#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville

#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville. Decca,  1964 (CD 1999). Total time (2 discs): 144:52.

#36: Jeff Buckley: So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley

Details: Jeff Buckley (1966-1997), So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley. Legacy, 2007. Total time: 72:37.

Jeff Buckley drowned in the Mississippi River near Memphis in 1997 at the age of 30 -- which always makes one wonder what he would've done in the nearly two decades since he died. 

That said,  what he did in his young life is remarkable still. He took a song composed by the wizened genius Leonard Cohen, "Hallelujah," and at a young age recorded what still stands as the definitive version of a truly great song -- one that has been recorded by countless other people since.  Yet Buckley's haunting, heartfelt version still shines beyond any other -- including maybe even the original.

He contributed other great song performances that as my father used to say stand the test of time: the great "Last Goodbye" which I remember hearing on the radio, one of the very few singles that was released in Buckley's lifetime.  

Other notable songs on this collection include So Real, Grace, a passionate version of Lover You Should've Come Over, a truly mindblowing remake of a 1930s song by French chanteuse Edith Piaf (!) and the epic closing song, I Know It's Over, a live performance that you don't want to end.