Bono on why Jeff Buckley was “a pure drop in an ocean of noise”
A few notable setbacks led up to U2’s inevitable downfall, but Bono has exercised a good balance of resilience and grace through it all.
That crucial word – grace – is something that most musicians need, especially if you make it on the same explosive scale as U2 did. And then it becomes even more crucial when you go through the kind of transition that beckons commercial success and immense scrutiny – both of which U2 enjoyed and endured in their latter years in the brutal school of rock ‘n’ roll.
Although they more than earned their place among the greats, U2 suffered when people started to see them as sell-outs, or when a streak of decisions stripped them of their respect and instead branded them as the one thing that most musicians avoid their entire careers: “uncool”. To be a U2 fan, in today’s day and age, doesn’t exactly hold the same effect as, say, claiming to adore The Beatles, and what’s worse is that it didn’t start anywhere specific; it just happened.
For some, U2 started to become oversaturated after the release of The Joshua Tree. And while there was a lot that was worthwhile about their reinvention come Achtung Baby, some people had already grown fatigued by the time they released Rattle and Hum. And then their fate was sealed around the PopMart tour to promote Pop in 1997, which drew a round of criticism for being far too big for its boots and another indicator of a good band turned pretentious.
And, of course, we all remember the infamous iTunes incident when the band’s Songs of Innocence was uploaded onto millions of iTunes users’ devices without their knowledge, leading to confusion and, quite frankly, significant outrage and backlash. Bono, of course, still held a strong amount of grace even in the crux of major humiliation, always at the ready when it comes to defending their own decisions, no matter how controversial.
But then again, these choices were rarely informed by Bono’s ego and instead arose from the need to enhance the listening experience of allow greater access to the music itself. All of those examples make it seem as though U2 mostly drew criticism for exploring new threads of expression or innovation, which, according to Bono, is a shortage across most spaces in rock. And it’s something that he’s always noticed: that constant absence where greatness should be, which he has always tried to fill himself, no matter the consequence.
It’s also what helped him to develop that familiar trait – grace – and lean into risks and develop in places that aren’t as heavily associated with traditional rock tropes. Which is also what initially drew him to another profound figure in rock, no matter how unconventional: Jeff Buckley.
“Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise,” Bono told Mojo in 1997.
Elsewhere, he expanded on Buckley’s influence in 1999’s Propaganda, as well as the value of grace, the album and the characteristic: “Apart from being my favourite word or name in the English language, Grace overpowers karma. Grace does not make sense. It rewards where rewards are not justified. It covers where no cover is expected. It is the highest human state.”
Adding, “Jeff Buckley´s voice reminds me of the first line of the old hymn, ‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound’. Grace as a signature. Grace personified in one man´s vibrato – a delicate, tremulous voice which rightfully betrays its Middle Eastern tutelage. Jeff was trained in Sufi singing. His ululating voice reminds me how few singers there are in Rock and Roll.”
Of course, the album Grace itself is a standalone masterpiece, but it also holds all the reasons why Bono pushed in through his own haze, the word itself epitomising the need to remain focused when the world of rock tries to hook in its claws, or celebrate the things that it could do well to have more of – like a good voice, perhaps, one that says more through tone than any simple words ever could.
