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Nick Drake A-Z
An exploration into the world of the English singer & song-writer Nick Drake.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

M, N, O
Martyn, John
A British singer & song-writer, born in Surrey, England 1948, and a good friend of Nick Drake, to whom his song and LP Solid Air was dedicated. Martyn once described Nick as "the most withdrawn person I have ever met" (quote from Maconie, Q Magazine)



P, Q
Photos
Check out my Photo Gallery for some Nick Drake-related pictures.


Pink Moon - the record
Nick's third (and last) album, released in 1972 on Island Records. It's also the title track of that album.

See Reviews for contemporary reviews of 'Pink Moon'.


Pink moon - the story - 1970-72
Soon after the release of Bryter Layter, Joe Boyd sells Witchseason to Island Records' owner Chris Blackwell and moves to Los Angeles to work for Warner Brothers. In England, Nick's health condition is getting worse. The financial fiasco of 'Bryter Layter' and Boyd's move (which he interprets as a betrayal) makes him more depressed and inward. Nick's worried parents calls Boyd in L.A., saying they want Nick to see a psychiatrist; but he doesn't want to. Boyd:


Finally, in 1971, his parents manage to get Nick to a psychiatrist in London. They drive to Sct. Thomas, one of the biggest hospitals in London, and get in touch with the head psychiatrist, a man famous for his work with depressive patients. Molly Drake:


Nick leaves the hospital with a prescription of three different antidepressant drugs. The doctor has declared that this is a case of an inner depression, i.e. one that can't be explained by external circumstances (childhood, upbringing, puberty etc). Nick is interested neither in the psychiatrist, nor the pills, but he follows the prescription. For a month. Then he starts and stops taking the pills as if he were taking aspirins for a headache. He is a bit better when he takes them, but stops since he wants to get through without them.

This is not a reaction to some temporary misfortune, it's a black fog that will cover him for three tormented years. He has a daily routine of sitting in a chair, gazing out of the window or stare at his feet. Sometimes he sits there in total darkness. He has by now moved back to his parents in Tanworth-In-Arden, but he is now and then driving to London. Sometimes he will change his mind half way there and drive back.

As the situation's growing worse, he even stops talking. One is only able to drag a 'yes' or a 'no' out of him. "I wish I could meet someone who's gone through what I have", he tells a friend. Another friend, Paul Wheeler, recalls:


An interesting note is made by Robert Kirby, a note that is a fine illustration of Nick Drake, both his music and his person:


It's 1971. Nick will often leave home without telling anyone. His parents must call all his friends to see if he's alright. Nick has a lot of music running through his head, but he can't write, can't get it down. Chris Blackwell at Island Records offers him an apartment on the Spanish coast. When he returns to England in October 1971, he calls John Wood, telling him he wants to make a new album. Wood has received instructions from the company to record anything with Nick - anytime - so he tells Nick to come over. He arrives at midnight, pale faced, looking like a man who's been losing too much sleep. Nick sits down in the studio, perfectly in tune as always, and plays his songs in an unbroken suite. The record, 'Pink Moon', is recorded in two hours. Other sources claims that the songs were cut in two days, which actually sounds more reasonable.

A couple of days later, they meet to work out the arrangements. Nick puts on some piano on the title track, Pink Moon, but that's it. "I don't want them arranged", says Nick, "no frills".
The album is short, about 30 minutes, but Nick haven't got any more songs. In Robert Kirby's eyes 'Pink Moon' is the finest work Nick ever did. And an astonishing achievment: during the recording he was so depressed that he could barely speak, so confused that he would stand helplessly at an intersection, unable to cross.

Nick is now in possession of the finished tape, but one problem remains: he must bring it to Island Records. And explain why there are no arrangements. Nick drives to the office, but when he reaches the door, ha can't go through with it. Without a word, he leaves the tape with the receptionist. A few days later, someone actually decides to open the package and they realize that it's the new Nick Drake album.

