Lina
26-02-2006, 09:49 PM
Of all the albums I ever made, the two I produced by Nick are the ones I'm most proud of. I listen to them often because he was extraordinarily good - nothing he ever did was less than striking, and he had the gift of writing melodies of incredible beauty." Joe Boyd
Nick Drake was one of those diamonds I discovered one day when a much older work colleague gave me a bunch of CDs. The Nick Drake album I was given was Bryter Layter. I confess I didn't listen to this album for about a year but when I finally did it completely blew me away.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/BryterLayter.gifBryter Layter is Nick Drake's second album. The first song is an instrumental piece that leads into Hazy Jane II, which is quite a poppy, country song but made brilliant by the way in which Drake sings the lyrics - first stringing all the lyrics together like a river of words, then switching to a more traditional method. The real gems on this album, though, is Fly, One Of These Things First, Poor Boy and Northern Sky:
I've been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye
They are stand out tracks - whimsical and strong with lyrics that are so simple yet so well crafted. I've read that Drake was not happy with Bryter Layter - he did not want to include the orchestral parts but was talked into doing so by his producer.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/FiveLeaves.gifFive Leaves Left was his first album - I've listened to this album half a dozen times but I haven't gelled with it yet. This is with the exception of the songs Saturday Sun - a jazzy song that's so laid back and beautiful you'd have to listen to it to understand and the prophetic Fruit Tree:
Life is but a memory
Happened long ago.
Theatre full of sadness
For a long forgotten show.
Seems so easy
Just to let it go on by
Till you stop and wonder
Why you never wondered why
I think the reason I haven't quite immersed myself into Five Leaves just yet is because I bought this and his last album at the same time. Which brings me to Pink Moon, Drake's final album before he died.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/PinkMoon.gifPink Moon is a masterpiece, it is a sensational album that frankly made me look at music a completely different way. In this album Drake got his way in regards to how the album was produced. The entire album is just him and his guitar with the occasional piano and it is so raw and utterly fantastic. This is roots music distilled to it's very essence. Highlights from this album is Pink Moon where Drake's voice drops so low it almost becomes non-existent, Road of gorgeous guitar, Place To Be:
Now I'm darker than the deepest sea
Just hand me down, give me a place to be.
And I was strong, strong in the sun
I thought I'd see when day is done
Now I'm weaker than the palest blue
Oh, so weak in this need for you
and the unreal Know - by far the most raw track he made and reminiscent, to me, of really old blues music.
Drake was far, far ahead of his time. You could drop him straight from 1974 into the charts of Triple J today and nobody would blink an eye - well, maybe they'd blink an eye but only for his very obvious talent. It's such a shame that he wasn't recognised in his time as the great musician that he was. In truth this is probably because the guy was allegedly very shy and would not play live gigs or promote himself at all.
It was reported that he was so bitterly disappointed that Bryter Layter didn't sell better than it did, just a few thousand, that he became quite depressed. Personally I think Drake knew just how good he was and when things didn't work out the way he thought they would he was understandably devastated. Funny thing is, he turned his back on music for a while and turned to...IT (computer programming to be exact). Old school geek as well as a fantastic musician!
I've been writing reviews about musicians that have deeply touched my life - I relate music to periods of my life and it's so intrinsically linked that I can't think of that time in my life without thinking of the music that accompanied it. Nick Drake is swiftly becoming one of those artists.
Nick Drake passed away from an overdose of anti-depressants. Nobody knows if it was intentional or accidental. He often took the pills as sleeping tablets and his family wasn't warned that just one extra pill could kill him. And kill him it did, in his parents house at the age of 26. Even though he met this sad end at such a young age I find the absolute joy in his music and lyrics and it reflects and translates to my life now. Drake is another of those artists that is infamous for being depressing but again, I find this 'depressing' music has the opposite effect.
