David Browne's ambitious double biography of the doomed Buckley musical dynasty might strike the casual browser as the kind of book that was just crying out to be written. Those obvious parallels once again - the drunken angel voices, the critical, if not commercial, acclaim, the stubborn career arcs, the tragic, unnecessary, premature deaths. Nevertheless, by keeping the stories of Tim and Jeff isolated in alternating chapters, Browne has arguably written two, albeit snappily edited, books at the same time. The amount of research carried out by the author - over 200 primary-source interviews were undertaken over a three year period - and the co-operation of Tim's first wife and Jeff's mother Mary Guibert easily distances "Dream Brother" from shelf-filling cut-and-paste fodder, but its tireless parade of facts, opinions and events seems to be missing the same magic that, admittedly, most other rock biography possesses in short supply, the quicksilver witchcraft that you'd find on almost any of Tim or Jeff's records. An essential read for the fan, admittedly, but as the old quote goes, "Dream Brother" is essentially dancing about architecture, and however much you learn, you'll understand rather less.

Jeff Buckley

Tim Buckley

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