Jeff Buckley – Live At Sin-é (1993)

At 26 minutes, this is on the cusp of "is it a single or an album?" territory, but I'm counting it as the latter. While the whole concert was later released on CD after Buckley's untimely death in 1997, this is the original four track release.

It's very much a solo performance, with a couple of songs to appear on Grace a year later. Mojo Pin is strong, sounding very much like you'd expect a solo version to sound, knowing the band version from the album, and it's followed by Eternal Life, again a strong performance but I can't help thinking that the band arrangement suited it far better - but that's not to take anything away from a fine delivery from Buckley.

The other two tracks are covers, firstly Edith Piaf's Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin, pleasant enough, but feels like a bit of diversion, then an extended (ten minute) cover of Van Morrison's The Way Young Lovers Do. It's a very intense guitar solo for a long time, with a wavering vocal, which I'm sure was captivating as a live event, and to be fair, carries some of that feeling through to the recording.

It's an interesting taster of the live, early Buckley, displaying his virtuosity, and taste for experimentation, which doesn't quite reveal how great the album would be a year later.

Link to full performance version

4* - a strong first peek of Buckley's talent