Los Angeles Daily News

Jeff Buckley Looks Like A Star On Rise

December 18, 1994, By the Los Angeles Daily News

LOS ANGELES — The word is out on Jeff Buckley, rock's latest superstar in the making.

It isn't only because of his critically acclaimed debut album or an earlier, four-song CD that a couple of recent local dates sold out and fans stood outside trying to snag tickets.

The singer-guitarist's word-of-mouth reputation stems from massive European press and a unique personal history - he's the son of the late Tim Buckley, an eccentric, romantic poet-singer who made a series of acclaimed albums for Elektra from 1967-70 and died of a drug overdose five years later.

The younger Buckley was just 7 when his father died, and although he never really got to know the man, the two share an unusual vocal delivery that swoops, flows and soars like no one else.

At age 28, Jeff Buckley is an astounding singer, inventive guitarist and highly promising songwriter who often explores complex themes.

''Sensitivity isn't being wimpy,'' he said. ''It's about being so painfully aware that a flea landing on a dog is like a sonic boom. I enjoy a lot of mystery.''

Buckley and his trio opened a West Hollywood show a few weeks ago with ''Mojo Pin,'' a jazzy, free-flowing number he co-wrote with experimental New York guitarist Gary Lucas that also appears on Buckley's highly rated debut, Grace (Columbia).

The singer, who describes himself as ''rootless trailer-trash born in Southern California,'' brought the tune down to a whisper as the packed club followed along in silence. Buckley later covered Leonard Cohen's ''Hallelujah'' and demonstrated that he easily can mimic one of his favorite crooners, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant.

''I once tried to sing jazz for real,'' Buckley said. ''But jazz didn't do it for me. You can't have jazz without a jazz world, which doesn't exist anymore. I once took a ride to the beach in L.A. and all along the shore there were all these so-called jazz places. And I saw these college guys and session players playing this fusion Muzak stuff. It was just a lot of notes, and the more notes they played, the more it kept them from expressing anything.

''So I came back home and got out my Zeppelin albums.''

Buckley has been touring the world for much of the year, partly to break in his band and partly to promote his album, he said.

''I'm fighting for spare time,'' he said. ''It's been excruciating. I admit I'm at the end of my rope. But I wanted to establish the meat of the whole thing is the live experience. I didn't want to stay home and let the video do the work. My music is something you have to taste.''

Buckley moved to New York about five years ago and began playing solo gigs at folk clubs. Last year's four-song disc, Live at Sin-e, was recorded during one such summer date at an East Village cafe.

''More than any other place, New York is where I felt I belonged,'' Buckley said. ''I prefer the Lower East Side to any place on the planet. I can be who I am there and I couldn't do that anywhere I lived as a child. I never fit in when I lived in California, even though that's where my roots are.''