Motley Moose – Archive

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”.  

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – a career retrospective of the Czech-born photographer Josef Koudelka is at the Art Institute of Chicago through September 14th.

FOOD NOTES – Italy is setting out to prove the origins of agricultural products … for example: DNA profiling of wine.

IT’S REALLY SOMETHING to see the reaction to the corporate board struggles at the New England supermarket chain Market Basket – here, for example, is the story of my nearby store by our local newspaper city columnist.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is Soldier the Cat – a South Carolina kitteh who was resuscitated by firefighters after a house fire …. and his recovery has led to donations intended to provide every fire department in South Carolina with the same equipment.

DESPITE guarantees of a “one country, two systems” approach to preserve press freedoms in Hong Kong – authorities in mainland China are finding indirect ways to restrict them.

HAIL and FAREWELL to the author Bel Kaufman – whose 1965 novel Up the Down Staircase sold more than six million copies and whose title is still used metaphorically – who has died at the age of 103.

FRIDAY’s CHILD is Smudge the Cat – an English kitteh who rescued a five year-old boy from bullies … by jumping on them, causing them to flee. Smudge is among the finalists for Britain’s “Hero Cat” awards next month (and the other two will be profiled next week).

CHEERS to a nice profile of Sarah McLachlan on CBS Sunday Morning today.

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

CHEERS to a wonderful time this past weekend at my 40th high school reunion – which will be the subject of a Top Comments diary next week.

OLDER-YOUNGER SISTERS? – TV star Kirstie Alley as well as Caitlin Moran – the English TV critic and best-selling author.

   

…… and finally, for a song of the week …………………… this November will mark the 40th anniversary of the death of an English  singer-songwriter whose influence is felt to this day … yet sadly not during his lifetime. Nick Drake released three albums (from 1969-1972) that all sounded different and were critically-acclaimed … yet sold poorly, adding to his existing social difficulties.

Three names come-to-mind in describing his career: one was Eva Cassidy, who shared Drake’s fear of performing live, was largely unknown during her life yet achieved almost cult status after her early death. The All-Music Guide’s Richie Unterberger likens his music to that of Donovan, with breathy vocals, strong melodies and acoustic orchestral arrangements. Finally, Drake had the same dark tone that Kurt Cobain had, speaking to the sense of alienation that many indie rockers share … as well as Cobain’s personal problems.

Nick Drake was born in 1948 in Rangoon, Burma – the son of an engineer and the daughter of a civil servant (who returned to England in 1950, settling just south of Birmingham). Both parents were musically inclined (including writing songs) and recordings of his mother’s works (found after her death in 1993) show overtones of themes that her son’s works later explored. Nick Drake had talents at school, yet his aloofness hampered him academically.

He played piano in the school orchestra and in early 1965 formed a band called The Perfumed Gardeners, who played R&B and jazz covers (future star Chris de Burgh – of Lady in Red fame – was turned down as having too much of a pop influence). Drake left as his influences turned to that of Bob Dylan, Josh White Jr. and Phil Ochs, and he began to travel as a busking guitarist across Europe and even Morocco, where his drug usage began.

While performing solo in London coffeehouses and clubs, he had his big break as an opening act for Country Joe and the Fish in February 1968, as the Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings was impressed with both his songs and presence. Hutchings recommended Drake to the band’s American producer Joe Boyd (who had also produced the Incredible String Band and folksinger John Martyn) … who offered Drake a contract at age 20 after hearing a tape. Elton John was hired as a session vocalist to record Drake’s songs to use as demos to entice established singers to cover Drake’s compositions.

Boyd went on to produce the first two (of three) albums Drake would release in his lifetime – certainly the most commercially accessible ones – and yet they would not sell well in their first runs. Partly this resulted from Drake’s being ahead-of-his-time; anticipating the indie-rock scene that developed later, yet not quite fitting-in to the then-prevailing music scene. Yet a large part came from Drake’s early onset of depression and his reluctance to tour, do interviews and otherwise promote his career.

The first album came in 1969 with the release of Five Leaves Left – with a folk-rock sound (often utilizing Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson) and some selected use of strings. The mix of somewhat melancholy lyrics matched with uplifting melodies (on such songs as River Man and “Time Has Told Me” among others) garnered some favorable record reviews, and the influential BBC disk jockey John Peel championed Drake’s cause. Yet there were delays in releasing the album, a somewhat hurried production, a limited amount of promotion by Island Records and some errors on the inner sleeve notes: with the resulting poor sales not helping Drake’s sense of brooding loner-ness.

