Drake’s final album, recorded a couple of years before his untimely death (he misses out on the 27-Club by a year), and made during a brief respite in his bouts of depression.
It’s the most stripped-back of the albums,
just Drake and his guitar (or rarely piano), recorded in such intimate close up
that you can hear the movement of his fingers on the strings, the notes picked
out with beautiful clarity, especially on the instrumental track Horn. Although
it has a reputation as a depressing album, perhaps due to the timing of its
release in his life, it’s no more so than any of his others – more it carries
the sense of wistfulness that characterises his work and makes him, to paraphrase
Don McLean on Vincent Van Gogh, too beautiful for the world. And like Van Gogh,
Drake’s work became much more appreciated after his death.
Most of the tracks are relatively short,
with even the title track Pink Moon lasting just a few seconds over 2 minutes
(and really leaves you wanting another verse). Maybe the most indicative song
of the whole album is the longest, Things Behind The Sun. This starts out in an
ominous A minor key, invoking anxiety that fits well with the cosmic horror of
its title, before switching to a more hopeful A major for the chorus, like the
sun coming out from behind the clouds. And that, I think, is the essence of Nick
Drake – something bright and sunny that’s often overshadowed by clouds.
He also manages to make an album of one
man/one guitar sound quite varied as well – there aren’t really any tracks that
start with yet the same arpeggio at yet the same tempo. Yes, there’s a cohesion
to the whole album, but to me each of the tracks is a tiny gem.
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