The Van Gogh of Music: The Story of Nick Drake

Summary

この動画は、生前にはほとんど知られていなかった英国の歌手-songwriter、Nick Drakeの悲劇的な物語を描いています。彼は、彼の音楽が後になって世界的に有名になるとは思いも寄らなかったでしょう。彼の3つのアルバムは、純粋で真実の音楽であり、時系列に依存しない普遍的な感情を表現しています。彼の音楽は、彼の深い内面から夢のような詩を織り、50年以上の今でもタイムレスな美しさを持っています。

Takeaways

• 🎵 ニック・ドレイクは生涯で3つのアルバムをリリースし、現在では史上最高傑作の一つとされていますが、彼は生きている間にほとんど誰も彼の音楽を聴かなかったため、孤独で貧困して死んだ。
• 😔 ニックは内向的で、静かであり、極めて写真が少なく、ビデオフットiageは存在しない。
• 🏫 学びの機会は多かったが、ニックは常に遠い存在のように感じられていた。
• 🎶 彼の音楽は60年代の流行と無関係に、タイムレスな感じがする。
• 🌿 ニックは自然のイメージを多く使用し、それを使って自己の小ささを感じる。
• 🚫 彼の第一アルバム「Five Leaves Left」は商業的に失敗し、評論家からは「退屈」と言われた。
• 🌟 彼の第二のアルバム「Bryter Later」は前作よりもポップでエネルギッシュなサウンドに変わったが、再び失敗した。
• 🌙 彼の第三のアルバム「Pink Moon」は、彼の最期の作品であり、最も純粋で真実な作品とされています。
• 💔 ニックは抗う気鎮静剤の過剰摂取で死亡し、自殺とされ認定された。
• 📈 彼の死後30年ほどで、彼の音楽は徐々に知名度が高まり、多くの人々に愛されるようになった。
• 🎖️ ニック・ドレイクは今では史上最偉大なアーティストの一人とされ、彼の影響は21世紀の多くのアーティストに広まっている。

Q & A

ニコ・ドレイクはどの年代に生まれたか、またその生涯を要約するとどのような人物であったか？

ニコ・ドレイクは1948年に生まれ、26歳の若さで亡くなりました。彼は非常に内向的で、静かな性格を持ち、音楽制作においても孤独な旅を進めていました。彼の音楽は生前はほとんど評価されず、販売されたアルバムのコピーも極めて限られていました。しかし、彼の死後30年ほどで、彼の音楽は再評価され、彼の曲は最も美しいものの一つとして認識されるようになりました。

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が生前評価されなかった主な原因是什么か？

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽は、その時代の主流の音楽シーンとは異なる、内省的で感情豊かな作品でした。彼はコンサートを開催することやメディアとのインタビューを拒否し、一般的な流行りの音楽と異なる、自己流の音楽を追求しました。その結果、彼の音楽は生前はほとんど知られず、販売されたアルバムのコピーも5,000枚を大きく超えることはなかったです。

ニコ・ドレイクの3つのアルバムはどのような特徴を持っていたか？

ニコ・ドレイクの3つのアルバムは、内省的で感情を豊かに表現した作品であり、彼の繊細なギター演奏と独特の歌声が特徴です。彼の曲は、自然や人生、孤独、そして夢や死に関するテーマを扱っており、彼の音楽はその纯粋さと感情の深さで評価されています。

「ピンクムーン」というアルバムはどのようにして評価されるようになったか？

「ピンクムーン」は、ニコ・ドレイクの死後30年ほどに再評価され始めました。このアルバムは、彼の生前の作品の中で最も純粋で感情豊かな作品の一つであり、彼の死後、徐々に多くのファンや批評家に発見され、今日では彼の代表作として高く評価されています。

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった背景にはどのような要因があるか？?

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった背景には、インターネットの普及が大きな役割を果たしました。また、彼の作品はいくつかのドキュメンタリーや本で紹介され、彼の音楽に対する理解が深まることから、徐々にファン層が拡大しました。さらに、2000年代には、彼の曲がコンマーシャルで使用され、彼の音楽に対する注目がさらに高まりました。

ニコ・ドレイクの生涯を通じてどのような教訓を得られるか？

ニコ・ドレイクの生涯から得られる教訓は、真の芸術は時間とともに変化することなくその価値が認識されること、そして成功を追求する過程での自己の忠実さの重要性です。彼は商業的な成功を求めることで自分の音楽を妥協しなかったため、生前は評価されなかったものの、後には彼の音楽の価値が認識され、多くのアーティストに影響を与えました。

