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Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk

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Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk is a compilation album by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, released by Columbia Records on May 11, 1998,[1] a year after his death. It comprises recordings Buckley made while working on his second album, My Sweetheart the Drunk, with the producer Tom Verlaine in 1996 and 1997. It was released after negotiation with Buckley's mother, the owner of his estate, who feared that Sony was trying to exploit his legacy. It received positive reviews.

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
Compilation album by
Jeff Buckley
ReleasedMay 11, 1998
Recorded1996–1997
StudioNew York; Memphis
GenreAlternative rock
Length91:44
LabelColumbia
Producer
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live from the Bataclan
(1995) 		Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
(1998) 		Live in Chicago
(2000)
Singles from Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
  1. "Everybody Here Wants You"
    Released: May 18, 1998

Recording and release

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Buckley released his debut album, Grace, in 1994. He began recording his second album with the working title My Sweetheart the Drunk in late 1996 with the producer Tom Verlaine. Unsatisfied with the results, Buckley discarded the recordings and went to Memphis with his band to start anew.[2] On the evening of May 29, 1997, Buckley went swimming in the Mississippi River and drowned.[3]

As Buckley left no will, his estate transferred to his mother, Mary Guibert. Soon after Buckley's memorial ceremonies, Guibert learned that Sony was in the process of mixing and mastering the Verlaine recordings for release. This angered Guibert and Buckley's band, as Buckley had not wanted to release them. Through her lawyer, Guibert sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sony.[2]

Sony had not made back its investment on its record deal with Buckley and was eager to release a new album. However, Guibert would allow them to release only material that was "worth using". They compromised on a double album, with the Verlaine recordings on one disc and Buckley's later demos on the other. Guibert did not allow Sony to alter the demos, saying: "If this was his body here and we were preparing it for his funeral, we would not put him in a suit. We would put him in a flower shirt and some black jeans and his Doc Martens and leave his hair all mussed up."[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian     [6]
Los Angeles Times    [7]
NME8/10[8]
Pitchfork8.0/10[9]
Rolling Stone     [10]
Slant Magazine     [11]
Spin4/10[12]
USA Today    [13]

My Sweetheart the Drunk received positive reviews. Biographers and critics wrote that Buckley had been "reaching fruitfully in multiple directions".[7] The biographers Dave Lory and Jim Irvin identified influences from Siouxsie and the Banshees on "Nightmares by the Sea" and "Witches Rave".[14] The Los Angeles Times cited John Lennon and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as references. The reviewer Steve Hochman likened the track "Everybody Here Wants You" to a "70s-ish soul experiment worthy of Marvin Gaye or Al Green", and linked "New Year's Prayer" to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".[7]

During a 2011 interview, Tony Banks of Genesis commented of Buckley's rendition of Genesis's "Back in N.Y.C.", "I was very surprised that he did the whole thing including the funny bits. If I'd been him I would have just stuck to the main thing. But it was fun and quite sweet really, it was kind of 'why not?'."[15]

Track listing

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All tracks composed by Jeff Buckley, except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Sky Is a Landfill"Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe5:09
2."Everybody Here Wants You" 4:46
3."Opened Once" 3:30
4."Nightmares by the Sea" 3:53
5."Yard of Blonde Girls"Audrey Clark, Lori Kramer, Inger Lorre4:07
6."Witches' Rave" 4:40
7."New Year's Prayer" 4:40
8."Morning Theft" 3:39
9."Vancouver"Jeff Buckley, Mick Grøndahl, Michael Tighe3:12
10."You & I" 5:37
Total length:43:13
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nightmares by the Sea" (original mix) 3:50
2."New Year's Prayer" (original mix) 4:10
3."Haven't You Heard" 4:07
4."I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)" 4:27
5."Murder Suicide Meteor Slave" 5:55
6."Back in N.Y.C."Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford7:36
7."Demon John"Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe5:13
8."Your Flesh Is So Nice" 3:37
9."Jewel Box" 3:37
10."Satisfied Mind" (recorded 1992.10.11 WFMU)Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes5:59
Total length:48:31

International (non-US) editions of disc two include the track "Gunshot Glitter" (Jeff Buckley) as track 7, moving tracks 7–10 of the US edition down a place for a total of 21 tracks.[16]

Personnel

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Technical

  • Tom Verlaine – producer
  • Nicholas Hill – producer on "Satisfied Mind"
  • Jeff Buckley, Michael J. Clouse, Ray Martin, Irene Trudel – engineer
  • Jim Caruana, Joe Lizzi, David Seitz – assistant engineer
  • Tom Cadley, Michael J. Clouse, Mary Guibert, Tom Verlaine, Andy Wallace – mixing
  • Steve Sisco – mixing assistant
  • Nicky Lindeman, Gail Marowitz – art direction, design
  • Merri Cyr – photography
  • Bill Flanagan, Mary Guibert – liner notes

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[29] 2× Platinum 140,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ a b c Forde, Eamonn (August 31, 2021). "'These are his true remains': the fight over Jeff Buckley's final recordings". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Schruers, Fred (August 7, 1997). "Jeff Buckley: Remembering the late 'Grace' singer-songwriter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk – Jeff Buckley". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  5. ^ Browne, David (May 25, 1998). "Sketches of My Sweetheart the Drunk". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (May 15, 1998). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ a b c Hochman, Steve (May 25, 1998). "Buckley's Restless Spirit, Rich Music Preserved". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Williams, Simon (May 9, 1998). "Jeff Buckley – Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk)". NME. Archived from the original on June 17, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Dombal, Ryan (December 11, 2016). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  10. ^ Fricke, David (May 7, 1998). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  11. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (November 1, 2002). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches: For My Sweetheart the Drunk". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on November 6, 2002. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  12. ^ Milner, Greg (July 1998). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches (For My Sweetheart, the Drunk)". Spin. 14 (7): 126. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Gundersen, Edna (June 2, 1998). "Jeff Buckley, Sketches for My Sweetheart, the Drunk". USA Today.
  14. ^ Dave Lory, Jim Irvin (2018). Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye. Post Hill Press. ISBN 978-1682615744.
    Jeff loved British music. [...] the wired consciousness of The Clash, the way Siouxsie and the Banshees went from gun-metal moodiness to skies of fireworks. He adored the Cocteau Twins, of course. He loved how the Smiths called to outsiders and nerds.
    His Siouxsie and the Banshees influence is most obvious on songs like "Nightmares by the Sea" and "Witches Rave" from the Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk album.
    He adored Siouxsie Sioux; her metallic tone and punky energy are somewhere in Jeff. Then there was Elizabeth Fraser, her "unique, impossible voice", as he described it.
  15. ^ Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.
  16. ^ Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (liner notes). Columbia Records. 1998. 488661-2.
  17. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "Lescharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  24. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "Jeff Buckley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  27. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  28. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  29. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
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