Birthdays: NICK DRAKE he would have turned 78

Routebooks reminds us

 Nick Drake was born in Rangoon, Burma on this day in 1948

Nick Drake - One of These Things First

Nick Drake News | Gonna Tell The River Man | Bryter Music

"Sorry, it’s been such a long time"

In case you haven’t heard the news, head to the official Nick Drake store to listen to the voice of the river man. Sign up to the official Nick Drake mailing list to stay updated.

LISTEN NOW

MOJO Special 2018 - Green Leaves - Nick Drake songs

 Full album here

Poor Bro - Nick Drake | jt1674

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/774773842683002880/nick-drake-poor-boy

NICK DRAKE - THE JOHN PEEL SESSION 1969 | FLOPPY BOOT STOMP

This from Brother Jobe over at HQ the FLOPPY BOOT STOMPS! 

He says 

"First things first. If you are not familiar with Mr. Drake may I suggest you go to youtube and listen to his recorded output. You'll not be disappointed. His music is perfect for this time of the year (or for anytime really) I cannot stress enough of this man's brilliance. This particular record is listed on Discogs, right now for $1058.00. So consider this an Xmas present from all of the brothers here"

Here . . .

Nick Drake - Time Has Told Me

Time Has Told Me

This song means a great deal to me and we got this when it came out but I heard it first sung by my my oldest friends Leo and his then wife Michelle and we went through a great deal together a whole group and gang of neighbours with Steve and Michelle’s sister, Paula and Leo’s ‘kid’ brother Leon - he was my age! perhaps my oldest friend now - this is for all of them . . . . . . 

following the John Martyn who always cited Drake as a main inspirer . . . . . . . easy to see why

both troubled and didn’t make it through . . . . . . these are for those who we remember fondly lost but not forgotten . . . . 

Which Will

Which WillNick DrakePink Moon

Which Will - Nick Drake Pink Moon

One Of These Things First

Song of The Day | Nick Drake - From The Morning

 Morning all!

Other Birthdays | NICK DRAKE - When The Day Is Done

" Nick Drake was born in Rangoon, Burma this week in 1948

"When the day is done, down to Earth then sinks the sun, along with everything that was lost and won.”

Let’s close the day with this beautiful song

Route

Morning Musics - NICK DRAKE : NORTHERN SKIES (1971)

BBC Radio 4 - ‘Soul Music’ Nick Drake:Northern Sky

 

so I walked down stairs to the kitchen to find my wife listening to the radio and this was playing . , . , . , . great programme and interviews with other singers and players as well as Joe Boyd the legendary producer . . . . . . . . . great account of playing it for John Cale and his getting excited to hear Nick for the first time . . . . . . . . may it get Bryter Layter

I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons, knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky

I've been a long time that I'm waiting
Been a long that I'm blown
I've been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye

Would you love me for my money?
Would you love me for my head?
Would you love me through the winter?
Would you love me 'til I'm dead?
Oh, if you would and you could
Come blow your horn on high

I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons, knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky

 

Today’s haul of pictures . . . .

  Heroes, Heroines, Super Stars n Swingin’ guitars

Billy Jean and Hank - ain’t she purty? And remember folks, Hank started the 29* club - speed kills!

So I’ll add another picture in tribute to Jeremiah who dropped by to comment . . . . . . great singers of the beginnings of ‘pop’!

Woody Guthrie & Lilly May Ledford, New York City. 

a pensive Nick Drake . . . how we often think of him

although he did smile sometimes . . . . . . happier days

Johnny Cash with a Martin guitar (with F holes no less - anybody any idea how much that would be worth now?! £4,000? More? $24,000? who knows - I’ll try n find out!)

Stephen with some of his collection whilst touring . . . . . phew!

Husband and Wife team, Patti Smith and Fred ’Sonic’ Smith  - I should start a series on couples or husbands and wives?!

Great shot of our Susan Tedeschi - look at those hands! Woman can PLAY!

So who do you reckon this is?

well I’ll tell you! The guitar connection is key here and of course it is an early shot of Les Paul! However did you know he is also known for being credited with the invention of the harmonica frame so you could play it hands free!? Know otherwise? Could be apocryphal but could be a complete myth too. Me, I choose to believe it!

* as dear pal Jeremiah ( he was a bullfrog you know?) rightly points out Hank Williams didn’t start the 27 club died at 29 and that ‘honour’ (sic?) goes to Robert Johnson long before anyone else! 

Here Robert Johnson with what we think is his beloved Kalamazoo (I have one for that reason!) the poor man’s Gibson, during the recession in America and Gibson rebranded a budget machine with the same woods and simpler structure and innards, mine is dated 1936! which would make it amongst the first ever made like his as he recorded with it that year!  I love it, have I said ?! Rings like a bell!

My Kalamazoo KG11 His was a KG14 - its in the frets! 1936 I am told - my pride and joy

Song of the Day :: Cello Song [Nick Drake] - Fontaines D.C.

• Track Name

  'Cello Song

• Artist

  Fontaines D.C.

Fontaines D.C. - ‘Cello Song (2023)

Fantastic reimagining of Nick Drake’s ‘Cello Song by Irish post punk band Fontaines D.C., for the forthcoming tribute LP The Endless Coloured Ways - the Songs of Nick Drake.

So forget this cruel world . . . . . . 

check this for a Tuesday! Extraordinary re-working . . . . . . love the original so was cautious but these guys make it their own

from the always fascinating Guess I’m Dumb

NICK DRAKE : REMEMBERED FOR A WHILE - remembering the book compiled by his sister

           The 'Boss' from over at Voodoo Wagon and Floppy Boot Stomp brings my attention to this fascinating book on the life of Nick Drake compiled by his wonderful sister Gabrielle back in 6 November 2014

Birmingham Mail press article here

Thanks for the heads up Silent Way!

