Your last point is the most important: that we can do nothing for Mr. Drake now, but our interest in those like him struggling in life and music today can make all the difference, not just in their lives, but in the culture itself.
Thanks for this great text and summary of the life of Nick Drake. Your words made me an annual subscriber of The Honest Broker.
I'm one of the many music fans who missed out on Nick Drake while he was alive. Sometimes I cling to the very fact that I had listened to 2 of his songs while he was alive, without really noticing. The great Island samplers "Bumpers" and "El Pea" both had a track by Nick. "Hazey Jane" on "Bumpers" and the beautiful "Northern Sky" on "El Pea". I was 14 years when "El Pea" was released and very much into more noisy, progressive stuff at the time. It didn't occur to me that Nick Drake's fragile voice and music was something I would get obsessed with 8 years later.
It's typical of how Nick was treated during his recording career. His record company, Island, couldn't even put the right track on the "El Pea" sampler according to the liner notes.. It should have been the song "One Of These Things First", but it's actually "Northern Sky" you listen to. In retrospect, "Northern Sky" was a better choice if you ask me.
In the summer of 1979 I opened my own record shop in my hometown Kongsberg, Norway. (Brad Mehldau plays at the annual Jazz festival in Kongsberg in a few weeks time. Maybe he will play some Drake tunes). While deciding on the stock I wanted to present for my customers I visited many of the distributors warehouses in Oslo. While visiting the company which handled Island records I saw the newly released box set "Fruit Tree - The Complete Recorded Works". Box sets was a rare find in those days and it made me very curious. What is this? It was beautiful and by an artist I hardly knew - on one of my favorite record labels. One copy became part of the stock, but only for a very short while. The box soon became a part of my private record collection. I had listened and was in a state of shock. How could I have overseen this guy? There was no www in 1979 and all the information about Nick I could obtain was the words in the booklet by Arthur Lobow. I became kind of obsessed and has been ever since.
I've visited Nick Drake's grave twice. First time in 2000 while I was on a 14 day trip with narrowboat. I took some time off the boat and together with my eldest son, 6 years at the time we took a taxi to Tanworth In Arden. I brought my film camera and was very moved by the church, the village and the family grave site of the Drake's. It was the most beautiful place on earth. The grave was no Jim Morrison grave. Just a peaceful resting place for the Drake family with a few fresh flowers, I guess delivered by another fan recently. While filming I suddenly realised my son had disappeared. The camera soon found him, coming out of some bushes near by with a few wildflowers in hand. He also brought his plastic sword on the day. I guess he understood the visit was very important for his father and arranged the flowers and sword on Nick's grave. Father started sobbing heavy and it's easy to hear when looking at the footage today.
The song "River Man" is part of my carefully constructed playlist for my own funeral. I like to think Charon is the River Man in Nick's song. Charon takes me on his boat on the river Styx to my final destination in the underworld.
When I read that his parents noticed that he had been "upbeat" in the few days before his death, I thought "of course". It is a contradictory fact that for people with depression the most dangerous time is when their medications are just starting to work. Severe depression is deeply immobilising. For many people it is only as the medications start to work that the person has sufficient energy to plan and execute a suicide. Just tragic, really.
A wonderful piece, as always, Ted. And as usual, you got it right. Nick is the second of ten artists I researched and wrote about in Chapter 2 of my book "Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock 'n' Roll Era," interviewing Joe Boyd (Drake's producer) extensively, among others. It's a roughly 7,500 word piece that tells Nick's story in great detail, offers a critical appraisal of his work, and attempts to explain why he didn't find success. In analyzing the music, which I wasn't really qualified to do as a non-musician, I am grateful to Boyd for introducing me to a woman named Robin Frederick who knew Drake in France and has been a music teacher for decades. She was able to explain to me on a music theory level why Drake's songs are so singular. Hugely enlightening. While the chapter also deals with his likely suicide (taking a whole bottle of anti-depressants certainly feels intentional to me, though his sister, Gabrielle, believes it was a cry for help) and the questions surrounding his sexuality, the focus is squarely on the music where it belongs. In terms of the critical points you make about people struggling with mental health issues, I would just add that Nick's father Rodney did everything possible to save his son. His diary entries that can be found in his daughter's book are heartbreaking.
Yes, I am glad you ended with this reminder. The most important feature for someone writing about artists is genuine love. Authentic writing is about love not judgement. Every restating of other peoples opinion leaves less room for the real role of art. Renewal. Art is anti establishment. It is dangerous and uncontrollable. And it is very fragile.
Your post about Socrates moving back to songwriting after a life of intellectual attempts to explain the world is haunting me this week. It opened a door. It seems a metaphor for the stage of our society. The last hours of two and a half millennia and we are offered the same choice. Logic and mechanics or poetry and music. I know which I wish to lead. The first does away with the second. The last embraces the first.
His guitar playing was described as being like a machine. Very complex fingerpicking over strangely tuned acoustic guitar. Northern Sky from Bryter Layter might be his finest song. I have felt a kinship with Nick Drake all my adult life. There are some good documentaries on YouTube. Thanks Ted.
