Today’s post is a loving and sweet tribute to Nick Drake’s music and a life that was way too short. I think you will enjoy it as much as you can enjoy such a sad story. It’s definitely worth your time!
As always, let me know what you think.
RIP Nick!
OK…….I confess that what I have for you tonight may not be what you normally expect as a Sunday Session. The reason is both strange and sad……there is no known footage of Nick Drake performing. In reality there are damn few pictures of Nick and only three complete studio albums or his music. None of his three albums sold more than 5000 copies upon their initial release and he died of an overdose on 25 November 1974.
All in all Nick’s story is one of the most tragic in all of rock music. His music was brilliant but totally unappreciated during his life. Although his music had a cult following among musicians, it was only in the last 10-15 years that it really started to get the attention it deserved. What triggered this change…..the use of Nick’s song Pink Moon in a Volkswagen commercial. Sad…..no, very sad……
So what I really have for you today is two songs that were recently discovered from a performance by Nick on the John Peel radio show in 1969. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this story but the performance sounds real to me. Following that I have a video that provides some of the essential Nick Drake songs that every music fan needs to be familiar with. Enjoy…….
The John Peel Session
Essential Nick Drake
If you aren’t familiar with the details of the Nick Drake story be sure to check back tomorrow for a great documentary on his life and career.
RIP Nick!
This is the first in a new series of posts about Tribute Songs. Featured songs might be tributes to a place, an artist, or a song or a combination of all three. I hope you enjoy the concept!
Our first tribute song manages to tie together our last two posts about Nick Drake/Elton John and The Stooges. I must say that finding a way to link these posts together is one my greatest achievements 🙂
To start things off we are going to listen to Nick Drake’s Northern Sky, an absolutely brilliant song that features John Cale on keyboards (yes…the very same John Cale that produced the Stooges first album). Here we go….
The brilliance of this song cannot be denied. It was recognized by New Music Express as the greatest English love song of the modern era and it inspired this incredible tribute by the The Dream Academy. Let me know what you think……
I am sure that everyone thought this was a good idea in 1968. Elton John clearly had an abundance of talent but had not proven himself yet as a songwriter (note: Elton had just recently teamed up with Bernie Taupin and their songwriting chops would be evident to the world in a couple of years) . Nick Drake was recording his first album and had some amazing new songs. Why not have Elton sing Nick….
So today I offer you Elton singing a cover of Nick’s Way To Blue. To be honest, I don’t care for Elton’s version. Maybe if would be different if I had never heard Nick’s original performance, I don’t know? Let me know what you think…
The Cover (Elton John)
The Original (Nick Drake)
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 