Nick Drake appreciation thread

[youarenotimmune]

There have only ever been three artists for me when it comes to music - U2, Radiohead & Nick Drake. No other band or artist affects me even remotely as much as these three, and each moves me in a way the other two cannot.

Nick Drake's music is by far the most beautiful I have heard in my life. I know Dylan is considered by many to be the greatest songwriter ever, but for me that title will always belong to Nick Drake. His angelic voice complemented his lyrics so perfectly. And then of course there was his guitar playing.....

I couldn't find any Nick Drake threads over here, so was curious if he had any sort of fan base on Interference?

 

[cobl04]

there's been a couple of threads in the past, but they've really grown beyond two pages. a bit of discussion amongst threads.

i bought pink moon on a whim, and now i've got all three of his albums. i don't subscribe to the theory his music is depressing (listen to Northern Sky before jumping down my throat) and i'm of the opinion Bryter Layter is his best, marginally in front of Pink Moon, and then a gap to Five Leaves Left.

heath ledger was a fan too, and hopefully one day his Drake biopic Black Eyed Dog will resurface.

 

[iron yuppie]

I could not let this thread die with only one reply. I think that COBL makes an interesting point about the mood of the songs. The lyrics are certainly forlorn, but the delivery often evokes a kind of optimism. If nothing else, Drake was a master of subtlety.

 

[cobl04]

exactly. i can see why people believe it, take Place to Be for example:

I was strong, strong in the sun
Thought I'd see when day was done
Now I'm weaker than the palest blue
Oh so weak in this need for you

which is quite despondent. but then you listen to Pink Moon, with the piano overdub, or Northern Sky, and there's nothing there but optimism, at least in my view anyway.

 

[youarenotimmune]

woohooo 3 replies!

 

[Imperor]

I've never seen this thread before somehow.

Yeah, dude was great.

 

[MikeyJB]

I remember buying his 'Best Of' collection on a whim because I was into acoustic music at the time and I remembered seeing people rate someone called Nick Drake highly. Didn't really grab me at first but slowly but surely the songs really got under my skin and now I love them. Songs like Northern Sky, Cello Song and Pink Moon are my favourites, just beautiful songwriting.

I keep meaning to buy his 3 full albums but so far haven't got round to it. Maybe this weekend.

 

[Ronnie269]

Incredible musician Nick Drake!!!, I'm surprised he isn't more popular on this forum, He is one of those musicians that really needs to be discovered by listeners tho, I agree with Cobl04, Bryter Layter was Nicks peak, a phenomenal album from start to finish, even the instrumental tracks (which usually bore me) are great!

I started a thread about Drakes fellow musician and friend, John Martyn here and it got next to nothing in interest, another one of those rare musicians that needs to be discovered in time!

 

[cobl04]

i think you'll find there's a fair few of us here who think he is pretty damn great, but what more can you say than what's already been said?

Northern Sky is simply one of the most beautiful songs, ever.

 

[Ronnie269]

Ah yeah no doubt Drake has many fans here alright, but I just thought for the quility of the music there would be more interest, but then again as you said cobl04 what more can you say? Incredible musician, 3 beautiful albums, sadly wasn't appreciated as much in his time, contributing to his depression and ultimately untimely death (suicide).

 

[LemonMelon]

I've been listening to Pink Moon for nearly four years now, and with its short length, I've probably heard it 20-30 times. That being said, I had my best listen ever to it tonight. Amusingly, I had no specific desire to hear the album, but I wanted to hear something short and easily digested. Indeed, it works on that level but, in a way, it was a horrible pick; few albums make me feel actively uncomfortable as I'm listening, and Pink Moon's intimacy is both suffocating and comforting. Either way, it doesn't feel like an album that should have been released for public consumption. The last two tracks in particular, Harvest Breed and From The Morning, paint a picture of a man in his darkest hour coming to grips with his eventual demise, seeing the beauty in the world in spite of the fact that he only has a limited amount of time to observe it. Which Will is my favorite though; absolutely heartbreaking, that one.

Also, does anyone here know this non-album track? It's fractured and creepy as fuck, but still manages to be pretty somehow:

YouTube - Nick Drake Black Eyed Dog

 

[cobl04]

yeah i've heard that. that was the name of the biopic that Heath Ledger was making about Drake before he died. it was shown at some film festival but hasn't been seen since.

 

[thousandfold]

LOVE Nick Drake. Drake, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith are my holy trifecta of sad dead singer-songwriters. So much love.

 

[Imperor]

AT&T covers 97% of all Americans.

 

[thousandfold]

AT&T covers 97% of all Americans.

Hey come on, I think I only heard him because of the VW ads with Pink Moon.

 

[cobl04]

the VW ads were good though. AT&T are from what i can gather, disliked, and way to come up with an original idea.

 

[thousandfold]

I thought the ad was fine. I always like hearing Nick Drake somewhere.