An English artist, Drake was born in Rangoon, Burma. His main instrument was guitar, though he was proficient at other instruments, like piano and saxophone. His first official release was the album "Five Leaves Left" (1969), followed by "Bryter Layter" (1970), and "Pink Moon" (1972). He suffered from depression and other conditions throughout his life, and did not play live shows or gave interviews after the releasing of "Pink Moon. Nick Drake died of an overdose of prescribed antidepressants in 1974, he was 26. Though he already had small a cult-following at the time, he never achieved commercial success - which was a fact which had a great impact in Drake's life, as can be heard songs like "Hanging on a Star":
Why leave me hanging on a star,
When you deem me so high?
And why leave me sailing in a sea,
When you hear me so clear?
I first heard this amazing musician through an old friend of mine, which sent me the album (actually an EP) "Time of no Reply", which consists basicly of acoustic guitar and voice. It is a compilation of alternate takes and unreleased music, released long after his death, in 1986.
His crystal-clear guitar playing, his obviously strong, made-to-play-music-hands, as well as beautiful compositions, captivated me from the first few chords of "Time of no Reply". They were almost as clear as his emotion-filled, tormented voice of an almost angelical nature. Not only was the music perfect, and obviously very thought of and studied, but also the lyrics were meaningful and quite well written. This is one of those artists i wish i could say i had been influenced by - but i don't even have the talent to be influenced by such a character.
My rating of this EP - 4.4 / 5
Here are some songs to get you started (in case you don't know him already) on this amazing artist. If you do know him already, enjoy still:
Joey (in Time of no Reply EP) (Non-official video):
Been Smoking Too Long (in Time of no Reply EP) (Non-official video):
Pink Moon (in Pink Moon):
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