Nick Drake created moving music.
Lately, I've been listening to the melancholic music of Nick Drake at home.
He was a British singer, songwriter and guitarist from the late 60s to mid 70s. Tragically, he died of an overdose / possible suicide at the age of 26.
Although not especially successful at the time, his music has become increasingly well known. It has a very haunting melodic quality that is timeless and frequently very sad. He was an exceptionally poetic songwriter (and singer) but his guitar playing is also top notch.
There is no video footage of Nick Drake in performance although there are many still photos. In 1999 there was a documentary called "A Stranger Among Us – In Search of Nick Drake" which helped raise his profile. It includes interviews with his sister as well as readings from his mother's poetry. In 2000 there was a second documentary called "A Skin Too Few : The Days of Nick Drake".
The Library has several of his CDs. Some you can borrow and others you can listen to at the Toronto Reference Library Performing Arts Dept.
I'm not alone in my admiration for the music of Nick Drake – if you like him too why not leave a comment and tell the world what is your favorite Nick Drake song (mine is Riverman).
4 thoughts on “Nick Drake created moving music.”
Bill:
Thank your for this lovely tribute to a beautiful human being.
As for a favourite song, hard to say as they are all incredible.
A little trivia:
Robert (The Cure) Smith is a fan and I have heard he got the name from the opening lines of Time Has Told Me.
There isn’t much footage of him performing because there weren’t many performances. He used several different tunings but sadly only one guitar and had to keep retuning it for the next song. This made live gigs problematic.
My favourite album would have to be Pink Moon followed very closely by Five Leaves Left.
I like “Black-Eyed Dog.”
A nice tribute to the fabulous music of Nick Drake, thanks!