A Bombshell
J | Wash DC | 12/25/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Everyone knows that "Grace" is one hell of an album, but just as deserving of attention is this less popular early EP from the Buckley collection. With 4 tracks, clocking in at around 27 minutes, this cannot be beat for the five dollars you can pick it up for. 'Mojo Pin' is just as good here as it is on Grace, but this solo rendition is much more haunting than on his proper debut LP. It's drenched in mountains of reverb and is amazingly ghost-like. 'Eternal Life' contains just as much intensity as it does on it's full-band counterpart recorded later. While the cover of 'Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin' is fine and reveals Buckley's penchant for choosing eclectic covers, the real high-note here is his 10 minute cover of Van Morrison's 'The Way Young Lovers Do'. It is a masterpiece of improvatory ferocity with Buckley strumming and scatting like a madman (and I dig that stunned silence of the crowd right after the song comes to a close).
On this recording Buckley is in top-form throughout. His vocals fly and float and his guitar playing is top notch.
I recommend this highly."