Songs To No One :: 1992-1992
Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas
Album Information | Lyrics | Tracks | Cover Art | Discography


Songs To No One - Press Release

"Songs To No One 1991-1992" penned by Jeff Buckley / Gary Lucas to be released on Evolver Entertainment / Knitting Factory Records

Producer Hal Willner helms collection of unreleased tracks

On October 15, Evolver Entertainment (a Knit Media company) and Knitting Factory records are pleased to release Songs To No One 1991-1992, a collection of previously unreleased recordings by the late, legendary Jeff Buckley and guitarist/collaborator Gary Lucas.

Recorded between November 1991 and April 1992, the album�s eleven tracks document a critical moment in Buckley�s career and life. They are culled from club performances, studio sessions and rehearsal recordings made during his introduction to the downtown New York City music scene.

Performing in an April 1991 tribute concert at St. Ann�s Church in Brooklyn for his father, the late Tim Buckley, Jeff caught the attention of former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, who subsequently asked Buckley to perform with his band Gods & Monsters. Buckley�s brief but fruitful time with Lucas yielded the material on Songs To No One� including "Grace" and "Mojo Pin." Both songs appeared on Buckley�s 1994 landmark Grace (Columbia), the only full-length album released during his lifetime.

"Songs To No One�" producer and longtime Buckley friend Hal Willner is best known for his experimental works with such artists as Debbie Harry, Dr. John, and Tom Waits. This collection is co-produced by Knitting Factory�s Sascha Von Oertzen, and was assembled under the watchful eyes of executive producer Michael Dorf (Knitting Factory) and with the approval of Mary Guibert (Estate of Jeff Buckley). Of special note are two songs which feature the addition of new instrumental tracks performed by Bill Frisell (on "Satisfied Mind") and Sex Mob (on "She Is Free").

Jeff Buckley�s promising, inspirational and excruciatingly brief life ended tragically in a drowning accident in Memphis in 1997. He was 30 years old. Gary Lucas continues to perform all over the world as a solo artist and in subsequent incarnations of Gods and Monsters. He recently scored original music for the Oscar nominated documentary LaLee�s Kin.



This Excerpt From "Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley" written by David Browne is printed on the back of the CD.


Jeff Buckley's journey to Grace, the only album he completed during his lamentably brief lifetime, had many detours; Songs To No One 1991-1992 chronicles an especially important path.

Beginning in the spring of 1991, Jeff, newly arrived in New York from Los Angeles, began working with virtuosic former Captain Beefheart quitarist Gary Lucas on a new edition of Lucas' band, Gods & Monsters.

Over the subsequent year, the two collaborated on material and threw themselves into adventurous covers. Veering from rapturous to ravaged, entranced to electrified, these historic recordings -- culled from studio sessions, home tapes, and club performances - document for the first time this crucial early stage of Jeff's artistic development.

From nascent versions of "Mojo Pin" and "Grace" to fiery, never before heard originals, Songs To No One is the sound of Jeff Buckley coming into focus, discovering his voice, tapping into the transcendence that would become his hallmark. These recordings are the sparks that would quickly build into a magnificent, roaring blaze.


Credits


Original tracks produced by Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas; except tracks 6, 7, & 10 � produced by Nicholas Hill.

Compilation produced by Hal Willner. Co-Producer: Sascha Von Oertzen

Executive Producer: Michael Dorf.

Edited by Hal Willner and Sascha Von Oertzen at the Knitting Factory Studios, New York City.

Additional recording on tracks 7 & 8 at Peter Karl Studio, Brooklyn, NY; mixed at Shelter Island Studio, New York City.

Produced by Hal Willner; recorded and mixed by Sascha Von Oertzen.

"The Music Faucet Recordings" engineeorange by Irene Trudell.

Masteorange by Emily Lazar at The Lodge, New York City.
Sound consultant: Martin Brumbach

Bill Frisell appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records.