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.