(Published by Fourth Estate)
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‘Dream Brother’ is a biography of two talented and troubled men who died tragically young. Jeff Buckley was just 30 years old when he drowned in the Mississippi while in Memphis working on the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Grace’. His father, Tim Buckley, was two years younger when he died from an accidental heroin overdose in 1975, but he left the greater musical legacy – ten albums and a history of restless experimentation as his music ranged from folk to funk to progressive jazz. Beyond the tragedy of lives cut short lies a tale of two men, which author David Browne unweaves in alternating chapters, some of which do not sit comfortably side by side.
Browne’s attempts to emphasis similarities and parallels between the father and son are sometimes overstated and unnecessary in light of a story which is strong enough to stand on its own. Well researched and including quotes from a wide range of people, the one major gap in this book is the absence of a discography for both men. Browne admits that Jeff Buckley may have hated the book, as he continually shied away from comparisons to and mentions of his father in interviews about his own music. However, like it or not, Jeff’s life and personality was in many ways formed in reaction to his fathers absence and Tim very much has a place in his son’s story.
‘Dream Brother’ gives a valuable insight into the lives and music of two charismatic and fascinating men whose influence as musical icons will continue to reverberate long into the future. 
