Nick Drake

It's a sad thing that Nick Drake will never get the recognition that he deserves. He never sold many records (he only made three) while he was alive but he's gotten somewhat more popular since he died. I don't remember exactly how I got into Drake, but I think it happened during a Tim Buckley phase I went through about half a dozen years ago.

At first listen I wasn't overly impressed. I think the first record I got was his second one Bryter Layter. Hazy Jane II was the initial stand out, but it took a little while for me to realize how good the rest of the record is. I spent a long time listening to Bryter Layter. The subtle melancholy of Drake's sound becomes addictive with repeated listening. Some critics have lamented the horns on the record and the fact that it isn't more of an acoustic effort, but I think they work especially on tracks like Hazy Jane II and At The Chime Of A City Clock.

Next I started listening to Five Leaves Left, Drake's first album. There are less horns and piano on this record and thus the music has a softer feel than Bryter Layter. As I try to write about this record I realize that it's difficult for me to write about Drake's albums individually. They all share certain characteristics. One thing that makes Drake so great is that he had his own sound. I never think that he sounds like anyone else, but there are lots of people who I think sound like him, (Alexi Murdoch is a good example). Drake had a great voice and was an excellent guitar player. He used a variety of tunings which made playing live difficult, as his guitar would have to be retuned between songs. I suppose someone with the right kind of personality or sense of humour could have kept audiences entertained in such situations, but Drake wasn't that person. It's been said that he was so painfully shy that he would record his vocals in the studio facing a wall.

His final album was Pink Moon. It's a stark almost despondent record. It was recorded over two evenings and features Drake alone on each track except the title one. The story goes that he hand delivered the masters to the receptionist at Island Records offices. He just placed them on her desk and walked away without saying anything. The tapes actually went unnoticed until the next week. I guess what's so striking about this record is how it contrasts his first one. To me it sounds bare and there's an exhausted sound to it, as if Drake had been beaten down. On Five Leaves Left, despite the melancholy Drake sounds much younger and fresh in a way. It was only 3 years between his first and last releases.

All of Drake's records are excellent. There really is no filler on any of his records, each song contains a craftsmanship so consistent that I can't think of another band or performer to compare it to.

Nick Drake killed himself sometime on the night of November 24/25 1974. He was 26.

Hayden - The Closer I Get

The Closer I Get - 1998

I should point out right away that I went to high school with Hayden, but back then his name was Paul and if I recall correctly he was really into The Smiths.
Anyways, I'm going to put whatever personal feelings I have about Paul aside, (trust me, they ain't much, I didn't really know him that well), and try to be as objective as I can about this record.

The record starts out well enough if not a little predictably. If you've never heard Hayden before his music is fairly typical lo-fi folky stuff. It reminds me a little of Iron & Wine. The songs get a little eclectic at various points and in my mind this is a good thing. The instrumentation on songs like Stride and Waiting For a Chance To See Her is great. On songs like these he's broken away to some extent from what I would expect from lo-fi folk by mixing in some electronic elements, (some well placed and well mixed beebing on Stride for example).

Where this album really falls down is the lyrics and to some extent the singing. The only subject that Hayden seems to know how to sing about is himself and it gets very tiresome really fast. Most of the lyrics sound like bad high school poetry (I hate to admit it but I just couldn't make it through Better Off Inside what with the promise of Instrumental With Mellontron next in line). In fact the lyrics are so bad it's a little shocking that the same person wrote the music which for the most part is pretty damn good, (if not a little repetitive). The singing is also a little weak. It's not that Hayden has a bad voice it's just that he doesn't use it in a very interesting fashion. The moany, droney, sadcore singing gets a little boring after a while.

Musically I really like this record. By far the best song is Waiting For A Chance To See Her. As an instrumental it allows Hayden's talent to shine through and not be deflected by his weak lyrics and mediocre singing. Bullet meanders on way too long and anything that was effective about this song is totally lost. Memphis and Better Off Inside are total throw aways. You Are All I Have is Hayden at his moaniest best. It's a nice simple song and I love the sound of something he's playing on it, either an ukulele or a banjo.

This was Hayden's second album and I think it's usually considered a little worse than his first, but I think that's a mistake. This one seemed more varied musically than his first record and he sounds more competent as a musician on it.

Camera Obscura

I acquire a lot of music. I am constantly looking for new stuff. Going through Pitchfork Media's top albums of the year, (I think it was their list from 2006), I came across Camera Obscura. I read their entry at allmusic.com and they looked interesting enough so I got a few of their records. As is typical for me it took me months to get around to listening to them. The first song to make an impression was "Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" from the album "Let's Get Out Of This Country". It's a great pop song. Tracyanne Campbell's voice sounds particularly good on this song. It has a melancholy quality that contrasts very well with the popish upbeat sound of the music. It turns out melancholy is kinda their thing. I then checked out the album "Underachievers Please Try Harder". The first song "Suspended From Class" is excellent. The second song "Keep It Clean" is almost as good. Unfortunately the rest of the record doesn't live up the expectations set by these first two songs. That's not to say that it's a bad album. It's not, it's really great. It just climaxes early. I went back to "Let's Get Out Of This Country" and found a few more gems there. The title track is great. I love "Tears For Affairs". It's got a this great 60's feel to it, (is that a Hammond organ?). A lot of their music has a 60's or even a 50's sound to it. "A Sister's Social Agony" could easily pass as a song from 1958; it's got some great Doo-wop elements.


After spending some time with those two albums I then checked out "My Maudlin Career", their most recent record (2009). That's when I really became hooked. I just can't get enough of the first track "French Navy". It approaches pop music perfection. On it's most basic level it's just another bitter-sweet love song, but it manages to transcend the notion of a typical pop song by successfully communicating ideas that are far more complex than those often found in popular music. Most music is like a Jennifer Aniston movie. In her films, her boyfriend leaves her and she's sad. Her boyfriend asks her to marry her and she's happy. Her characters have the emotional depth of a lump of shit. In "French Navy" the character from whose point of view the song is sung is in love with the person she sings about, but at the same time it's implied that she's the architect of their love's demise. That sounds a lot more like how the world really works than, "I was happy and now I'm sad". The song implies a complex and interesting psychology that is rare in rock and roll. Also, great video.

Ms. Campbell has a great voice. One thing I especially like about it is how you can hear hints of her Scottish accent if you listen carefully to certain songs.

Overall I'd say that Camera Obscura has two kinds of songs. OK songs and great songs. It's hard to decide which is better, Ms. Campbell's voice or her song writing. The only criticism I can make concerns the mix on certain songs. Sometimes the vocals are a little buried and too much compression is used for my taste. This of course isn't unique to Camera Obscura but something that's been destroying good music for about 30 years.