You probably haven't heard of Nick Drake. No, that's not me being a snob, but is just the sad truth about the supremely talented musician, whose sadly short-lived career in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s never saw the proper recognition it deserved.
Born in Rangoon Burma (English colonies), Drake found a love for music at an early age. His mother Molly had a short-lived music career, with her tone and soft-spoken delivery being a foreshadowing of Drake’s trademark. He learned the piano first, but soon went on to master the clarinet, saxophone, and the guitar, where his greatest talent lied in his ability to open tune.
Drake went to college in Cambridge, where he focused more on furthering his skill in music rather than studying or socializing. Basing much his work off the Folksy-style of Bob Dylan, Drake would spend most of his time playing in cafes or further tuning his work. This was until he found producer Joe Boyd, who believed he had the talent and image to be a star, with his long-flowing hair and tall figure truly standing out.
When Drake got in the recording studio, he created some truly magical works. As a fan of poetry, Drake’s work often would evoke a sense of mood or place, capturing a portrait of a moment in time. His work was often quite gentle, with greetings of a soft voice and guitar strings being strung often times giving a serine quality. His experimentation with the guitar truly leads to some impressive feats, with tracks like “Fly” and “Cello Song” displaying such feats.
The quality of Drake’s music I have always connected to is his wistfulness. His music often displayed a melancholic sense of longing, quietly revealing his most-inner desires for love and understanding life’s unanswerable questions. My favorite track of his is “Northern Sky”, which is easily his most upbeat. With the guitar and piano making an extraordinary melody, a tale of undying love is spun by Drake’s inner hopeless romantic. The cruel irony of the piece is Drake never got to experience love, with his shy, withdrawn personality isolating him for people.
Drake in his short career recorded a mere three albums, with all three essentially being plagued by delayed release and lack of a significant marketing push. After the release of his third album Pink Moon in 1972, Drake’s life began to slowly unravel due to his depression. Living at home as a shell of himself, Drake became even more secluded, having a hard time just functioning. This would continue till November 25 1974, when Drake passed away from overdosing on antidepressants.
Death was not the end for his career however, with re-releases of albums sucessful able to reach the public. Not only did it reach the public, but many aspiring musicians as well. Groups like The Cure, Coldplay, and Radiohead has discussed their adoration of Drake’s work, as well as still standing reach on music lovers.
Nick Drake’s life and career both ended tragically, with him suffering from his inconsolable depression. It’s a true shame he could not have enjoyed the recognition he receives today, but all it takes is a simple hit of the play button to hear his wistful whispers today.
