Pop & Miscellaneous

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970)

2014-06-17T16:04:31Z

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970)


01. Introduction 
02. Hazey Jane II 
03. At The Chime Of A City Clock 
04. One Of These Things First 
05. Hazey Jane I 
06. Bryter Layter 
07. Fly 
08. Poor Boy 
09. Northern Sky 
10. Sunday

Nick Drake – guitar, vocals
Richard Thompson – guitar
Dave Pegg – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums
Ray Warleigh – saxophone (alto)
John Cale – organ, piano
Mike Kowalski – drums
Ed Carter – Ed Carter
Ray Warleigh – flute
Lyn Dobson – flute

With even more of the Fairport Convention crew helping him out -- including bassist Dave Pegg and drummer Dave Mattacks along with, again, a bit of help from Richard Thompson -- as well as John Cale and a variety of others, Drake tackled another excellent selection of songs on his second album. Demonstrating the abilities shown on Five Leaves Left didn't consist of a fluke, Bryter Layter featured another set of exquisitely arranged and performed tunes, with producer Joe Boyd and orchestrator Robert Kirby reprising their roles from the earlier release. Starting with the elegant instrumental "Introduction," as lovely a mood-setting piece as one would want, Bryter Layter indulges in a more playful sound at many points, showing that Drake was far from being a constant king of depression. While his performances remain generally low-key and his voice quietly passionate, the arrangements and surrounding musicians add a considerable amount of pep, as on the jazzy groove of the lengthy "Poor Boy." The argument could be made that this contravenes the spirit of Drake's work, but it feels more like a calmer equivalent to the genre-sliding experiments of Van Morrison at around the same time. Numbers that retain a softer approach, like "At the Chime of a City Clock," still possess a gentle drive to them. Cale's additions unsurprisingly favor the classically trained side of his personality, with particularly brilliant results on "Northern Sky." As his performances on keyboards and celeste help set the atmosphere, Drake reaches for a perfectly artful reflection on loss and loneliness and succeeds wonderfully. --- Ned Raggett, Rovi

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Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969)

2014-06-14T15:56:12Z

Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969)


01. Time Has Told Me 
02. River Man 
03. Three Hours 
04. Way To Blue 
05. Day Is Done 
06. ‘Cello Song 
07. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane 
08. Man In A Shed 
09. Fruit Tree 
10. Saturday Sun

Nick Drake - Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Piano, Vocals
Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu  - Percussion
Tristan Fry - Drums, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background)
Paul Harris - Piano
Robert Kirby - Bass Arrangement, String Arrangements
Clare Lowther - Cello
Danny Thompson - Bass
Richard Thompson – Guitars

It's little wonder why Drake felt frustrated at the lack of commercial success his music initially gathered, considering the help he had on his debut record. Besides fine production from Joe Boyd and assistance from folks like Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson and his unrelated bass counterpart from Pentangle, Danny Thompson, Drake also recruited school friend Robert Kirby to create most of the just-right string and wind arrangements. His own performance itself steered a careful balance between too-easy accessibility and maudlin self-reflection, combining the best of both worlds while avoiding the pitfalls on either side. The result was a fantastic debut appearance, and if the cult of Drake consistently reads more into his work than is perhaps deserved, Five Leaves Left is still a most successful effort. Having grown out of the amiable but derivative styles captured on the long-circulating series of bootleg home recordings, Drake imbues his tunes with just enough drama -- world-weariness in the vocals, carefully paced playing, and more -- to make it all work. His lyrics capture a subtle poetry of emotion, as on the pastoral semi-fantasia of "The Thoughts of Mary Jane," which his soft, articulate singing brings even more to the full. Sometimes he projects a little more clearly, as on the astonishing voice-and-strings combination "Way to Blue," while elsewhere he's not so clear, suggesting rather than outlining the mood. Understatement is the key to his songs and performances' general success, which makes the combination of his vocals and Rocky Dzidzornu's congas on "Three Hours" and the lovely "'Cello Song," to name two instances, so effective. Danny Thompson is the most regular side performer on the album, his bass work providing subtle heft while never standing in the way of the song -- kudos well deserved for Boyd's production as well. --- Ned Raggett, Rovi

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Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)

2014-06-22T16:31:31Z

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)


01. Pink Moon 
02. Place To Be 
03. Road 
04. Which Will 
05. Horn 
06. Things Behind The Sun 
07. Know 
08. Parasite 
09. Free Ride 
10. Harvest Breed 
11. From The Morning

Nick Drake - Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Piano, Vocals

After two albums of tastefully orchestrated folk-pop, albeit some of the least demonstrative and most affecting around, Drake chose a radical change for what turned out to be his final album. Not even half-an-hour long, with 11 short songs and no more -- he famously remarked at the time that he simply had no more to record -- Pink Moon more than anything else is the record that made Drake the cult figure he remains. Specifically, Pink Moon is the bleakest of them all; that the likes of Belle and Sebastian are fans of Drake may be clear enough, but it's doubtful they could ever achieve the calm, focused anguish of this album, as harrowing as it is attractive. No side musicians or outside performers help this time around -- it's simply Drake and Drake alone on vocals, acoustic guitar, and a bit of piano, recorded by regular producer Joe Boyd but otherwise untouched by anyone else. The lead-off title track was eventually used in a Volkswagen commercial nearly 30 years later, giving him another renewed burst of appreciation -- one of life's many ironies, in that such an affecting song, Drake's softly keened singing and gentle strumming, could turn up in such a strange context. The remainder of the album follows the same general path, with Drake's elegant melancholia avoiding sounding pretentious in the least thanks to his continued embrace of simple, tender vocalizing. Meanwhile, the sheer majesty of his guitar playing -- consider the opening notes of "Road" or "Parasite" -- makes for a breathless wonder to behold. --- Ned Raggett, Rovi

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Nick Drake - Time Of No Reply (1986)

2014-06-30T15:28:09Z

Nick Drake - Time Of No Reply (1986)


01. Time Of No Reply 
02. I Was Made To Love Magic 
03. Joey 
04. Clothes Of Sand 
05. Man In A Shed 
06. Mayfair 
07. Fly 
08. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane 
09. Been Smoking Too Long 
10. Strange Meeting II 
11. Rider On The Wheel 
12. Black Eyed Dog 
13. Hanging On A Star 
14. Voice From The Mountain

Nick Drake - Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Piano, Vocals
Richard Thompson - Guitar (Electric)

Released in the mid-'80 during one of the many Drake revivals over the years, combining tracks from the original Fruit Tree box set and other outtakes unreleased until then, Time of No Reply is a fine coda to Drake's all too brief recording career. A collection of outtakes and alternate versions of more familiar songs, it parallels Pink Moon in that all songs but two are simply Drake on his own, his guitar and his voice doing all that needs to be done. The majority of the recordings come from the late '60s, from the slew of sessions and home recordings predating the release of Five Leaves Left. They still show Drake working in a touch more traditional mode, but his unmistakable vocal approach is well in place throughout. The title track itself is a gem, raising the question as to why Drake thought it unworthy for initial release, with a softly catchy chorus and sweet, reflective lyrical cast. The takes on "Man in a Shed" and "The Thoughts of Mary Jane," with Richard Thompson adding electric guitar on the latter, make for an intersting contrast to their more familiar studio incarnations. The release concludes with the "final session," four last songs recorded two years after Pink Moon, shortly before his death. The songs included on Time of No Reply should be considered demos and experiments, but there's no questioning Drake's power for understated exploration of darker moments and emotions remained. --- Ned Raggett, Rovi

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