A Pure Drop is a concise retelling of Jeff Buckley’s short life
Videos by American Songwriter
Label: BACKBEAT BOOKS
[Rating: 4 stars]
A Pure Drop is a concise retelling of Jeff Buckley’s short life. It’s a story full of ironies; the young singer-songwriter who spent his life striving to get out from under the shadow of his singer-songwriter father, Tim Buckley, but who looked and sounded so much like his dad constant comparisons were inevitable. But of course what really binds him to his father, and his father’s legend, is that both died at an early age (Tim at 27, Jeff at 30).
But until his unexpected death, there really wasn’t that much drama in the Buckley’s life. Apter’s portrait of the artist shows a young man set on a straight path to stardom: from studies at Hollywood’s Music Institute, to apprenticeships with various bands in L.A. and New York City, to a residency at N.Y.C.’s Sine-E café, where he landed a major label deal. Apter has interviews with friends and associates of Buckley that add further insight, but never fully penetrates the man’s core, though that’s due in part to Buckley’s own reticence at being more forthcoming. Apter’s also curiously dismissive of posthumous Buckley releases; most fans like getting unreleased material, especially when the artist isn’t around to create new music anymore.
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