Pink Moon - Nick Drake - album review

Nick Drake's final studio album, Pink Moon, released in 1972, has a character all of its own. The terse or brief song titles, and the fact that this was the singer-songwriter's last record, have led people to jump to certain conclusions.

The songs have sparse and stripped down arrangements, consisting mostly of the voice accompanied by acoustic guitar. There is none of the decorative instrumentation or trimmings present on Nick's two previous records, Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter.

It is true that some of the content of Pink Moon is bleak, but it is not unremittingly so, and the general perception of the LP's mood is no doubt compounded by the hypnotic and metronomic nature of a few of the tracks - "Place To Be" springs to mind in this regard. In a few cases the tempo and rhythms suit the atmosphere, but elsewhere things are less straightforward.

Some of the numbers, such as "Road", have a more pronounced "folk" feel to them, and the sparer sound allows Nick's acoustic guitar technique to show through.  I suspect that the word "ascetic" is used with some regularity when Pink Moon is discussed.The melodies are understated and uncomplicated, and the vocal delivery sometimes indistinct, as if the offerings are not really meant for public consumption.

For me the outstanding track is "Things Behind The Sun", which carries the odd echo of Five Leaves Left, in its greater complexity. It is also longer than the other compositions here. "Parasite" is quite unusual for the Drake catalogue, in the relative "crudeness" of its imagery.

Melancholy is the word so regularly, and often blithely, associated with Nick Drake's work. In the confines of Pink Moon, "melancholy", when understood in a broader sense, assumes its own identity, as if it is a realm in itself, existing in parallel with the real world. Without adopting a stereotyped view of Drake-songs, one can see a poetic beauty about this "other" world. People who have been there will doubtless identify with some of the sentiments expressed, even if they are done so cryptically.  This, together with the musical approach, helps to give the album an acute, occasionally unsettling, intimacy.

Pink Moon lacks the conventional "entertainment" value of Nick's other work. It is much more direct, but no less affecting.

Bryter Layter - Nick Drake - album review

Following on from his 1969 debut release, Nick Drake's 1971 album Bryter Layter saw him exploring some new territory, at least in a musical sense.

The arrangements and melodies here are more expansive and outgoing than those on Five Leaves Left, but it would be a mistake to assume that there is a correspondingly sizeable shift in the subject matter explored. Some of them are what you might describe as deceptively jolly.

Here and there I have seen some criticism of the addition of brass, backing vocals and the like, but to me this is simply a matter of personal taste. Less prominence is given to Nick Drake's acoustic guitar picking than elsewhere in his catalogue.  For what it's worth, I think that by and large the arrangements tastefully complement or augment the songs rather than tarnishing them. In any event, it would have been surprising if the artist had been content to tread water and serve up a similar dish to that represented by Five Leaves Left.

Following on from the opener "Introduction", "Hazey Jane II" features some delicate but pleasing guitar by Richard Thompson, and a sprightly enough tune.  The enigmatic lyrics may or may not have certain meanings. and like other numbers on the record, they almost lull the listener into a false sense of hope and buoyancy.

"At The Chime Of A City Clock" seems to focus on issues of urban living, the bohemian lifestyle, loneliness and alienation.  The saxophone part is an inspired touch, and one of the most effective of the instrumental contributions which characterize Bryter Layter. 

Existential topics are explored by "One Of These Things First". The piano, like other instrumentation on the LP, makes the song "swing", if such a term is appropriate to be applied to the singer-songwriter/folk genre.

Other offerings which stand out are the title track which, whimsically, is an instrumental piece, although the flute alone makes it worthwhile. Such textures help to make the album seem less dry and dusty, but also add to its wistfulness. John Cale makes unobtrusive but excellent contributions on viola and harpsichord to the song "Fly".

It seems to me that "Poor Boy" has attracted the most adverse comment, because of the bossa-nova flavoured rhythmic pattern and the backing arrangement, especially the piano solo sections.  One interpretation of the song's words is that Nick was utilizing the traits of poverty as a metaphor for a more general emotional malaise.

"Northern Sky" is perhaps one of the better known songs in the Drake canon. I might aver that it lacks the punch of other songs here, and it is less ostentatious melodically, but no worse for that. Like other tracks, this one almost flirts with joy and happiness, but the underlying sentiment is one of pleading and uncertainty. John Cale again features here.

