A singular talent who passed almost unnoticed during his brief lifetime,
Nick Drake produced several albums of chilling, somber beauty. With hindsight, these have come to be recognized as peak achievements of both the
British folk-rock scene and the entire
rock singer/songwriter genre. Sometimes compared to
Van Morrison,
Drake in fact resembled
Donovan much more in his breathy vocals, strong melodies, and the acoustic-based orchestral sweep of his arrangements. His was a much darker vision than
Donovan's, however, with disturbing themes of melancholy, failed romance, mortality, and depression lurking just beneath, or even well above, the surface. Ironically,
Drake has achieved a far greater stature in the decades following his death, with an avid cult following that grows by the year.
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A singular talent who passed almost unnoticed during his brief lifetime,
Nick Drake produced several albums of chilling, somber beauty. With hindsight, these have come to be recognized as peak achievements of both the
British folk-rock scene and the entire
rock singer/songwriter genre. Sometimes compared to
Van Morrison,
Drake in fact resembled
Donovan much more in his breathy vocals, strong melodies, and the acoustic-based orchestral sweep of his arrangements.
His was a much darker vision than
Donovan's, however, with disturbing themes of melancholy, failed romance, mortality, and depression lurking just beneath, or even well above, the surface. Ironically,
Drake has achieved a far greater stature in the decades following his death, with an avid cult following that grows by the year.
Part of
Drake's failure to attract a mass audience was attributable to his almost pathological reluctance to perform live. It was at a live show in Cambridge, however, that a member of
Fairport Convention saw
Drake perform, and recommended the singer to producer Joe Boyd. Boyd, already a linchpin of the
British folk-rock scene as the producer for
Fairport and
the Incredible String Band, asked
Drake for a tape, and was impressed enough to give the 20-year-old a contract in 1968.
Drake's debut,
Five Leaves Left (1969), was the first in a series of three equally impressive, and quite disparate, albums. With understated
folk-rock backing (
Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson plays bass on most of the cuts),
Drake created a vaguely mysterious, haunting atmosphere, occasionally embellished by tasteful
Baroque strings. His economic, even pithy, lyrics hinted at melancholy, yet any thoughts of despair were alleviated by the gorgeous, uplifting melodies and
Drake's calm, measured vocals.
Bryter Later (1970) was perhaps his most upbeat effort, featuring support from members of
Fairport Convention, and traces of
jazz in the arrangements. On some cuts, the
singer/songwriter, remarkably, dispensed with lyrics altogether, offering only gorgeous, orchestrated instrumental miniatures that stood well on their own.
Neither album sold well, and
Drake, already a brooding loner, plunged into serious depression that often found him unable to make music, work, or even walk and talk. He managed to produce one final full-length work,
Pink Moon (1972), a desolate solo acoustic album that ranks as one of the most naked and bleak statements in all of
rock. He did record a few more songs before his death, but no more albums were completed, although the final sessions (along with some other fine unreleased material) surfaced on the posthumous compilation
Time of No Reply.
Drake's final couple of years were marked by increasing psychiatric difficulties, which found him hospitalized at one point for several weeks. He had rarely played live during his days as a recording artist, and at one point declared his intention never to record again, although he wished to continue to write songs for others. (It's been reported that French chanteuse
Françoise Hardy recorded some of
Drake's songs, but she hasn't released any.) On November 26, 1974, he died in his parents' home from an overdose of antidepressant medication; suicide has been speculated, although some of his family and friends dispute this.
In the manner of the young Romantic poets of the 19th century who died before their time,
Drake is revered by many listeners today, with a following that spans generations. Baby boomers who missed him the first time around found much to revisit once they discovered him, and his pensive loneliness speaks directly to contemporary alternative rockers who share his sense of morose alienation. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
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