Released in 1994, this was Jeff's only completed studio album. This could quite possibly be the best vocal delivery ever recorded. For me, this is such a complete record. From the moment 'Mojo Pin' begins to the second that 'Dream Brother' ends, you've been taken on an emotional journey that leaves you feeling completely drained.
Jeff's voice is so on the money throughout: empowering, delicate, fragile, natural, encompassing and extremely haunting. For many, the only experience of Jeff is most likely to be in the form of his great cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. Whilst this is, of course, brilliant....there is so much more to the record. Look no further than the opening six seconds of 'Lilac Wine', surely enough to get you interested.
The strongest memory that I have of this record is of walking at about 1am in the morning, in the pitch black, having just left my university house. The album was on full blast through some great headphones and I completely lost myself. I could have carried on walking endlessly without knowing (or caring) where I was headed for. I remember finding it quite spooky at first, all alone in the dark back streets of a not-so-great area, listening to Jeff screaming midway through 'Lover You Should've Come Over'. I recall the moment so clearly and remember finding it so strange having a conversation with another person after i had turned it off. It felt like being knocked back down to earth all too abruptly.
At the age of 30, Jeff accidentally drowned in the Wolf River (Memphis). I would've loved to have had more albums from him; but this one was so perfect, that anything else would've struggled (big-time) to match up. Such a great musician, with undeniably one of the most powerful records of the 90s.
