Pink Moon

by

Nick Drake

Edit

In the throes of a depression that would see him dead at the age of 26 from an overdose of anti-depression medication, Nick Drake still managed to produce his last album, "Pink Moon." Unlike his first two efforts, which consisted of orchestrated folk-pop music, this 1972 album was just Drake playing his acoustic guitar and singing (with a bit of piano here and there). The result is a bleak testament to melancholy and alienation that has a haunting and pristine beauty. There are only eleven songs, most of which are under three minutes in length, which is why the album is not even a half-hour long, but there is a sense in which anything longer would be too much to bear. "Pink Moon," by itself, justifies Drake's status as a cult figure among those who love folk-rock.

Ironically, you have probably hear Nick Drake's music before, because the title track was used for a Volkswaggen commercial, just another example of how music is perverted to commercial interests (what else is new?). I have been spending the cold winter putting together mixes of folk music (in the broadest sense) and making a concerted effort to get beyond Bob Dylan and the Byrds to explore the likes of Sandy Denny and the Beau Brummels. Checking out Sandy Denny led me to Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson, and eventually to Ralph McTell and Nick Drake. Now I can only wonder what rock I have been living under that I have never come across these artists before.

The title track is a beautiful folk ballad, performed with just Drake's superb acoustic guitar playing and haunting vocal. Throughout the album you notice the depth of his lyrics and his guitar playing. The latter might have been lost in an album with orchestration, but here you have the opportunity to listen to the openings of "Radio" and "Parasite" unadorned. For the former a choice example would be the opening of what is probably the best song on the album (it is hard to choose), "Which Will," which begins: "Which will you go for/Which will you love/Which will you choose from/From the stars above?" There is a simple elegance to the lyrics, captured by the vocals, and complimented by the more complex guitar playing.

Nick Drake only produced three albums, so there is no reason not to have all of them in your music library. These works represent the very best of the British folk-rock scene and Drake is a first rate singer-songwriter whose songs of failed romance, mortality, and depression are quite affective. Drake intended "Pink Moon" to be his final album, saying he had nothing left to record. When you lose yourself listening to these songs, you can actually convince yourself that this was true.

Nick Drake's final `proper' album is somewhat erratic, his detachment and alienation from the world around him becoming more apparent in this collection of short songs.

The guitar and vocal sounds are different from his early pieces, often a little grating to my ears which prefer the flowing beauty of his earlier work. However, `Place To Be' is a remarkable piece in which the vocals seem somehow to both fit the music and be detached from it, because they start in an unusual place. This is quite deliberate as he is using it to help convey the lyrical theme of being lost, searching for a place to be. As is normal with Nick Drake, the material grows on you and the bluesy `Know' is appealing, but some of this album doesn't stick so well. A worthy addition for anyone already with an appreciation of Nick Drake but not the place to start.