If you want to dive in and get a Nick Drake album I'd suggest giving Bryter Layter a go first - it's probably the most accessible of his albums. If you like this album I won't have to remind you of the other two albums - you'll look for them yourself.
Nick Drake was one of those diamonds I discovered one day when a much older work colleague gave me a bunch of CDs. The Nick Drake album I was given was Bryter Layter. I confess I didn't listen to this album for about a year but when I finally did it completely blew me away.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/BryterLayter.gifBryter Layter is Nick Drake's second album. The first song is an instrumental piece that leads into Hazy Jane II, which is quite a poppy, country song but made brilliant by the way in which Drake sings the lyrics - first stringing all the lyrics together like a river of words, then switching to a more traditional method. The real gems on this album, though, is Fly, One Of These Things First, Poor Boy and Northern Sky:
I've been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye
They are stand out tracks - whimsical and strong with lyrics that are so simple yet so well crafted. I've read that Drake was not happy with Bryter Layter - he did not want to include the orchestral parts but was talked into doing so by his producer.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/FiveLeaves.gifFive Leaves Left was his first album - I've listened to this album half a dozen times but I haven't gelled with it yet. This is with the exception of the songs Saturday Sun - a jazzy song that's so laid back and beautiful you'd have to listen to it to understand and the prophetic Fruit Tree:
Life is but a memory
Happened long ago.
Theatre full of sadness
For a long forgotten show.
Seems so easy
Just to let it go on by
Till you stop and wonder
Why you never wondered why
I think the reason I haven't quite immersed myself into Five Leaves just yet is because I bought this and his last album at the same time. Which brings me to Pink Moon, Drake's final album before he died.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/7/1/PinkMoon.gifPink Moon is a masterpiece, it is a sensational album that frankly made me look at music a completely different way. In this album Drake got his way in regards to how the album was produced. The entire album is just him and his guitar with the occasional piano and it is so raw and utterly fantastic. This is roots music distilled to it's very essence. Highlights from this album is Pink Moon where Drake's voice drops so low it almost becomes non-existent, Road of gorgeous guitar, Place To Be:
Now I'm darker than the deepest sea
Just hand me down, give me a place to be.
And I was strong, strong in the sun
I thought I'd see when day is done
Now I'm weaker than the palest blue
Oh, so weak in this need for you
and the unreal Know - by far the most raw track he made and reminiscent, to me, of really old blues music.
Drake was far, far ahead of his time. You could drop him straight from 1974 into the charts of Triple J today and nobody would blink an eye - well, maybe they'd blink an eye but only for his very obvious talent. It's such a shame that he wasn't recognised in his time as the great musician that he was. In truth this is probably because the guy was allegedly very shy and would not play live gigs or promote himself at all.
It was reported that he was so bitterly disappointed that Bryter Layter didn't sell better than it did, just a few thousand, that he became quite depressed. Personally I think Drake knew just how good he was and when things didn't work out the way he thought they would he was understandably devastated. Funny thing is, he turned his back on music for a while and turned to...IT (computer programming to be exact). Old school geek as well as a fantastic musician!
I've been writing reviews about musicians that have deeply touched my life - I relate music to periods of my life and it's so intrinsically linked that I can't think of that time in my life without thinking of the music that accompanied it. Nick Drake is swiftly becoming one of those artists.
Nick Drake passed away from an overdose of anti-depressants. Nobody knows if it was intentional or accidental. He often took the pills as sleeping tablets and his family wasn't warned that just one extra pill could kill him. And kill him it did, in his parents house at the age of 26. Even though he met this sad end at such a young age I find the absolute joy in his music and lyrics and it reflects and translates to my life now. Drake is another of those artists that is infamous for being depressing but again, I find this 'depressing' music has the opposite effect.
If you want to dive in and get a Nick Drake album I'd suggest giving Bryter Layter a go first - it's probably the most accessible of his albums. If you like this album I won't have to remind you of the other two albums - you'll look for them yourself.