Do I have to mention that this personal, stark album, released in February 1972, sells even less than its predecessors? I think not. Apparently, the public isn't ready for 'Pink Moon'. Here's a quote from Al Clark's review in Time Out:


After the recording of 'Pink Moon', the life of Nick Drake is getting even darker than before. He now lives permanently at his parents' house. In the afternoons you can hear the sound of Bach's Brandenburg concerts. But the volume is turned down, hardly hearable. And when the record comes to an end, Nick lets the pick-up go on and on, listening to the sound for hours.

Another hint of the tragic and confusing circumstances that Nick lives under during this period, is the press information from Island Records upon the release of 'Pink Moon':


Continue to Last years


Posthumous appreciation
The number of artists declaring their appreciation of Nick Drake's work is ever increasing and ranges from Elton John via Paul Weller to J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Tom Verlaine, the leader of New York combo Television has uttered: "The very best of them all is Nick Drake", and it's no secret that the single two heroes of Robert Smith from The Cure are Ian Curtis and... Nick Drake. I could name numerous names, but the point to me seems to be that Nick is now beginning to receive the appreciation he never quite got during his lifetime. Joe Boyd (producer):


A perhaps more ambigous (definitely unexpected!) tribute to Nick Drake is Nike's use of a part of his song Know (from 'Pink Moon') in a commercial for sport shoes. The commercial was shown frequently in 1995 on MTV.

In 1992, a tribute album dedicated to Nick Drake was recorded. It's called 'Brittle Days' and contains more or less unknown artists doing covers of Nick Drake songs. See Cover versions & Tributes



R, S
Real Audio
Listen to some rare, unreleased Nick Drake songs in Real Audio


Related music
This is my personal guide to "Nick Drake-related" or "Nick Drake-oriented" music of the past and today. A list of recommended favorites.
� � Some of the records on this list may, at a quick glance, seem far-fetched and of less relevance, but trust me - that is only due to the limits of our imagination and insight!


Reviews
What did they think then? Read and enjoy what the 'experts' had to say about Nick's records at the time being. The reviews are in their complete forms except where indicated.

Melody Maker, July 26, 1969 (review of 'Five Leaves Left'):


NME, October 4, 1969 (review of 'Five Leaves Left'):


Melody Maker, March 13, 1971 (review of 'Bryter Layter'):


Sounds, March 13, 1971 (review of 'Bryter Layter'):


Record Mirror, March 20, 1971 (review of 'Bryter Layter'):


Sounds, March 25, 1972 (review of 'Pink Moon'):


Melody Maker, May 1, 1972 (review of 'Pink Moon'):


Rolling Stone, April 1972. This is an excerpt from a review of the U.S. record 'Nick Drake', a compilation of Nick's first two albums (a fact that the reviewer, Steve Holland, seems to be unaware of):


Los Angeles Times, December 1, 1994 (a "Classic of the Week" article about 'Pink Moon' by Mike Boehm):


Robinson, Harry
Robinson made the beautiful string arrangements on River Man from 'Five Leaves Left'. Robinson has later worked with Sandy Denny.





T
Tanworth-in-Arden
A small English village in the countryside, 12 miles south of Birmingham, north-west of Stratford, where Nick Drake was raised and lived from the age of four.

Thompson, Richard
Guitarist, singer & songwriter, former member of Fairport Convention. Born 1949 in London, by Scottish parents. Thompson plays electric lead guitar on Time Has Told Me from 'Five Leaves Left', and on Hazey Jane II from 'Bryter Layter'. He also appears as lead guitarist on an alternate version of The Thoughts Of Mary Jane, available on 'Time Of No Reply'.

Time Of No Reply - the record - 1967-74
Album released in 1986 on Hannibal Records, consisting of previously unreleased tracks; outtakes, early home-made recordings and the last four recordings in 1974 - the year of his death.



U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Wheeler, Paul
A folksinger and guitarist that Nick Drake met and became friends with at college in Cambridge. Wheeler was also the one who brought Nick and John Martyn together.

Witchseason
An undertitle to Island Records. Witchseason is owned by Joe Boyd and released the original 'Five Leaves Left' album in 1969.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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