Favourite Nick Drake song
Although this is partly intended as an antidote to all those similar Rhianna/Saturdays/One Direction threads, this is actually something that genuinely interests me.
Nick Drake's short career produced an almost unprecedented body of work, all introspective, but ranging from uplifting, to sombre, to the very depths of despair. But how to you pick a favourite from so many perfectly crafted songs?
I love the cracked, fragile beauty of Fly, the breathy understatement of Pink Moon, the sedate and laid-back Time Has Told Me, and the string-laden sorrow of Way To Blue. Add to that Northern Sky and Riverman, both of which seem to make almost compulsory appearances during some point in most television documentaries.
Out of all of them though, the one that sums him up for me is Cello Song, combining just about every element of his writing.
Which one would you choose?
Nick Drake's short career produced an almost unprecedented body of work, all introspective, but ranging from uplifting, to sombre, to the very depths of despair. But how to you pick a favourite from so many perfectly crafted songs?
I love the cracked, fragile beauty of Fly, the breathy understatement of Pink Moon, the sedate and laid-back Time Has Told Me, and the string-laden sorrow of Way To Blue. Add to that Northern Sky and Riverman, both of which seem to make almost compulsory appearances during some point in most television documentaries.
Out of all of them though, the one that sums him up for me is Cello Song, combining just about every element of his writing.
Which one would you choose?
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Pink Moon gets an honourable mention with its beautiful piano break.
At The Chime of The City Clock come a very very close second
I've heard a home recording of Fly which sounds almost impossibly fragile although also beautiful.
My favourite song is Hazey Jane 1
But there are so many others
The next time was when I borrowed a cassette of Pink Moon, that a mate of mine bought when I was at college. I remember liking the title track, but quickly went back to playing Barclay James Harvest or some crap like that.
A year of two later a girl lent me Bryter Layter, which I liked, although Poor Boy was so different in style that it broke up the mood of the album. I don't think it was until somebody lent me the Time Of No Reply compilation that it really sunk in and made me try to hunt down everything he ever recorded. I have the Tamworth-In-Arden recordings and one or two others, but the quality is quite poor on some of them.
So many great songs, so wonderfully performed. What a tragedy he died so young.