“hallelujah” - jeff buckley owned by alexandra burke, in turn owned by k.d. lang
I’m incensed by these various petitions to get Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah to Number One instead of Alexandra Burke’s, chiefly because I can’t stand the idea that people actually think Jeff Buckley is inherently more talented that she is. At least I can be satisfied that she’s definitely going to Christmas Number One come Sunday. What is a shame is the cheesy production slapped behind Alex’s voice, which she cut through on the X Factor final but doesn’t manage to on record.
A shame, because I much prefer the song as a po-faced emotive ballad than I do Buckley’s snarky post-modern fumble. “It goes like this: the 4th, the 5th” is refreshingly cast as simple explanation by Alexandra, rather than Buckley’s Gen-X, age-of-irony, self-referential take. How depressing to sing a love song about writing a love song. I never got exposed to Buckley in my teens, and am therefore immune to his supposed sophistic-emo charms.
Anyway, my favourite version of this song is by k.d. lang, baldly produced with plain piano and strings. She’s just got a stunning voice, isn’t afraid to untwist Buckley and play it straight, and adds just the right amount of weariness to her heart-clad sleeve. Apparently this brings the house down when she plays it live, I’m not surprised:
BTW, if I hear one more bore at a house party tell me “the original’s by Leonard Cohen, you know”, I may scream. Not really into his version either for that matter. Rufus Wainwright’s meanwhile is worse than Jeff’s, all rushed and mispronounced; John Cale’s is much better, but still a little ponderous. Only divas please!
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I hope your feelings toward Buckley’s version haven’t maybe been tainted by a)his annoyingly over-earnest fans, or b)the way it’s been (mis-)used since he died because, yes, those things are all a major turn-off. But as an artist, he was the real deal and I just don’t think there was any sense of irony or self-importance or whatever when he recorded his version. I think he just had pure respect and admiration of/for the song.
Fwiw, I love about 90% of the stuff you post, and I also think “Grace” is one of the 10 best albums of the 90s (which is something I felt long before it became a staple on every “greatest albums” list of the past 10 years). Give it another shot if you can!
p.s. I declined to join said Facebook petition.