Nick Drake

MaskedJackal · #1 06-16-2009, 12:35 PM

I have been totally obsessed with his brilliant tunes since this fall, when I bought Pink Moon on a whim. Yeah, the album is bassless, but his use of the low-E string is interesting in a lot of songs-- "From The Morning" almost sounds like it has a really tight bassline.

Also, Danny Thompson's playing on the Bryter Layter and Five Leaves Left records are absolutely perfect. Love the upright tone on "Three Hours," especially. Dark and suitably woody.

Anyone else? One of my biggest regrets from my time studying abroad this past spring was not going to his grave in Tanworth-in-Arden.

Greyvagabond · #2 06-16-2009, 12:38 PM

He was truely a great, unique talent. He was folksy in the most pure way; not as a genre, but because that's the music that just came out of him.

MaskedJackal · #3 06-22-2009, 02:05 PM

That's a beautiful way of putting it.

BUMP! Sheesh people, is that it?

Joe Garage · #4 06-23-2009, 11:17 AM

I’m also a fan of his music. I bought the boxset that contained all his records and a documentary.

Great stuff!

MaskedJackal · #5 06-23-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Garage

I’m also a fan of his music. I bought the boxset that contained all his records and a documentary.

Great stuff!

Been looking for the vinyl version of that. Pretty pricey, unfortunately.

Joe Garage · #6 08-23-2009, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaskedJackal

Been looking for the vinyl version of that. Pretty pricey, unfortunately.

Sorry for the late relply. I would have prefered to have the vinyl set, but unfortunatly only got the CD boxset.
I guess the DVD is missing from the vinyl box set.

BTW are you a Coroner fan?

foq1978 · #7 08-26-2009, 06:40 AM

Five Leaves Left is probably one of the top 5 Albums I've ever heard... Every single song is amazing.

jmorbita · #8 08-26-2009, 12:14 PM

great music, great lyrics, beautifull songs. So many feellings expressed in such a subtle, true way... i love his music.

MaskedJackal · #9 08-27-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Garage

BTW are you a Coroner fan?

Yes, a rather substantial one!

MaskedJackal · #10 08-27-2009, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

Five Leaves Left is probably one of the top 5 Albums I've ever heard... Every single song is amazing.

I concur. Pink Moon remains my favorite - perfect late-night listening.

Also, I've been thinking...how cool would it be to hear a stripped-down version of Bryter Later and FLL? A version with all the session musicians cut out, leaving only Nick and his guitar? I started thinking about this after reading someone (might've been Joe Boyd, Drake's producer) mention that he thought Pink Moon was Drake's most personal, because it was recorded solely by himself, with no embellishments or additions penned by third parties.

Planet Boulder · #11 08-27-2009, 08:27 PM

Huge Nick Drake fan here. I have 4 (I think) of his CDs and I've yet to come across anything by him that I didn't like.

For anyone looking for a modern day Nick Drake sound, check out Alexi Murdoch. Outstanding young folk talent from Scotland (like Drake, he's reclusive) who cites Nick Drake as his main inflience. You can really hear it in his music, too. He's released one full length CD thus far, "Time Without Consequence", as well as an EP and his new CD is expected to be released this fall.

MaskedJackal · #12 08-27-2009, 08:29 PM

Alexi is great, but I will say he's not as dark as Drake. Really love "Orange Sky." His record is wonderful.

Deluge Of Sound · #13 08-27-2009, 10:26 PM

I'm about to check out Nick Drake for the first time--a friend lent me Five Leaves Left.

Any other essential listening, provided I like what I hear?

**ShoeManiac** · #14 09-21-2009, 11:22 PM

Very much a Nick Drake fan here. His story is one of the great tragedies of rock history. But I caught a documentary about his work recently, and there were some great insights on his recording work. The producer was going through "One of these things first" track by track. And I believe he cited the bassists on that track as Dave Pegg (Jethro Tull, IIRC).

gkbass13 · #15 09-22-2009, 02:08 AM

i bartend two nights a week at a pretty laid back lounge, and "pink moon" is one of the albums i play weekly on the places sound system by means of my ipod. so, so good.

DaveF · #16 09-22-2009, 03:04 AM

Cool man, I was listening to "way to blue" (compilation) at breakfast this morning... he blows me away.

Six years ago next month, I dropped my wife off after our first date. I got into the car and "Time of No Reply" was playing as I drove home. I can't listen to it without getting glassy-eyed... amazing.

vlado · #17 04-22-2010, 02:17 AM

Sorry for the late reply. I'm a big Nick Drake fan, I think no other musician has been a bigger influence on me, although I've already been playing for years when I discovered his music back in 1995. All the time since then I've been in search for that kind of music and there's a lot of similar stuff, but Nick's still undeniably the best.

If you hadn't already check out John Martyn's stuff, then Jose Gonzales (atmosphere very much like Pink Moon) and also Kings of convenience.

I'll always remember the way I found Nick Drake's stuff:
There was an article in a music magazine about him, a full two page biography, a revue on each of the three albums published during his lifetime and a translation of Things behind the sun. I read it and concluded I'd probably like to hear it, but back then, I think it was in 1993, there was no way I could find his records in any of our local stores, since I live in a small town. Two years later I went to visit my brother in Berlin and the first day I went to a biggest CD store I could find, found all of his CD-s and put on the one song I knew the lyrics of, Things behind the sun. It felt like I've finally found the music I was looking for all my life. And to this day Nick Drake is my favorite and beyond comparison.

baalroo · #18 04-22-2010, 03:49 PM

strange coincidence

I actually came across Pink Moon just this week and have been enjoying it quite a bit.