, and contains less instrumentation, which I personally find a negative change. 4/10
13. Haven't You Heard – I can't help but feel that this song would have been great if Jeff had lived long enough to finish it. The song's lyrics show a slight punk influence (much like “The Sky is a Landfill” in that sense), and the Buckley's band does an excellent job on this song with some of the most in-your-face percussion on the album. Unfortunately the song is incredibly disjointed; the bridge comes completely out of the blue without signaling itself. It also ends quite suddenly, but that doesn't sound as odd as the bridge. Still, it's a decent political rocker. 6.5/10
14. I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be) - Ridiculously unwieldy title notwithstanding, this track is a flat-out masterpiece. This song was the moment that I realized that I actually preferred the second disc of "Sketches" to the first; the lyrics and instrumentation are so heartfelt and passionate that the low audio quality is practically irrelevant. On this song in particular, the poor audio quality actually increases the desperate power of Buckley's vocals. To be more specific, there is actually a version of this song floating on the internet with a full band backing Jeff's singing, and it's far inferior to this 4-track demo. And let's not even get into the lyrics; they're indescribably poignant. The very best part of this song is the percussion, or rather the lack thereof. The only beat comes from Buckley's guitar, which is strummed in a way that resembles a human heartbeat. The ending of the song furthers this idea since it comes suddenly and abruptly, as if something inside Jeff has died. Like "Morning Theft" it's not enough for me to simply describe this track; it has to be experienced. 10/10
15. Murder Suicide Meteor Slave - Talk about an acquired taste! This song, for lack of a better description, is ***ing scary. Jeff's voice sounds like a funeral mourner, the lyrics are twisted and off-kilter, the guitar is practically impossible to describe with barely any discernible tempo, and the ending is just uncanny. At least, that's what I thought the first time I heard it. The song actually DOES have a structure. Despite all of that strange, atonal noise surrounding the melody, the song has a surprisingly simple tune, even if it's not "catchy" in any sense of the word. The fact that it was apparently recorded on Buckley's answering machine makes it even more remarkable. Still, the song took me many listens to enjoy, and I expect that no one but Jeff Buckley freaks like me will bother to give it the chance it deserves. 8.5/10
16. Back in N.Y.C. - This is a cover of a Genesis song; specifically from their legendarily bizarre double-LP "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". As a result, it fits in with the rest of the songs quite well. Unfortunately the song wears out its welcome quickly since the lyrics are basically repeated twice to pad out the length. For me, this track is the polar opposite of "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave"; the first time I heard it I thought it was fantastic, but I quickly got tired of its meandering pace. 5/10
17. Gunshot Glitter - Technically this is only a bonus track included on certain special editions of the album, but I include it anyway because it is quite a promising demo. The song is even more obviously unfinished than the other songs listed so far, and it suffers as a result (the only percussion comes from Jeff tapping his hand against the mic, for example). The lyrics are also basically incomprehensible: "You paranoid politician diva!". Nonetheless, the song shows off Buckley's vocal talents beautifully. The very middle of the song is particularly breathtaking, when he stretches the upper limits of his voice further than any of his other releases. 6/10
18. Thousand Fold - Another bonus track, this time only included on the Japanese release. This choice bewilders me, since "Thousand Fold" is far better than songs like "Back in N.Y.C." or "Your Flesh is So Nice". Apparently this song was written as a love letter to Buckley's long-time flame Joan Wasser (who currently has quite an excellent career as a solo artist, by the way.) As a result the lyrics are very romantic and passionate, even if the instrumentation sounds quite sad. There's not much to say since this is a short song, but its difficult to forget after you hear it. 7.5/10
19. Demon John - I have absolutely no idea what to make of this song. Even "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave" showed its melody to me after a few listens, but this one just leaves me clueless. As a result, I'll keep my criticisms to a minimum. All I'll say is that the bridge is fantastic, with some of the most ethereal lyrics Buckley ever wrote. I won't score this song simply because any score I give would just feel incorrect for some reason.
20. Your Flesh is So Nice - Like "Yard of Blonde Girls", this track is a waste of space. At least this song was actually written by Jeff himself, because it has a morbid sense of humor that the former song lacked. Nevertheless, this song is just to abraisive for me to listen to on a regular basis; if I wanted rough songs about sex then I'd listen to metal, not Jeff Buckley. Oh, and the ending is terrible; right when it seems like the song is about to end it continues on for another 30 seconds for no apparent reason. 3/10
21. Jewel Box - I have to admit that this song caught me off guard after the complete mess that "Your Flesh is So Nice" was. This is the final masterpiece on the album, and one of the prettiest love songs Jeff ever wrote. I couldn't say which part of the lyrics is my favorite because they all seem so beautifully romantic. The fact that it's such a simple melody just deepens my appreciation. If I were to learn to play the guitar this would be the first song I'd want to play. 10/10
22. Satisfied Mind -This song was actually written long before Buckley died; it was recorded live in 1991, just as he was starting off his career. I'll admit that I think this is a bit of a sappy way to end the album, even if it does seem to fit the albums theme of death. Regardless, my main problem is not with the song itself but with the recording; it's too damn quiet. Even with headphones the whole track just seems like a lullaby, and not a particularly interesting one. Still, I can tell the difference between something that is actually bad and something that I simply don't enjoy, and "Satisfied Mind" falls into the latter category. Even I have to admit that its an excellent cover, and a fitting grace note to the career of Jeff Buckley. 7.5/10
In conclusion, it may seem strange for me to call this album my favorite of all time since I only give it a rating of 4. This is because even though I love this album to pieces it's very obviously unpolished, and clearly unfinished. Still, just because “Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk” is not the masterpiece that Jeff intended it to be doesn't mean that it isn't a powerful work, and one worth exploring. I'd recommend it to anyone that listened to “Grace”. They may not like it immediately, but its an album that grows on the listener; after all, it took me nearly a dozen listens to enjoy “Murder Suicide Meteor Slave”.
