On March 11, 2016, Columbia/Legacy Recordings, will release ‘You and I’, the very first studio recordings made by Jeff Buckley.
These 10 tracks have gone virtually unheard for more than two decades. Recently discovered in the Sony Music archives during the research for the 20th anniversary edition of Buckley's Grace album, the performances on You and I are a revelation, an intimate portrait of the artist performing a variety of cover songs and original music expressing a range of emotion channeled through his singular sensibility. Most of the tracks were cut in Steve Addabbos Shelter Island Sound studio in February 1993.
You and I, on CD and LP, is available for preorder on Amazon (http://smarturl.it/youandi_amznCD) and as a digital download on iTunes (http://smarturl.it/youandi_itunes)
Jeff Buckley's recording of Everyday People will also be made available for Record Store Day as a limited edition 7" with the B-side featuring the original recording by Sly & the Family Stone.
The songs on You and I reveal, in part, the eclectic scope of Jeff Buckley's extraordinary musical tastes and talent. The covers on the album include Jeff's highly personal interpretations of songs written by Bob Dylan (Just Like a Woman); Sylvester Stewart (Everyday People recorded by Sly & the Family Stone); Joe Green (Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin recorded by Louis Jordan, Ray Charles and others); Bob Telson (Calling You, recorded by Jevetta Steele for the 1987 film Bagdad Café); Morrissey and Johnny Marr (The Boy with the Thorn in His Side and I Know It's Over, recorded by the Smiths); Booker T. Washington Bukka White (Poor Boy Long Way from Home, from a 1939 field recording made by John Lomax) and John Paul Jones/Jimmy Page/Robert Plant (Night Flight recorded by Led Zeppelin).
"Any time I take a cover and wear it on my sleeve, it's because it had something to do with my life and still marks a time in my life when I needed that song more than anything ever." Jeff Buckley, Plane Truth fanzine interview from 1994.
You and I features two pieces of original music: the first-ever studio recording of his signature song, Grace and Dream of You and I, a mysterious and haunting piece which informs the deeply intimate and profoundly personal mood of the album.
Long rumored to exist, but previously unheard outside the studio, the performances on You and I have never been bootlegged or released to the public in any form. These seminal recordings are a fan's Holy Grail, a rare opportunity to hear Jeff Buckley in peak form, developing his artistry through a series of spellbinding solo performances, each one captured in pristine sonic detail.
The Columbia/Legacy release of Jeff Buckley's You and I has been overseen by the artist's mother, Mary Guibert.
Jeff Buckley You and Tracklist:
1. Just Like A Woman (Bob Dylan cover)
2. Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
3. Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ (First recorded by Louis Jordan)
4. Grace (original)
5. Calling You (Jevetta Steele cover)
6. Dream Of You And I (original)
7. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths cover)
8. Poor Boy Long Way From Home (traditional blues song, Bukka White cover)
9. Night Flight (Led Zeppelin cover)
10. I Know It’s Over (The Smiths cover)
