Dream Brother - 4
I Woke Up In A Strange Place - 3
Mojo Pin - 4
Lilac Wine - 3
What Will You Say - 4
Last Goodbye - 4
Eternal Life - 3
Grace - 4
Moodswing Whiskey - 4
The Man That Got Away - 3
Kanga Roo - 4
Hallelujah / I Know It's Over (Medley) - 4
Total - 44 stars / 12 tracks = 3.67 stars, normalized to 4.2 stars
So take live performances about half the songs from the greatest album ever, throw in a few other great live performances, and you've got Mystery White Boy, an album that had little to no chance of disappointing.
There are some differences from the studio cuts on Grace. "Lilac Wine," for instance, which is one of my two least favourite on the album, is slightly improved by the live experience. "Eternal Life," on the other hand, didn't resonate the same way it did on Grace.
This version of "Hallelujah" adds a new dimension to the experience of the song. On Mystery White Boy, Buckley's vocals are quiet enough, that I don't feel uncomfortable referring to them as chilling. The control and support that he maintains despite the nearly whispered lyrics are simply astounding.
More than anything, Mystery White Boy shows that the recording of Grace wasn't simply a matter of catching lightning in a bottle. Jeff Buckley was lightning, and, from everything I've heard, every time he made music, he also made magic.
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