Customer Reviews
This Introduction to Jeff Buckley Lives Up to the Album Title: So Real. 
2008-08-03
Bob Dylan has described Jeff Buckley as "one of the great songwriters" of our time. Jimmy Page considers Grace one of his favorite albums. This 2007 "best of" compilation album not only offers a good introduction to those new to the music of compelling singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966-1997), but the album also offers a few interesting surprises for Buckley's cult following. Of course all the Buckley studio standards from Grace and Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk) are here: "Mojo Pin," "Grace," Cohen's "Hallelujah," and "Je n'en connais pas la fin," together with tracks from his live album, Live at Sin-é. The album also features an alternate take of "Dream Brother," a road version of "Eternal Life" (both from the Grace Legacy Edition) and a live acoustic rendition of "So Real." The album offers a previously unavailable live cover of "I Know It's Over" from The Smiths' album The Queen Is Dead. As this album title suggests and as the songs collected here reveal, the music of Jeff Buckley is best described as authentic. Complete album tracks include:
1. Last Goodbye
2. Lover, You Should've Come Over
3. Forget Her
4. Eternal Life
5. Dream Brother
6. The Sky Is A Landfill
7. Everybody Here Wants You
8. So Real
9. Mojo Pin
10. Vancouver
11. Je n'en Connais Pas La Fin
12. Grace
13. Hallelujah
14. I Know It's Over
G. Merritt
Save your money and buy the albums! 
2008-05-16
Buying all the albums that these tracks come from is SO much more worth the investment than buying a "best of" album that barely showcases the talent this guy possessed. It doesn't even scratch the surface! Do yourself a favor, get the albums (Grace, Mystery White Boy, Sketches...,and Sin-e) and enjoy ALL the tunes rather than just a slim few that while great songs, are only a fraction of what can be found in the released discography.
Not a Buckley Fan 2008-01-27
Never heard of Jeff Buckely until the song Halleluiah and purchased the CD thinking I would get a handful of songs with a similar sound. This collection reminds me of an improv or jam night done off the cuff. Was not a Buckley fan then and am not a Buckley fan now. All of the songs sound the same. Didn't like it at all.
Rolling Stones Magazine explains... 2007-12-30
From "The Death of High Fidelity" by Robert Levin:
In 2004, Jeff Buckley's mom, Mary Guibert, listened to the original three-quarter-inch tape of her son's recordings as she was preparing the tenth-anniversary reissue of Grace. "We were hearing instruments you've never heard on that album, like finger cymbals and the sound of viola strings being plucked," she remembers. "It blew me away because it was exactly what he heard in the studio."
To Guibert's disappointment, the remastered 2004 version failed to capture these details. So last year, when Guibert assembled the best-of collection So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley, she insisted on an independent A&R consultant to oversee the reissue process and a mastering engineer who would reproduce the sound Buckley made in the studio. "You can hear the distinct instruments and the sound of the room," she says of the new release. "Compression smudges things together."
A Very Confusing Collection 
2007-10-19
As a serious Buckley collector, I find this collection bewildering. Sure, it was released to commemorate Jeff Buckley's 10th Death Anniversary, but still, it leaves you feeling rather incomplete.
Perhaps its the collector in me, and since I've heard the songs here a million times, but I suppose this would be a good starting place for any new convert. On its' own though, its no 'Grace', and in fact, I would tell any new fan to pick up the Legacy Edition of 'Grace' instead. Its about $25 on Amazon, but you get the expanded 2-Disc Version + the DVD with the 'Making of Grace' and all the Music Videos from that era as well.
I would say - skip this, and invest in getting these three Jeff Buckley albums - "Grace (Legacy Edition), "Live at Sin E (Legacy Edition)," and "Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk" - I can't think of a better way to kick off a love affair with Buckley.
Note to Jeff's Mom : Where are all those rarities you keep promising us? And when are you going to get off the advertising and money-making bandwagon to give Jeff's legacy the TRUE respect it deserves?
More of the same while Buckley's fresher material still hasn't been released 2007-09-26
Import 14-track pressing features tracks from his two studio albums and includes two rarities, 'So Real' (Live and Acoustic in Japan - non album version/ promo single) and 'I Know it's Over' . (Previously Unreleased - Smiths cover from a session at Sony Studios that was edited for broadcast on WNEW on April 6, 1995. It was not included on the radio broadcast.) Other highlights include 'Last Goodbye', 'Forget Her', 'Everybody Here Wants You' and more. All of the tracks lifted from Grace are pulled from the remastered tracks that featured on the Legacy Edition. Sony. 2007.
Awesome musician! 
2007-08-23
This is my new favorite CD! I was a Tim Buckley fan years ago and just discovered Jeff. This CD has such a wide variety of styles and he pulls them all off beautifully. His vocal range is remarkable.
when did i start writing reviews? 2007-08-01
this cd was my introduction to jeff buckley. each time i listen, i discover something new but... every time, there is a familiar comfort. because of THIS cd, i am now getting the earlier recordings.
The Best Buckley Compilation 2007-07-28
I have to admit that I'm at a bit of a loss to explain why Buckley fans wouldn't like this album.
So Real is essentially the best songs from Grace, plus a few of Buckley's best songs that never made it to a full studio album.
Its basically Grace plus a few extras, which to me is great! If you don't currently own any Buckley albums, this one's got you covered! Why buy Grace when you can get it all PLUS great songs like "Everybody Here Wants You" and "Je n'en connais pas la fin".
Jeff Buckley was so Awesome. 2007-07-20
This latest issue of some of Jeff Buckley's best selections is a must have for fans. Included are some good Buckley standards -- like Hallelujah -- but also included is a live cover of Eternal Life and a moving rendition of one of Morrissey's (The Smiths) tear jerkers, I know it's Over.
Given that Jeff was tragically lost to the world almost 10 years ago, it is sadly gratifying to have the full range of his recordings so that we can at least celebrate his talent and remember him very fondly.