A series of concerts late in 1969 (solo shows as well as opening for Fairport Convention) pointed out some of Nick Drake’s difficulties: as one folk singer observer noted, folk music audiences wanted “songs with choruses” and banter in-between songs .. that would not be forthcoming from Nick Drake, even as he frequently paused to change his guitar tunings. Years later that may not have been such an issue … but as the singer-songwriter era was only in its infancy, it stood out then.

1970 saw the release of his most polished recording, Bryter Layter – with a more upbeat tone, some obvious jazz influences (including a few instrumentals). It also had help from the former Velvet Underground member John Cale, with bass and drum tracks included. Both Joe Boyd and his recording engineer John Wood thought the album (featuring songs such as Poor Boy and “Fly”) would be a hit … yet it sold less than three thousand copies in its initial release. At this time, Joe Boyd left the music field to work on Hollywood soundtracks.

All of this caused Nick Drake to withdraw from most concert performances, and felt alone living in London – leading to increased drug use and eventually depression. In June 1970, Drake’s final concert took place as noted by the folksinger Ralph McTell (of “Streets of London” fame) …. where Drake was “monosyllabic”, and eventually “just walked offstage”. Drake was prescribed a battery on anti-depressants yet was hesitant to take them (fearing side effects in conjunction with his recreational drug use).  

In late 1971, Drake approached his recording engineer John Wood about making another recording – but this time, he wanted only a sparse, solo guitar album (never truly comfortable with lush recordings). Pink Moon featured extremely personal (albeit bleak) feelings, which many believe capture Nick Drake’s inner-most feelings, with songs such as Road and Things Behind the Sun as a case-in-point.

The final tape was hand-delivered to the legendary Island Records president Chris Blackwell – who had neither expected (nor even desired) a third album – and who took out a February, 1972 album advertisement in Britain’s noted Melody Maker with the caption “The first we heard of it … was when it was finished”. Although short (less than 30 minutes) the album garnered some critical praise. Yet Drake was unwilling to promote the album, to the chagrin of Blackwell and A&R manager Mervyn ‘Muff’ Winwood (Steve’s brother) and as a result the album sold even less than Bryter Layter … and he entered a psychiatric rest home for a few weeks.

While Nick Drake did record some subsequent individual tracks (that appeared on later compilation albums) his career was essentially over; although the French pop singer Françoise Hardy was supposed to have recorded some of Drake’s songs, none were ever released. He withdrew into being a recluse, keeping correspondence with few people. One was Sophia Ryde described as the closest thing he had to a girlfriend … which she denied, saying that she (and Fairport Convention’s Linda Thompson) were relationships that Drake had, yet never consummated. Eventually he moved back in with his parents.

Nick Drake died in late November, 1974 at the age of twenty-six from an overdose of anti-depressant medications (with a letter to Sophia Ryde on his bed). Among friends/family, opinions are split as to the coroner’s verdict of suicide. Some agree, feeling that he had given-up on life. Others believe it was accidental, including Joe Boyd who had attended some recording sessions Drake had earlier that year. Boyd thought he detected a desire to resume his career (with Drake asking “Why am I not rich and famous?”) and seemingly willing to return to London to achieve that.

Nick Drake has certainly achieved fame in death: particularly during the rise of indie rock during the 1980’s. Musicians such as Lucinda Williams, Ben Folds, Martha Wainwright, Norah Jones, Radiohead, Paul Weller (of The Jam), Robert Smith (of The Cure), Peter Buck (of REM), and others have cited him as an influence and a BBC Radio documentary on Drake’s life had as its narrator none other than Brad Pitt – also a big fan. In the year 2000, the Guardian newspaper listed Bryter Layer as #1 in its Alternative Top 100 Albums of all-time list and in 2012, Rolling Stone named Pink Moon as #321 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. A compilation album has all of his known recordings …… to the point that his original albums have sold multiple times what they did during his lifetime.

And we may soon find out more about some solo 1968 recordings he made before his first album release. A folksinging mentor to Drake, Beverley Martyn (along with her late husband John) brought-to-light this tape, which will go on auction next week in London. And so the final chapter in the career of Nick Drake – which many liken to that of 19th Century Romantic poets who died young – may not yet have been written.

Of all of his songs: besides the sparse Things Behind the Sun … my favorite tune of his is Northern Sky from Bryter Layter – with Joe Boyd recruiting the former Velvet Underground member John Cale to produce it. And below you can hear what was – possibly – the song that could have been his breakthrough, had Island Records released it as a single .. and promoted it (even if Nick Drake wouldn’t).