Pink Moon - Nick Drake

I saw it written and I saw it say.

Pink Moon is on its way.

Nick Drake is an enigmatic figure in music. A very depressive and shy person. He only released three albums. His records did not set tremendously well. He rarely did interviews or shows. He almost faded into obscurity until a steady resurgence of his music occurred in the late 80s. And it was for the better.

The album to be discussed is his final album “Pink Moon”. “Pink Moon” is certainly an album in it of itself. It features Drake, and only Drake. His vocals, His acoustic guitar and his piano, only featured in the title track. And, if I may be so bold, I believe that this is the acoustic album to end all albums.

The reason this album is acoustic is due to the fact that Drake was displeased by his last album, “Bryter Layter”, which featured too much string instruments. What this album succeeds at giving us a raw serving of what Nick Drake has to offer. And it’s not soft to swallow.

Drake’s songs may sound soft and lyrical, take for example Place To Be, if you look at the lyrics close enough you can see what Nick was not afraid to hide, at least in his music. His lyrics can be described as depressive and morose. The biggest example of this in “Pink Moon” is the song Parasite.

And take a look you may see me on the ground

For I am the parasite of this town.

While the songs may hide a darker side lyrically, musically the song are quite impressive. Drake had honed in his skills when recording these songs, see the opening of the third track Road. Two of the highlights off this album are the opening and closing tracks, Pink Moon and For the Morning respectively.

Another important highlight to mention is the fifth track, Horn, which is an instrumental. Without a doubt, it is the simplest and most beautiful song off of “Pink Moon”. The song is extremely short, and does not crack the minute and a half mark. Horn features lovely guitar picking that could really bring a tear to one’s eye. The only other song that could compare to this one would be the outtakes for Randy Rhodes acoustic instrumental Dee.

What is amazing about this album is its total simplicity. No overdubs. Just a man and his guitar. While listening to this album, I remembered the similar acoustic beauty in the album “Tribute To” by Yim Yames (pseudonym for Jim James of My Morning Jacket). But while “Tribute To” contains lots of reverb that does create an expansive sound, “Pink Moon” delivers a much starker quality that you do not see in most albums.

Unfortunately in 1974, two years after “Pink Moon” was released, Nick Drake was found dead, overdosed on prescription medication. It is still debated to this day whether it was an accident or suicide. But whatever the case may be, we still lost a great poet and guitarist. A man who poured his torment into what he loved to do, his music. When I listen to the last song on the album For the Morning and hear it soft, sweet melody, I will think off it as Nick Drake last “hurrah” in a way.

So look, see the sights

The endless summer nights

And go play the games that you learnt

From the morning.

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