I’m so glad you are shining a light on him, Ted. I was introduced to Nick Drake’s music back in 1981 by an Italian friend. I tracked down all his albums and listened to him all throughout college. It was so hard to find out anything about him. I appreciate the details you’ve been able to retrieve and share here. Thank you.
Beautifully poignant, Ted. You moved me to tears this time. I have friends, family, and colleagues who struggle with similar depression and isolation, not all of them full-caliber Nick Drake, but close. I thought of several of them immediately when I listened to that car advertisement in the beginning of the article. And your closing only affirmed an inchoate intent that your article had already inspired.
It's difficult because I know I often come across too strong, too bright and cheery, and that has the opposite of my intended effect on the hapless victims of my positivity. But I have my own tendency towards privacy, so I also err in the other direction and just don't reach out. You have inspired me afresh to seek the right balance, to simply and consistently "take an interest" in "those caught adrift in our fragmented, isolating society."
I remember the name, like a mist from my past, but now I'll have to delve into those phantom strains. This article demands it. Well written, as usual, like a distant klaxon on the edge of night.
"The audience almost feels like it is intruding on a private moment, although it’s taking place on a stage under bright lights and surrounded by rapt listeners."
That's an experience I would almost kill for. To be present for such a display of rare, raw talent is something most of us would miss in the moment.
"—a singer for those caught adrift in our fragmented, isolating society."
So many remarkable artists, deposited throughout history, snatched from or rejected by, those who so desperately need them. When given a chance to reclaim such jewels, can we rise to the occasion? At least we have recordings.
A reminder of beauty falling between the cracks only to be stumbled upon later. My first introduction to Nick’s work was hearing ‘Day is Done’ in a movie in the ‘90s. Its beautiful melancholy swept away all interest in the movie. In those pre-internet days I had to wait anxiously for the closing credits to discover its creator. I’m forever grateful to whomever chose that song for its soundtrack.
Thank you for this post. I work with young people, running creative writing workshops and visiting schools. I work with hugely creative and inspirational young people and those at the other end, who lack the confidence to express themselves creatively. You are so right, young people of today need care and attention, and they need to be inspired to write and create. But believe me, there are some incredibly talented youngsters out there, who are alos loving and kind and quirky and inspirational themselves.
Your last point is the most important: that we can do nothing for Mr. Drake now, but our interest in those like him struggling in life and music today can make all the difference, not just in their lives, but in the culture itself.
Thanks for this great text and summary of the life of Nick Drake. Your words made me an annual subscriber of The Honest Broker.
I'm one of the many music fans who missed out on Nick Drake while he was alive. Sometimes I cling to the very fact that I had listened to 2 of his songs while he was alive, without really noticing. The great Island samplers "Bumpers" and "El Pea" both had a track by Nick. "Hazey Jane" on "Bumpers" and the beautiful "Northern Sky" on "El Pea". I was 14 years when "El Pea" was released and very much into more noisy, progressive stuff at the time. It didn't occur to me that Nick Drake's fragile voice and music was something I would get obsessed with 8 years later.
It's typical of how Nick was treated during his recording career. His record company, Island, couldn't even put the right track on the "El Pea" sampler according to the liner notes.. It should have been the song "One Of These Things First", but it's actually "Northern Sky" you listen to. In retrospect, "Northern Sky" was a better choice if you ask me.
In the summer of 1979 I opened my own record shop in my hometown Kongsberg, Norway. (Brad Mehldau plays at the annual Jazz festival in Kongsberg in a few weeks time. Maybe he will play some Drake tunes). While deciding on the stock I wanted to present for my customers I visited many of the distributors warehouses in Oslo. While visiting the company which handled Island records I saw the newly released box set "Fruit Tree - The Complete Recorded Works". Box sets was a rare find in those days and it made me very curious. What is this? It was beautiful and by an artist I hardly knew - on one of my favorite record labels. One copy became part of the stock, but only for a very short while. The box soon became a part of my private record collection. I had listened and was in a state of shock. How could I have overseen this guy? There was no www in 1979 and all the information about Nick I could obtain was the words in the booklet by Arthur Lobow. I became kind of obsessed and has been ever since.
I've visited Nick Drake's grave twice. First time in 2000 while I was on a 14 day trip with narrowboat. I took some time off the boat and together with my eldest son, 6 years at the time we took a taxi to Tanworth In Arden. I brought my film camera and was very moved by the church, the village and the family grave site of the Drake's. It was the most beautiful place on earth. The grave was no Jim Morrison grave. Just a peaceful resting place for the Drake family with a few fresh flowers, I guess delivered by another fan recently. While filming I suddenly realised my son had disappeared. The camera soon found him, coming out of some bushes near by with a few wildflowers in hand. He also brought his plastic sword on the day. I guess he understood the visit was very important for his father and arranged the flowers and sword on Nick's grave. Father started sobbing heavy and it's easy to hear when looking at the footage today.
The song "River Man" is part of my carefully constructed playlist for my own funeral. I like to think Charon is the River Man in Nick's song. Charon takes me on his boat on the river Styx to my final destination in the underworld.