ニコ・ドレイクの曲「Fruit Tree」はどのようなメッセージを持っているのか？

「Fruit Tree」は、ニコ・ドレイクが自己の音楽キャリアに対する失望と孤独感を表現した曲です。彼は、有名であるにもかかわらず、自分の音楽が真に評価されないような存在であることを嘆き、その矛盾を表現しています。また、この曲は彼の音楽が彼の死後、真の価値が認められることを予感しているかのような予言的な要素も含んでいます。

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽はどのようにして現代の聴者に影響を与えるようになったか？

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽は、彼の死後、徐々に多くの人々に発見され、その影響が広がっていきました。インターネットの普及により、彼の曲が世界中の聴者に到達し、多くのアーティストが彼の音楽に影響を受けることになりました。彼の繊細で内省的な曲は、多くの聴者にとって深い共感を呼び起こし、彼の音楽は今日でも新しいファンを獲得し続けています。

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった際、どのようなメディアや作品がその普及に寄与したか？

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった際には、いくつかのドキュメンタリーや書籍がその普及に寄与しました。また、彼の曲がテレビのコマーシャルなどで使用されることで、彼の音楽に対する注目が高まりました。これらのメディアや作品は、彼の音楽の美しさと深さを広く伝え、彼の作品に対する理解を深めることで、彼の評価を高めることに役立ちました。

ニコ・ドレイクの生涯を通じて、芸術家にとって成功とは何であるかについてどのような考えを寄せられるか？

ニコ・ドレイクの生涯から、芸術家にとって成功とは自分の芸術的表現を真に評価されることであると考えられます。彼は商業的な成功を求めることで自分の音楽を妥協しなかったため、生前は評価されなかったものの、後には彼の音楽の価値が認められるようになり、多くの人々に影響を与えました。成功は、時間や評価の波に左右されず、自分の芸術的ビジョンを追求し続けることにあると言えるでしょう。

ニコ・ドレイクの3つのアルバムの中で、どの曲が最も有名か、またその曲はどのようなテーマを扱っているか？

ニコ・ドレイクの3つのアルバムの中で最も有名な曲の1つは「Northern Sky」です。この曲は、彼のアルバム「Bryter Later」に収録されており、愛と孤独のテーマを扱っています。彼の繊細なギター演奏と温かみのある歌声が、聴者に深い感銘を与える曲です。

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった背景で、彼の作品が持つ普遍的な価値は何であるか？

ニコ・ドレイクの音楽が評価されるようになった背景で、彼の作品が持つ普遍的な価値は、内省的で感情豊かな曲と、繊細なギター演奏と歌声による自己表現です。彼の音楽は、人間の内面の深い部分に触れ、孤独や愛、夢や死に関するテーマを扱っています。その感情の深さと繊細さは、彼の音楽を時代や文化を超えた普遍的な価値のある作品にしています。

Outlines

00:00

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの悲劇的な生涯とその音楽の再評価

ニック・ドレイクは3つのアルバムをリリースし、その質が高いと今日まで評価されていますが、彼は生涯中ほとんど无人関心を集めることができず、26歳で孤独に死んだ。彼の音楽はその間にほとんど誰も聴かなかったため、彼は暗闇と貧困に沈んでいきました。彼の3つのアルバムは彼が生きている間に5,000部未満で販売され、コンサートはほとんど参加者がありませんでした。しかし、彼の死後30年ほどで、彼が持っていた芸術的な天才が認められ、今では彼のアルバムは最高傑作の一つとされています。

05:00

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの音楽制作の苦悩と挑戦

ニック・ドレイクのデビューアルバム「Five Leaves Left」は、彼のビジョンから遠い主流的なサウンドになってしまったため、最初は混乱したプロセスでした。彼はシンプルで密接なボーカロとwantedを求めていましたが、選ばれたコンポーザーはオーバーな主流サウンドを作り出しました。そこでニックは、大学の友人であるロバート・カービーに弦楽器と木管打楽器を作り直し、素晴らしいアルバムに仕上げました。

10:00

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの転機と失敗

2番目のアルバム「Bryter Later」では、主流の成功を目指して音악を変更しましたが、予想外にも失敗し、悪評を受け、前作よりも売上も悪くなりました。さらに、ニックのマネージャーも彼をクライアントから外し、英国を離れ、他の音楽プロジェクトに移りました。

