Jeff Buckley And Gary Lucas Songs To No One 1991-92 (Knitting Factory) Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
Before Jeff Buckley made the mistake of signing with Sony, the late, great song stylist was the featured singer with the Gods And Monsters project of notable Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, who helped shape Buckley’s raw talent into something truly brilliant. The 11-track Songs To No One collection, insightfully assembled by Hal Wilner, who introduced them, offers a sampling of early demos and broadcast-quality live recordings that neatly documents Buckley’s remarkably quick development. From covers of Pat Kelly’s rock-steady obscurity How Long Will It Take and country classic Satisfied Mind to lesser-known originals like the Zeppelinesque rocker Cruel and the gleeful punk trash Malign Fiesta, Songs To No One shows both Buckley’s impressive scope and Lucas’s magnificent guitar work in formulating what would later come to be known as “the Jeff Buckley sound.” It’s all here on these revelatory recordings.