Still available and well worth having if you don't yet. It is not as they point out an biography but rather a tribute in memoriam by his friends and family and includes quotes from the great man himself dead at 26 all those years ago now . . . . . . gone but never forgotten

Available from all good booksellers and your usual suppliers. I use Abe Books in the UK

Nice review here from Mouth Magazine with audio clips from participants here

Nick Drake - A Day Gone By - Voodoo Wagon

 NICK DRAKE

This from Brother Jobe over at Voodoo Wagon this afternoon and if you don't have it you really should if you are a Drake fan and let's face it who isn't!? I have this double CD down in the vaults and played it to death back in 2014 so if you really don't have this it is really well worth it.  It made me revisit this collection of early demos and radio miscellany (John Peel etc) Much missed and the main inspirer and influencer of so many (not least John Martyn!) a British legend taken far too soon . . . . . . . . 

Nick Drake - Day Gone By - Voodoo Wagon

time has told me you're a rare rare find . . . . . . .

a troubled cure for a troubled mind…

 sadly true and no cure was found

Drake suffered chronic depression and possibly an undiagnosed schizophrenia, he was found dead from an overdose of amitriptyline in 1974, prescribed for his mental health issues and whilst he left no note he did leave a letter to his sometime girlfriend Sophia Ryde (he had unconsummated relationships with women including a deeply close relationship with fellow musician Linda Thompson). 

His sister the actor Gabrielle and his mother Molly are worth following and researching too. Molly has been published posthumously and The Unthanks have recorded a tribute to her* and by extension Nick

Molly Drake died in 1993

On her tombstone it reads "Now we rise, and we are everywhere"

Bryter Music - The Official Site of Nick and Molly Drake

Nick Drake

Gabrielle Drake IMDB

Molly Drake @ Bandcamp

*The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake is a 2017 album by the English folk group, the Unthanks. 

The Unthanks

The Unthanks - Molly Drake album

 a rare shot of Nick smiling . . . . happier times

Song for a Sunday . . . . . Nick Drake::Thoughts of Mary Jane

Thanks for the reminder O My Soul

SUNDAY MORNING MUSICS

 DREAM ACADEMY

 

 Being from the North of England this always struck a resonance with me and its multicultural vibe I found transportingly lovely. Inspired by Nick Drake ("composed upon Nick's guitar from the album cover   Bryter Layter" which is difficult in that the Guild M-20 featured wasn't Nick's at all but belonged to Nigel Weymouth's the art director and artist, he of Hapsash and The Coloured Coat psychedelic poster genius.  it is most likely that the album featured Nick playing his Martin D-28 or his Levin dreadnought *) and the Dream Academy single was featured by Guy Garvey on his excellent TV programme From The Vaults the other day [Series 2 Episode 3]

JULY 16, 2021

Tonight’s episode of ‘Guy Garvey: From The Vaults’ sees Guy focus on 1985, where overseas stars like Chaka Khan and Tom Waits descend on Newcastle to appear live on The Tube. Guy also looks back at rarely seen performances from Prefab Sprout, Dream Academy, China Crisis and The Style Council. 

Watch on Sky Arts or Freeview Channel 11 at 8pm (Friday 16th July). All episodes are available to sky viewers now.

Please note Guy Garvey is a top fellah and has broken news on his Twitter that fans like me have long awaited and that is there is a new album from the mercurial Stephen Fretwell who I had worried about as he seemed to have disappeared. Fretwell is the performer of the brilliant theme song for Gavin and Stacey so you'd think someone kept tabs on him

I will post a separate note about this as soon as I have bought the new album, buy it now sight unseen, sound unheard it WILL be worth it. . . . 

https://stephenfretwell.plctrmm.to/bg

* Nick Drake's guitar . . . or not

SUNDAY MUSICS . . . . . . . .

NICK DRAKE

for Leo . . . . . who with his wife Michelle first sang it to me

a worthy post from the wondrous  . . . . . 

Joan Shelley :: Time Has Told Me (Nick Drake)

Covering Nick Drake can be tricky, but Joan Shelley manages just fine with her gorgeous, heartfelt rendition of Five Leaves Left’s lead off track (part of Mojo Magazine’s new tribute to Drake, available gratiswith the March issue). She doesn’t do anything radical with the song — she just lets it breathe, wearing its wistful melancholy like a favorite winter coat. Shelley is back on the road this year, supporting her recent self-titled LP. In fact, for a few dates, she’ll be supporting the guy who played lead guitar on the original “Time Has Told Me” — the mighty Richard Thompson himself, who has been known to cover the tune from time to time. Maybe Joan can coax him onstage for a duet …  words / t wilcox download it here . . . . 

Aquarium Drunkard - Joan Shelley Nick Drake cover here

We like Joan Shelley. We like Nick Drake (a lot). We like Richard Thompson (he's on it - the original that is). We like Aquarium Drunkard

NICK DRAKE, 69 'TUCK BOX'

Well I don't often post links to the fascinating music webblog PLAIN & FANCY but this is a gem and as a life long Nick Drake fan I really highly recommend this. 

The notes alone makes this worth checking out.

If you have all the studio albums as I do then it may not interest you but the additional material alone in two CD's worth of previously unreleased material make it worth checking out if you don't already have the rarer stuff

check it out here . . .

probably what the day needs, wet and dark and sombre here, is some Nick Drake . . . . . bought most things when they came out  . . . . . including this

2,238 plays

From the legendary Nick Drake and  I think I have pretty much everything as he was really important to us growing up and my dearest friends, Leo and Michelle, played 'Time Has Told Me' as their signature tune for me . . . . . . . 'Place to Be' from Pink Moon to ease you towards the weekend