Thoughts about Nick Drake and his music

Old music continues to provide me with new listening experiences. A recent example of this at the forefront of my mind, presently, has been my introduction to the work of the late Nick Drake. Stumbling upon a music theory video on YouTube by Charles Cornell, wherin he conducts a musical analysis of Drake’s haunting song, River Man, I was introduced to his work.

I immediately set about listening to Nick Drake’s discography and found it to be one of the most enjoyable listening experiences in recent memory. Starting out with Five Leaves Left, with it’s lush and ethereal string arangements accompanying NIck’s steady guitar and silky smooth baritone vocals, through to the more radio-friendly arrangements of Bryter Layter and the raw, unfiltered confessional style of Pink Moon, this was quite a journey.

Nick Drake’s story is overshadowed by his personal struggle with depression, amidst his relative lack of success as an artist during his lifetime. He tragically died at the age of 26 following an overdose of antidepressants. Being somewhat shy and unwilling to command the attention of aufiences between songs in his short-lived touring stint, his albums struggled to reach a wide audience.

For me, it’s the almost non-production of his final album, Pink Moon, which as almost completely comprised of Nick Drake and his guitar playing, which hits the hardest. By the time of it’s recording, which occured over a period of two consecutive nights, unbeknownst to the executives at Island Records, Drake was in a bad way in terms of his struggle with depression. Having been put on anti-depressants, but then self-medicating himself off of them, due to their impact on his ability to write songs, he had begun a downward spiral overshadowed by a lack of commercial success for his songs.

Opening with almost apocalyptic title track, which speaks about the inevitabile coming of the Pink Moon, a harbringer of death from which none can escape, the album feels like an intimate confession from it’s creator, In fact, according to reports from engineer John Wood (the only personnel besides Drake involved in the recording) Nick just sat facing the wall whilst recording the songs. There is a reluctant glimmer of hopefulness in the closing track From The Morning, which seems to speak about rebirth and new beginnings, with Nick asking us to ‘see the days’ and ‘endless coloured ways’ while we ‘go play the game.’ His lyrics are deep and personal, delivered with honesty that is rarely encountered in recorded music.

Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter are both excellent listens in their own right, also. The former, being his first album, is dominated by his signature, solid guitar playing, accompanied by ethereal strings, upright bass and the occasional electric guitar. It serves as a platform to spotlight NIck’s excellent singing, playing and songwriting.

Bryter Layter features a more radio-friendly sound, which was a conscious decision by producer Joe Boyd, following the poor commercial performance of Five Leaves Left. Session musicians were brought in to fill out the sound with drums, horns, keyboards and guitar. This creates a different feel but the strength of the songs still stands. Northern Sky, Hazy Jane II and At The Chime of a City Clock stand out as triumphant moments.

Nick Drake died believing his music had failed to reach the people it was made for. But in the years since his passing it has found popularity with a great many people, with a number of folk and alternative artists citing his work as a major influence, whilst his songs have been featured in film and television, Notoriously the song Pink Moon was featured in a Volkswagon commericial that skyrocketed the popularity of the song and album, bringing Nick Drake’s work to a much wider audience.

If you have yet to listen to Nick Drake. You are in for a treat. I recommed listening to all three albums in chronological order. If you are interested in finding out more about his story, I also recommend the documentary A Skin Too Few, which is available on YouTube. I also understand that the recent biography, Nick Drake: The Life is perhaps the definitive word on his life and times, given his shy, private nature.

I’m curious to know what your thoughts are on Nick Drake. Do you have a favourite song or album? Leave a comment and let me know.