nick drake / comments

Nick Drake is perhaps one of the best singer-songwriters out of the 60's and 70's. He painfully created his unorthodox guitar tunings to play cluster chords and used these sometimes dissonant tunings to compliment his powerful melodies. His intricate finger-picking creates a wonderful mood, whether it be beautifully melancholy or pleasantly optimistic. Unfortunately, Drake released only 3 albums in his lifetime before deciding to move away from music. His battles with depression eventually lead to his oft-argued death due to a result of an overdose of anti-depressants. For much of the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Drake was hardly a name known. While there were occasional boosts in popularity, and a handful of rarity releases, it wasn't until the title track from his final album, Pink Moon, was used in a Volkswagen commercial that Drake achieved mainstream success. While his albums had been critically acclaimed, this brought immense popularity, and following the airing of the commercial, Drake sold more albums in the following year than he had in the past 30 years previous. Easily one of the best musicians of the 70's, the music of the wonderfully talented Nick Drake features an intricate, intimate, and sometimes devastatingly sad beauty that must be heard to be believed.

This is some great folk music that I find great for studying and relaxing. I recommend.