Jeff Buckley
Grace

In the summer of 1999, while wandering through the markets of Rome with a friend, I noticed that among the many "bootleg" CDs for sale, lost between a Village People compilation and a collection by Umberto Tozzi, there was this album that so many had described to me as an absolute masterpiece, about which I had heard so much... this genius who had passed away prematurely. Driven by curiosity (and the 8,900 lire price, good times), I bought it thinking "now I too own the famous, the celebrated, the indisputable 'Grace' by Jeff Buckley!", and therefore I felt very cool... I had not yet discovered Nick Cave, nor Mark Lanegan, let alone Tom Waits.
At the time, I listened to little American music, and so I finally had the chance to have my say when all my friends cited this "wonderful" album that I had not yet heard.

Very happy, I put on the headphones, hit play, and off into the wonders of this poet:
Track no.1 "Mojo Pin": Psychedelic guitars, a howl lasting an eternal minute... ah, here he sings! Hmm... not bad. Sure, if he didn't whine so much... sounds like Pink Floyd with a beaten dog instead of Gilmour.
In the end, the song isn't bad, and at times it reminds me of some Led Zep... let's hope for the best...
Track no.2 "Grace": Ah, it's this one... not much at first listen... then... well, decent College Rock... too bad for him. Too melodramatic, over the top... the others in the band are anonymous: they sound like Hootie & The Blowfish (shiver). So far, the listen is almost pleasant, but... when does this piece end? AAAH, my ears!! Calm down, Jeff!!
Track no.3 "Last Goodbye": Aerosmith? No... Stone Roses? Neither... the verse reminds me of a song by Tazenda (Carneade, who is he?)... but was this track on the "Dawson's Creek" soundtrack? No, I thought... now it sounds like Freddie Mercury... let's draw a veil over the oriental arrangements...
Track no.4 "Lilac Wine": Help... what a torment... sounds like a lounge singer at a piano bar... and then here they are again, the (unimpressed) Pink Floyd! Ah, but it's not his this lament... well, forgiven: but he could have avoided it, seems like Caballet.
Track no.5 "So Real": We're getting a bit lively here! But wasn't this by Tears For Fears? Mmm... mmm... zzz... zzzz... zzz... help, the bees! Ah, here he is again... zzz... zzz...
Track no.6 "Hallelujah": Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah... zzz... zzz... zzz... zzz...
Track no.7 "Lover, You Should've Come Over": Are we in church? However... this is beautiful, not really bad... too bad the next two tracks put me in a coma, and too bad for that Gospel chorus that doesn't fit at all... anyway now I've discovered who Buckley's reference artist is: Joe Cocker!
Track no.8 "Corpus Christi Carol": Yet again with these howls, how boring... feels like being at a Vatican concert... zzzz... zzz...
Track no.9 "Eternal Life": And who is this?!? Well, at least it woke me up... this one's rockish, but chilly. It has the ability to not convey anything to me... absolutely nothing! Maybe it could be a B-side of the Manic Street Preachers. Overall, so boring.
Track no.10 "Dream Brother": The dullest Radiohead. I see the duration ("5:26") and I'm already feeling bad... come on, it's the last one... also here quite a bit of Pink Floyd... zzzz... zzzz... zzz...

A judgment on the album? Ah, yes, cute... but now I'm a bit tired... zzzz... zzzz... zzzz...