"Sunday" is truly evocative and haunting, and the title is cleverly chosen. Another splendid use of the flute. A reminder that instrumentals can convey just as much as any number of "profound" and earnest lyrical outpourings.

Despite appearances, in the final analysis this album feels like more of a "downer" than Five Leaves Left, partly because of the ambiguity in many of the words.  There is an authenticity and starkness about these songs which sets them apart from much of the "confessional" fare being released by other people in the early Seventies.

A fragility, vulnerability and yearning emerge which are quite disconcerting, and the sense of mild disorientation is heightened by the idiosyncratic arrangements. This all makes for a gripping, entertaining but occasionally unsettling listen.

Nick Drake

I spent some time with my older brother over Christmas, and the discussion got around to how our respective musical tastes began to diverge as our teenaged years progressed, and we drifted into adulthood. I chuckled when I reflected how I would deride my brother's preferences, but also admitted that I had eventually grown to like and respect much of the music to which he had listened, albeit over two decades later!

One of the artists falling into the above category was Nick Drake.  I distinctly recall my brother coming home, clutching those vinyl albums. I did not pay any great attention to the music, and rather arrogantly dismissed it as part of an introspective phase on my brother's part, or an attempt to appear "hip" with his friends. There is a temptation at that age to question the motives of siblings, rejecting any notion that something may actually interest them for purely intrinsic or aesthetic reasons.

Well, two decades passed, and I did finally "find" Nick Drake, via a more circuitous route than my brother had taken.  In my twenties and thirties I listened to lots of folk-rock and country-rock, and this led me on to singer-songwriters (Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Gene Clark), and then on to the British exponents of that genre, prominent among them being Drake.

On revisiting the three original studio albums, one thing which struck me is the "pastoral" feel, and also the ease with which one can be carried along by the deceptively complex melodies, and having to re-trace one's steps in order to fully take in the lyrics.  The foremost emotion which came to me, though, was "why haven't I been listening to this stuff for the past twenty-odd years?"

The album which appeals to me most overall is Five Leaves Left, with its relatively sparse but subtle arrangements, and varied lyrical themes. Acoustic guitar forms the bedrock of most of the songs here, but other instrumentation is tastefully added to provide texture and depth.  The nuances and charm of the songs and melodies are gradually revealed with repeated listening.  There is also an almost otherworldly, ethereal feel to some of the tracks, particularly "River Man","Day Is Done" and "Thoughts of Mary Jane".

Lyrically, Five Leaves Left comes across as a mixture of the observational and the introspective, and the listener feels like he or she is being transported to a particular place and time, and also a distinct stage in the songwriter's life. While some of the compositions on this album may initially come across as quite bleak, closer scrutiny uncovers some joy, wonder, awe and optimism.

The Drake album which I suspect divides opinion most clearly, and is also the most troublesome to analyse, is 1970's Bryter Layter.  More experimental and inpenetrable than the debut, with a discernible jazz-like feel in places, the songs alternate between the dreamy and the melancholy. Oddly, there are a couple of instrumental tracks.  I know that the arrangements on this album can have a polarizing effect, but I find it fascinating to hear these lyrics shrouded in such an unusual, even incongruous, sonic mist.

Pink Moon, the final studio album, is possibly the least melodically diverse of the three, and features none of the augmentation by strings and woodwind instruments.  This absence of such embellishments can make the album sound bleak, but also intimate. Drake's distinctive guitar work is projected more keenly, and the sense of intimacy is enhanced by the gritty sound of it, as well as the vocals.  Pink Moon has a much more seamless and spontaneous vibe to it than the other material, reflecting the manner and circumstances in which it was recorded.  None of the songs particularly stand out - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

So, there we have it, a small but impressive and varied body of work.  Stylistically, Five Leaves Left stands betwixt the other two LPs, but I sense that there was no calculated career path.  The individual albums simply reflect the time and place being inhabited by Nick Drake when they were written and recorded. This is often the case with "singer songwriters".

For those who admire sensitive and literate music, Nick Drake's work is a must.  I just hope that other people don't, like me, take twenty years or more to fully embrace it!