August 8, 2025
FILM: IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
DIRECTED BY: AMY BERG
STARRING: JEFF BUCKLEY, MARY GUILBERT, BEN HARPER
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s surprising to me how many artists have existed in my lifetime that I didn’t know when they were in some kind of heyday. That’s the case with Jeff Buckley. I’ve heard his name for the last twenty years or so as an acclaimed rock figure. As the new documentary, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley illustrates, the singer/songwriter’s period of fame came during the 1990s. I was around then, listening to a lot of alternative music. So, where was Buckley? He certainly had the strikingly handsome looks that could have made him a pin-up rock star with or without talent. Yet, his music wasn’t played, as far as I knew, on local Q-101, which was filled with the latest by Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet, Tori Amos, Soundgarden, and so on. It becomes clear from the film though that Buckley’s one and only album, Grace, wasn’t a big seller in the U.S. It received a lot of attention throughout the world but not on a grand scale here. It’s interesting that the album is mentioned as a counter to the grunge movement that is now so associated with the 1990s. Perhaps that effected its sales in the U.S.
One of the songs on that album was his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. After Buckley died in 1997 that version slowly started to turn up in various forms. It was even a song contestants on American Idol, the most popular show of the 2000s, would cover. I’m not saying that is what catapulted Buckley into major public awareness, but it didn’t hurt. As the years have gone on, major publications like Rolling Stone and NME, have listed Grace as one of the greatest albums of all time. This documentary gives us a chance to learn who Buckley was during his point of great fame and what he was experiencing that might have contributed to his early death.
Director Amy Berg pulls together recollections from family members, girlfriends, and musicians to create a compelling portrait of Buckley. Like a lot of well-polished and visually stimulating documentaries, Berg includes archival footage and photos dating back to Buckley’s childhood. His mother is interviewed filling in some of the details behind Jeff’s father, another musician, Tim Buckley, who had little relationship with the boy and also died young. She provides some of her own observations about Jeff who would sing when he was but a toddler. One of the most interesting revelations is that he was highly influenced by major female singers such as Nina Simone and Judy Garland. He was said to have wanted to be Simone while also loving to sing Garland’s The Man That Got Away, which the film shows in a brief clip.
Of course, as the film documents, he was also highly effected by the music of Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Morrissey. As his story progresses, we get to hear these wide-ranging influences through many live performances, including some that haven’t been released before. Watching him sing and listening to his astonishing vocal range it is clear that he wasn’t just an average singer/songwriter. He comes across as an interpreter of the Great American Songbook while also being a rocker with a voice that could rival what we hear in bands of his era and before.
However, Buckley didn’t feel comfortable with fame and all the attention he was receiving. Like many legends of rock, his story includes discussions of his own psychological self-torture, his depression, and fear of losing artistic freedom as his record label pushed him to create a follow-up to Grace. Sadly, that never came to be.
The documentary itself is very well-edited, featuring a mostly chronological telling of Buckley’s story. There’s not much about his life in the 1980s, although there is a brief glimpse of him singing The Police’s Roxanne when he was in his teens. Adding to his story are animated graphics and lyrics to his songs on screen which further bring his music to life.
Mostly though, Berg lets others tell their stories about Buckley while we also get to hear voice recordings he did along with his incredible performances. There’s no doubt that people who’ve been fans of the artist will appreciate all that Berg has done here to produce a film that will preserve Buckley’s legacy while also opening up many, including me, to what we may have missed during his time on earth. It’s sad to think of how much great art could have still come from this major voice in the music industry.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley begins playing in limited release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago, today.
FILM: IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
DIRECTED BY: AMY BERG
STARRING: JEFF BUCKLEY, MARY GUILBERT, BEN HARPER
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s surprising to me how many artists have existed in my lifetime that I didn’t know when they were in some kind of heyday. That’s the case with Jeff Buckley. I’ve heard his name for the last twenty years or so as an acclaimed rock figure. As the new documentary, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley illustrates, the singer/songwriter’s period of fame came during the 1990s. I was around then, listening to a lot of alternative music. So, where was Buckley? He certainly had the strikingly handsome looks that could have made him a pin-up rock star with or without talent. Yet, his music wasn’t played, as far as I knew, on local Q-101, which was filled with the latest by Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet, Tori Amos, Soundgarden, and so on. It becomes clear from the film though that Buckley’s one and only album, Grace, wasn’t a big seller in the U.S. It received a lot of attention throughout the world but not on a grand scale here. It’s interesting that the album is mentioned as a counter to the grunge movement that is now so associated with the 1990s. Perhaps that effected its sales in the U.S.
One of the songs on that album was his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. After Buckley died in 1997 that version slowly started to turn up in various forms. It was even a song contestants on American Idol, the most popular show of the 2000s, would cover. I’m not saying that is what catapulted Buckley into major public awareness, but it didn’t hurt. As the years have gone on, major publications like Rolling Stone and NME, have listed Grace as one of the greatest albums of all time. This documentary gives us a chance to learn who Buckley was during his point of great fame and what he was experiencing that might have contributed to his early death.
Director Amy Berg pulls together recollections from family members, girlfriends, and musicians to create a compelling portrait of Buckley. Like a lot of well-polished and visually stimulating documentaries, Berg includes archival footage and photos dating back to Buckley’s childhood. His mother is interviewed filling in some of the details behind Jeff’s father, another musician, Tim Buckley, who had little relationship with the boy and also died young. She provides some of her own observations about Jeff who would sing when he was but a toddler. One of the most interesting revelations is that he was highly influenced by major female singers such as Nina Simone and Judy Garland. He was said to have wanted to be Simone while also loving to sing Garland’s The Man That Got Away, which the film shows in a brief clip.
Of course, as the film documents, he was also highly effected by the music of Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Morrissey. As his story progresses, we get to hear these wide-ranging influences through many live performances, including some that haven’t been released before. Watching him sing and listening to his astonishing vocal range it is clear that he wasn’t just an average singer/songwriter. He comes across as an interpreter of the Great American Songbook while also being a rocker with a voice that could rival what we hear in bands of his era and before.
However, Buckley didn’t feel comfortable with fame and all the attention he was receiving. Like many legends of rock, his story includes discussions of his own psychological self-torture, his depression, and fear of losing artistic freedom as his record label pushed him to create a follow-up to Grace. Sadly, that never came to be.
The documentary itself is very well-edited, featuring a mostly chronological telling of Buckley’s story. There’s not much about his life in the 1980s, although there is a brief glimpse of him singing The Police’s Roxanne when he was in his teens. Adding to his story are animated graphics and lyrics to his songs on screen which further bring his music to life.
Mostly though, Berg lets others tell their stories about Buckley while we also get to hear voice recordings he did along with his incredible performances. There’s no doubt that people who’ve been fans of the artist will appreciate all that Berg has done here to produce a film that will preserve Buckley’s legacy while also opening up many, including me, to what we may have missed during his time on earth. It’s sad to think of how much great art could have still come from this major voice in the music industry.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley begins playing in limited release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago, today.