Grace by Jeff Buckley, on Columbia Records 1994, value £50

DAVID Bowie named Grace as one of 10 albums he would take to a desert island. Jeff Buckley born in 1966, in Arnheim, California, is the biological son of folk rock/jazz singer Tim Buckley(1947-75) whom he met only once at the age of eight. Raised by his mother and stepfather he was known as Scott Moorhead but after forming his own band decided to adopt his real father's name. Jeff Buckley was an expressive singer with a voice range of four octaves, leading him to sing an astonishing range of seven original songs of his own compositions, including cover versions of Lilac Wine, written by James Shelton, made famous by Elkie Brooks, and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah; Buckley's cover is one of the most beloved and acclaimed version of the song, resulting in a powerful album of unlocked emotions, poetry and drama.

The word Hallelujah means to rejoice in praising God. Although there are biblical references from the Bible, to Cohen, it is a bitter lament to love and loss. After Buckley's recording, in a matter of a few weeks more than 300 different recordings by various artists were issued; his version reached number one in the I-Tunes chart selling more than 178,000 downloads in the first week of release. The popularity of this album has continued to grow with every passing year; it took eight years before it was certified gold. The album charted in the UK top ten. A posthumous live album was released in May 2000. Sadly, Buckley never lived long enough to appreciate the success of this album, he drowned while swimming in a hazardous stretch of the Mississippi river, after being pulled under by the wake of a passing tugboat. The autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, his death was ruled as an accidental drowning.

Controversy emerged following the recording of Hallelujah by X Factor contestant Alexandra Burke, who released a dramatic power ballad of the song intending to make the 2008 Christmas number one spot. Cohen disliked her version and dismissed it out of hand. Buckley fans who derided the X Factor's commercialism launched a campaign with the aim of propelling his version to the top. Against all the odds it was Burke's version that did top the charts; Buckley's remained at number two.

Twenty five years after it's original release, Grace has been re-released on vinyl, digitally remastered with additional music from the original master tapes. Don't miss it.