Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk is a compilation album by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, released by Columbia Records on May 26, 1998, a year after his death. It comprises recordings Buckley made with the producer Tom Verlaine in 1996 and 1997, along with alternative mixes and demos. It was released after negotiation with Buckley's mother, the owner of his estate, who feared that Sony was trying to exploit his legacy. It received positive reviews.

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
Compilation album by Jeff Buckley
Released	May 26, 1998
Recorded	1996–1997
Studio	New York; Memphis
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	91:44
Label	Columbia
Producer	Nicholas Hill Tom Verlaine
Jeff Buckley chronology
Live from the Bataclan (1995) Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (1998) Live in Chicago (2000)
Singles from Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
"Everybody Here Wants You" Released: May 18, 1998

Recording and release

Buckley released his debut album, Grace, in 1994. He began recording his second album with the working title My Sweetheart the Drunk in late 1996 with the producer Tom Verlaine. Unsatisfied with the results, Buckley discarded the recordings and went to Memphis with his band to start anew.^[1] On the evening of May 29, 1997, Buckley went swimming in the Mississippi River and drowned.^[2]

As Buckley left no will, his estate transferred to his mother, Mary Guibert. Soon after Buckley's memorial ceremonies, Guibert learned that Sony was in the process of mixing and mastering the Verlaine recordings for release. This angered Guibert and Buckley's band, as Buckley had not wanted to release them. Through her lawyer, Guibert sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sony.^[1]

Sony had not made back its investment on its record deal with Buckley and was eager to release a new album. However, Guibert would allow them to release only material that was "worth using". They compromised on a double album, with the Verlaine recordings on one disc and Buckley's later demos on the other. Guibert did not allow Sony to alter the demos, saying: "If this was his body here and we were preparing it for his funeral, we would not put him in a suit. We would put him in a flower shirt and some black jeans and his Doc Martens and leave his hair all mussed up."^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[4]
The Guardian	^[5]
Los Angeles Times	^[6]
NME	8/10^[7]
Pitchfork	8.0/10^[8]
Rolling Stone	^[9]
Slant Magazine	^[10]
Spin	4/10^[11]
USA Today	^[12]

My Sweetheart the Drunk received positive reviews. Biographers and critics wrote that Buckley had been "reaching fruitfully in multiple directions".^[6] The biographers Dave Lory and Jim Irvin identified influences from Siouxsie and the Banshees on "Nightmares by the Sea" and "Witches Rave".^[13] The Los Angeles Times cited John Lennon and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as references. The reviewer Steve Hochman likened the track "Everybody Here Wants You" to a "70s-ish soul experiment worthy of Marvin Gaye or Al Green", and linked "New Year's Prayer" to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".^[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jeff Buckley, except where noted.

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Sky Is a Landfill"	Jeff Buckley, Michael Tighe	5:09
2.	"Everybody Here Wants You"		4:46
3.	"Opened Once"		3:30
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 Grøndahl, Michael Tighe	3:12
10.	"You & I"		5:37
Total length:			43:13

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nightmares by the Sea" (original mix)		3:50
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	7:36
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" (recorded 1992.10.11 WFMU)	Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes	5:59
Total length:			48:31

International (non-US) editions of disc two include the track "Gunshot Glitter" (Jeff Buckley) as track 7, moving tracks 7–10 of the US edition down a place for a total of 21 tracks.^[14]

Personnel

• Jeff Buckley – guitar, vocals
• Michael Tighe – guitar
• Mick Grøndahl – bass guitar
• Eric Eidel – drums
• Parker Kindred – drums

Technical

• Tom Verlaine – producer
• Nicholas Hill – producer on "Satisfied Mind"
• Jeff Buckley, Michael J. Clouse, Ray Martin, Irene Trudel – engineer
• Jim Caruana, Joe Lizzi, David Seitz – assistant engineer
• Tom Cadley, Michael J. Clouse, Mary Guibert, Tom Verlaine, Andy Wallace – mixing
• Steve Sisco – mixing assistant
• Nicky Lindeman, Gail Marowitz – art direction, design
• Merri Cyr – photography
• Bill Flanagan, Mary Guibert – liner notes

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk Chart (1998) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[15] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[16] 13 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[17] 62 French Albums (SNEP)^[18] 6 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[19] 93 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[20] 7 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[21] 10 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[22] 29 UK Albums (OCC)^[23] 7 US Billboard 200^[24] 64

Year-end charts 1998 year-end chart performance for Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk Chart (1998) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[25] 52 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[26] 96

Certifications

Certifications for Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[27]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Forde, Eamonn (August 31, 2021). "'These are his true remains': the fight over Jeff Buckley's final recordings". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. Schruers, Fred (August 7, 1997). "Jeff Buckley: Remembering the late 'Grace' singer-songwriter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk – Jeff Buckley". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
4. Browne, David (May 25, 1998). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
5. Sullivan, Caroline (May 15, 1998). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk)". The Guardian.
6. Hochman, Steve (May 25, 1998). . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
7. Williams, Simon (May 9, 1998). . NME. Archived from the original on June 17, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
8. Dombal, Ryan (December 11, 2016). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
9. Fricke, David (May 7, 1998). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
10. Cinquemani, Sal (November 1, 2002). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches: For My Sweetheart the Drunk". Slant Magazine. from the original on November 6, 2002. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
11. Milner, Greg (July 1998). "Jeff Buckley: Sketches (For My Sweetheart, the Drunk)". Spin. 14 (7): 126. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
12. Gundersen, Edna (June 2, 1998). "Jeff Buckley, Sketches for My Sweetheart, the Drunk". USA Today.
13. Dave Lory, Jim Irvin (2018). Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye. Post Hill Press. ISBN 978-1682615744.
    Jeff loved British music. [...] the wired consciousness of The Clash, the way Siouxsie and the Banshees went from gun-metal moodiness to skies of fireworks. He adored the Cocteau Twins, of course. He loved how the Smiths called to outsiders and nerds.
    His Siouxsie and the Banshees influence is most obvious on songs like "Nightmares by the Sea" and "Witches Rave" from the Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk album.
    He adored Siouxsie Sioux; her metallic tone and punky energy are somewhere in Jeff. Then there was Elizabeth Fraser, her "unique, impossible voice", as he described it.
14. Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (liner notes). Columbia Records. 1998. 488661-2.
15. "Australiancharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
16. "Ultratop.be – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
18. "Lescharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
20. "Charts.nz – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Jeff Buckley – Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
24. "Jeff Buckley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
25. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
26. "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
27. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2021.