When I read that his parents noticed that he had been "upbeat" in the few days before his death, I thought "of course". It is a contradictory fact that for people with depression the most dangerous time is when their medications are just starting to work. Severe depression is deeply immobilising. For many people it is only as the medications start to work that the person has sufficient energy to plan and execute a suicide. Just tragic, really.
Thank you for this article Ted, it’s inspired me to reach out to a talented friend who struggles with similar issues and with whom I’d lost touch.
A wonderful piece, as always, Ted. And as usual, you got it right. Nick is the second of ten artists I researched and wrote about in Chapter 2 of my book "Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock 'n' Roll Era," interviewing Joe Boyd (Drake's producer) extensively, among others. It's a roughly 7,500 word piece that tells Nick's story in great detail, offers a critical appraisal of his work, and attempts to explain why he didn't find success. In analyzing the music, which I wasn't really qualified to do as a non-musician, I am grateful to Boyd for introducing me to a woman named Robin Frederick who knew Drake in France and has been a music teacher for decades. She was able to explain to me on a music theory level why Drake's songs are so singular. Hugely enlightening. While the chapter also deals with his likely suicide (taking a whole bottle of anti-depressants certainly feels intentional to me, though his sister, Gabrielle, believes it was a cry for help) and the questions surrounding his sexuality, the focus is squarely on the music where it belongs. In terms of the critical points you make about people struggling with mental health issues, I would just add that Nick's father Rodney did everything possible to save his son. His diary entries that can be found in his daughter's book are heartbreaking.
Lovely, evocative piece, Ted. I’m honored to be quoted and included in it
Yes, I am glad you ended with this reminder. The most important feature for someone writing about artists is genuine love. Authentic writing is about love not judgement. Every restating of other peoples opinion leaves less room for the real role of art. Renewal. Art is anti establishment. It is dangerous and uncontrollable. And it is very fragile.
Your post about Socrates moving back to songwriting after a life of intellectual attempts to explain the world is haunting me this week. It opened a door. It seems a metaphor for the stage of our society. The last hours of two and a half millennia and we are offered the same choice. Logic and mechanics or poetry and music. I know which I wish to lead. The first does away with the second. The last embraces the first.
His mother Molly wrote beautiful songs too (amazing lyrics). How wild the wind blows is a good intro to her music
His guitar playing was described as being like a machine. Very complex fingerpicking over strangely tuned acoustic guitar. Northern Sky from Bryter Layter might be his finest song. I have felt a kinship with Nick Drake all my adult life. There are some good documentaries on YouTube. Thanks Ted.
I’m so glad you are shining a light on him, Ted. I was introduced to Nick Drake’s music back in 1981 by an Italian friend. I tracked down all his albums and listened to him all throughout college. It was so hard to find out anything about him. I appreciate the details you’ve been able to retrieve and share here. Thank you.
Beautifully poignant, Ted. You moved me to tears this time. I have friends, family, and colleagues who struggle with similar depression and isolation, not all of them full-caliber Nick Drake, but close. I thought of several of them immediately when I listened to that car advertisement in the beginning of the article. And your closing only affirmed an inchoate intent that your article had already inspired.
It's difficult because I know I often come across too strong, too bright and cheery, and that has the opposite of my intended effect on the hapless victims of my positivity. But I have my own tendency towards privacy, so I also err in the other direction and just don't reach out. You have inspired me afresh to seek the right balance, to simply and consistently "take an interest" in "those caught adrift in our fragmented, isolating society."
Thank you.
Thank you Ted. You remain one of the few writers worth taking the time to read thoroughly. You are a gift.
I remember the name, like a mist from my past, but now I'll have to delve into those phantom strains. This article demands it. Well written, as usual, like a distant klaxon on the edge of night.
"The audience almost feels like it is intruding on a private moment, although it’s taking place on a stage under bright lights and surrounded by rapt listeners."
That's an experience I would almost kill for. To be present for such a display of rare, raw talent is something most of us would miss in the moment.
"—a singer for those caught adrift in our fragmented, isolating society."
So many remarkable artists, deposited throughout history, snatched from or rejected by, those who so desperately need them. When given a chance to reclaim such jewels, can we rise to the occasion? At least we have recordings.
Thank you Ted.
A reminder of beauty falling between the cracks only to be stumbled upon later. My first introduction to Nick’s work was hearing ‘Day is Done’ in a movie in the ‘90s. Its beautiful melancholy swept away all interest in the movie. In those pre-internet days I had to wait anxiously for the closing credits to discover its creator. I’m forever grateful to whomever chose that song for its soundtrack.
Thank you for this post. I work with young people, running creative writing workshops and visiting schools. I work with hugely creative and inspirational young people and those at the other end, who lack the confidence to express themselves creatively. You are so right, young people of today need care and attention, and they need to be inspired to write and create. But believe me, there are some incredibly talented youngsters out there, who are alos loving and kind and quirky and inspirational themselves.
I was surprised to hear Brad Pitt doing a BBC Radio 4 documentary on Nick Drake a few years ago!