Jeff Buckley: Grace

OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS Jeff Buckley has become a contender. A minor critical furore greeted his first live mini-LP, while a handful of mesmeric solo performances in March met with ecstatic drooling – this despite the disadvantages that famous parentage usually carries. Jeff's dad, Tim Buckley, was genuinely unique force in music, a tough act to follow even for a son who scarcely knew him. The questions remain, however: Is Jeff Buckley merely wearing the emperor's new clothes, or his father's hand-me-down, or is he a truly major, emergent new talent? Somewhat tantalisingly, the answer on the strength of this, his first real album, appears to be all three.