ALBUM REVIEW: Nick Drake - Pink Moon

    Nick Drake was not a success by 1971, and in fact had been making little headway in the folk scene in his short career - his previous albums in 1969's Five Leaves Left and the following year's Bryter Layter had been commercial disappointments, and critical reviews weren't overly positive. All of this had a negative effect on the young artist, who entered various depressive phases and picked up a drinking habit, although Drake himself wasn't doing a whole lot to raise sales - he had given up on playing live concerts and only ever gave one interview in his lifetime. After the band-backed Bryter Layter failed to make any headway, Drake was done with orchestras and bands, and recorded an entire album with just his guitar in a period of two days, the only overdub being a piano solo on one song. Pink Moon stands as just 28 minutes, 11 songs, and showcases Nick Drake at his most raw and distilled. Drake's work has never been particularly sad, but Pink Moon invariably leaves a bit of a conflicting taste in the mouth - it's stewed in melancholy and a touch of heartbreak, but is balanced out by a sense of hope and joy in the music. Drake's third album is undoubtedly the best of his short career.

    While Drake's other two albums contained an unbridled sense of simplicity to much of the songs that he presented (even with the orchestra and drum overdubs), Pink Moon manages to beat both of those out by a wide margin in its make-up. Nick Drake chose to do away with anything that wasn't his voice and guitar on this album, and the result is the most down-to-earth and pure folk album since Dylan's early days a decade earlier. This doing away of any embellishments to Drake's music actually has a few benefits in terms of listening, the first being that is gives more focus to Nick Drake's singular style of guitar playing. Drake has become known for his bizarre instrument tunings and complex finger-picking style that defines his best work, and you can hear it clearer than ever on tracks like "Road" or the beautiful instrumentation on the heartbreaking "Parasite" on the album's second half. This focus also applies to Drake's gentle and pure voice, whose voice I've never appreciated more than on this album here, especially on moments like the glorious title track or the mysterious "Harvest Breed". This minimalism also places greater emphasis on the melancholic and longing nature of his lyrics, which are almost certainly at their best on this album.

    Pink Moon is a very solemn album, both in its music and in its lyrics. There was always a tinge of sadness and tragedy to the beautiful artist, but instead of seeing glimpses of that sorrow as you did on Five Leaves Left or Bryter Layter, you are looked directly in the eyes by that isolated mind on this album. This isn't any more apparent than on the beautiful title track, painted in gorgeous guitar work, sung in Drake's slightly devastated tone, and colored in some of his most cryptic and dense poetry yet, even with very few words - the pink moon in the song could be a number of things, and perhaps that's the point. "Road" is an affirmation of his disillusion with his lack of success, even with those who knew him acknowledging his talent. "Horn" is a haunting instrumental, the shortest track on the album and serving as a short prelude to "Things Behind the Sun", the album's longest song and one of its most sinister sounding. "Parasite" is a gut-punching reflection on loneliness and isolation, being afraid of communication and yet still longing for attention. "Free Ride" at least picks up the mood a little, even if it is a simple but fun blues track. The closing "From the Morning" is the best demonstration of the album's sense of hope, even if it is slight - life is seemingly small in the scope of nature's beauty, which almost feels like an echo of the album's opening idea that the "Pink moon is gonna get us all".

    Nick Drake died two years after Pink Moon's release at the age of 26, which is nothing short of a real tragedy - he overdosed on his prescribed antidepressants, although it's still unclear if it was a suicide or not. Drake remains a somewhat mysterious figure, and he remained somewhat unknown throughout the 70s... that was until Fruit Tree was issued, containing his entire back catalog across three discs. With a new assessment, Drake's music could finally receive the acclaim and attention it deserved, and he has since been acknowledged as an influence for many great artists in his wake. Drake's career was short, too short, but it was a bright star of brilliance, and Pink Moon may very well be his Polaris - a brilliant and moving work of poetry and instrumentation, one that's every bit as heartbreaking and sad as it is hopeful. It's the embodiment of everything Nick Drake was in his all-too-short life, although we can all take some solace in the knowledge that he will live on with his poignant and touching work.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Pink Moon.