Like Eddie Vedder before him, the voice of Jeff Buckley has been copied shamelessly by a number of singers, but very few have evinced his influence on their work in meaningful ways. There have been peers haunted by his presence-- as I mention in regards to PJ Harvey's "Memphis" in a previous entry entitled "Backsides Only"-- but who are his musical heirs? Who's inherited the genetics of the golden man's intensity, darkness, and love? The musicality of his telecaster?
I've been occupied with this consideration for some time, but more so since hearing Anna Calvi for the first time a few weeks ago...there was something so Buckley about her songs. Besides Calvi, the only other person I can think of that captures something of the fierceness and vulnerability, the darkness and light, a bit of the sonics of the artist, is Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. These women aren't the knock-offs that the male forgers-of-Jeff-Buckley-vocal-craft are, but instead seem to be circling a sun in the same galaxy.
This was the first song I heard by My Brightest Diamond, "Golden Star." Shara's a classically trained singer. There's a similar resonance to Jeff Buckley here, and the final notes of the song sound exactly like what JB would go for if he were singing "Golden Star." I opted for a live version of the song because there was no official video made.
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