Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
Studio album by Jeff Buckley
Released	May 26th, 1998
Recorded	Summer 1996, New York; Spring 1997, Memphis
Genre	Rock, Alternative rock
Length	91:46
Label	Columbia
Producer	Nicholas Hill Tom Verlaine
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live from the Batacan (1996) Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (1998) Mystery White Boy (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	(Favorable)[2]
Pitchfork Media	(8.9/10)[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Slant Magazine	[5]

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk is a collection of polished studio tracks and four-track demos recorded by Jeff Buckley. Being dissatisfied with material recorded in the summer of 1996 and early in 1997, Buckley worked on many demos to reach the sound he was hoping to achieve. To be titled My Sweetheart, the Drunk, the album was never finished, as the rest of the band were traveling to meet Buckley at the time of his death. It was released posthumously on May 26, 1998 (see 1998 in music). Despite its unfinished state, the album garnered many positive reviews; The Onion's AV Club called it "frustratingly incomplete, but mostly remarkable". The album's original sessions were produced by Television frontman Tom Verlaine.

"My Sweetheart the Drunk" was the working title that Jeff Buckley was using while writing and recording the album. The title was intended by his mother and sole heir of his estate, Mary Guibert, to be rendered with parentheses, as Sketches (for My Sweetheart the Drunk). This was because Jeff's work was not finished, and therefore was just an outline, or "sketch", of what would have been released.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jeff Buckley; except where indicated

• Disc One

1. "The Sky Is a Landfill" (Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe) – 5:09
2. "Everybody Here Wants You" – 4:46
3. "Opened Once" – 3:29
4. "Nightmares by the Sea" – 3:53
5. "Yard of Blonde Girls" (Audrey Clark, Lori Kramer, Inger Lorre) – 4:07
6. "Witches' Rave" – 4:40
7. "New Year's Prayer" – 4:40
8. "Morning Theft" – 3:39
9. "Vancouver" (Jeff Buckley, Mick Grondahl, Michael Tighe) – 3:12
10. "You & I" – 5:39

• Disc Two

1. "Nightmares by the Sea" [Original Mix] – 3:49
2. "New Year's Prayer" [Original Mix] – 4:10
3. "Haven't You Heard" – 4:07
4. "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)" – 4:27
5. "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave" – 5:55
6. "Back in N.Y.C." (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford) – 7:37
7. "Demon John" (Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe) – 5:13
8. "Your Flesh Is So Nice" – 3:37
9. "Jewel Box" – 3:37
10. "Satisfied Mind" (Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes) (recorded 1992.10.11 WFMU) – 6:00

International (non-US) editions of Disc 2 include the bonus track "Gunshot Glitter" (Jeff Buckley) as Track 7 for a total of 21 tracks. The Japanese edition of Disc 2 also includes the bonus track "Thousand Fold" (Jeff Buckley) as Track 11 for a total of 22 tracks.^[6]

Personnel

• Jeff Buckley - guitar, vocals
• Michael Tighe - guitar
• Mick Grøndahl - bass
• Eric Eidel - drums
• Parker Kindred - drums
• Benjamin Goldstein - ?
• Chris Theodore - ?
• Producers: Nicholas Hill, Tom Verlaine
• Engineers: Jeff Buckley, Michael J. Clouse, Ray Martin, Irene Trudel
• Assistant engineers: Jim Caruana, Joe Lizzi, David Seitz
• Mixing: Tom Cadley, Michael J. Clouse, Mary Guibert, Tom Verlaine, Andy Wallace
• Mixing assistant: Steve Sisco
• Art direction: Nicky Lindeman, Gail Marowitz
• Design: Nicky Lindeman, Gail Marowitz
• Photography: Merri Cyr
• Liner notes: Bill Flanagan, Mary Guibert

Charts

Album

Chart	Position
US[7]	64
Australia[8]	1
Belgium[9]	13
France[10]	6
Netherlands[11]	62
New Zealand[12]	7
Norway[13]	10
Sweden[14]	29
UK[15]	7

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1998	"Everybody Here Wants You"	Australian Top 100[16]	35
		UK Singles Chart[15]	43

Miscellaneous

• Swedish Gothic rock band, Katatonia, recorded a cover of "Nightmares by the Sea", which appeared on the "Tonight's Decision" album and then later on "The Black Sessions" compilation.
• Jambi's Revenge recorded a cover of "Nightmares by the Sea" on their album Origins in 2010.
• The USA original series The Dead Zone (based on the Stephen King novel of the same name) uses "New Year's Prayer" as its theme song.

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ The A.V. Club review
3. ^ Pitchfork Media review
4. ^ Rolling Stone review
5. ^ Slant Magazine review
6. ^ Kane, Rebecca (1999). "Kingdom For A Kiss - The JB F.A.Q.: Sketches". http://www.jeffbuckley.com/rfuller/buckley/faq/17sketches.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
7. ^ "US: Albums". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p42690. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
8. ^ "Australia: Albums". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
9. ^ "Belgium: Albums". www.ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?key=18234&cat=a. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
10. ^ "France: Albums". lescharts.com. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
11. ^ "Netherlands: Albums". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=a&cat2=s&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
12. ^ "New Zealand: Albums". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?cat=a&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
13. ^ "Norway: Albums". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
14. ^ "Sweden: Albums". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
15. ^ ^{a b} "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_B.HTM. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 
16. ^ "Australia: Singles". Australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=Jeff+Buckley. Retrieved 28 December 2008. 

Preceded by The Wedding Singer: Music from the Motion Picture by Various artists

Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 17 May - 23 May 1998

Succeeded by Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox 20