15:01

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの最後の专辑和其孤独感

3番目のアルバム「Pink Moon」は、記録されたわずか2日間に収録され、28分しか続かず、歌詞は極端に短い。しかし、これは彼の最も個人的で誠実な作品であり、最も普遍的なテーマを扱うことで、彼の心の深い部分に触れています。

20:03

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの最後の年と孤独の戦い

ニック・ドレイクの最後の年は、孤独と戦う日々でした。彼は異なる職業を検討しましたが、最終的には父親の家に戻り、精神的な苦悩に打ち勝てませんでした。1974年、尼克は抗うつ薬の過剰摂取で死亡し、彼のキャリアは5年しか続かなかったです。

25:04

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの音楽の持続力と影響

ニック・ドレイクの音楽は、彼が死んだ後30年以上的时间里、徐々に評価され、今日では彼の3つのアルバムはすべて「史上最大のアルバム」のリストに含まれています。21世紀の主要なアーティストたちは、ニック・ドレイクの作品から影響を受けたと語っています。

30:06

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの音楽とその悲劇的な生涯の評価

ニック・ドレイクは、彼の純粋さと真実さが音楽業界に合わなかったため、成功を収めることができず、孤独と格差が彼を襲い、最後は自殺してしまいました。しかし、彼の音楽は彼の死後で再評価され、彼の3つのアルバムはすべて傑作とされ、彼は史上最大のアーティストの1人として認識されるようになりました。

🎵 ニック・ドレイクの音楽とその悲劇的な生涯の評価

この記事では、ニック・ドレイクの音楽とその悲劇的な生涯、そして彼の死後の評価について述べています。彼の音楽は彼が死んだ後30年以上的时间里、徐々に評価され、今日では彼の3つのアルバムはすべて「史上最大のアルバム」のリストに含まれています。21世紀の主要なアーティストたちは、ニック・ドレイクの作品から影響を受けたと語っています。

Keywords

💡Nick Drake

英国のミュージシャンで、この動画の主題をなすアーティスト。彼は生前にはあまり評価されず、貧困と抑うつ状態に苦しんだが、死後にはその音楽性が再評価され、今日では最高傑作の一つとされている。

💡Depression

うつ状態は、この動画で描かれるNick Drakeの生活史の中で重要な要素の1つです。彼は生前ずっとうつ病に悩まされ、これが彼の音楽のテーマと Lyrics にも影響を与えている。

💡Musical Genius

音楽的天才は、Nick Drakeが音楽において持っていた高い才能を指す用語であり、彼の曲は「最も美しい」ものとして称賛されている。

💡Commercial Failure

商業的な失敗は、Nick Drakeの音楽が当時の市場で受け入れられなかったことを意味し、彼のアルバムはその販売数が少なかった。

💡Posthumous Recognition

亡後の認識は、アーティストが死後に初めて評価されることを指し、Nick Drakeは彼の死後に音楽的な貢献が広く認識されるようになった。

💡Introverted Personality

内気な性格は、Nick Drakeが内向的であることを指し、彼は社交的な活動にあまり参加せず、孤独を感じることが多かった。

💡Artistic Vision

芸術的なビジョンは、アーティストが自分の音楽や芸術作品に持ち込む独自の視点やスタイルを指す。Nick Drakeは彼自身の音楽に対して明確なビジョンを持っていたが、それは市場のニーズと合わなかった。

💡Legacy

レガシーは、ある人や物が死後も残す影響や重要性を指す。Nick Drakeは死後に彼の音楽が広く評価され、多くのアーティストに影響を与えるレガシーを残した。

💡Tragic Life

悲劇的な人生は、Nick Drakeが生きている間に苦悩と闘いを感じ、孤独と抑うつ状態に悩まされたことを指す。彼の生涯は悲しみと不幸の物語として語られている。

💡Timelessness

時代を超える普遍性は、Nick Drakeの音楽が当時の流行やトレンドに依存せず、今日までも新しいと感じられることを指す。

Highlights

Nick Drake, despite releasing three critically acclaimed albums, died alone and penniless at 26 due to lack of recognition during his lifetime.

Drake's music was considered dull by critics during his time, with his albums selling less than 5,000 copies while he was alive.

Nick Drake was a withdrawn and quiet individual, with very few photos and no known video footage of him existing.

Drake's career took off nearly 30 years after his death, with his music now recognized as deeply emotional and beautifully written.

Nick Drake's upbringing was filled with a love for poetry and music, influencing his melancholic sound.

Drake's debut album, 'Five Leaves Left', was a commercial failure, selling less than 5,000 copies and receiving mixed reviews.

The production process for 'Five Leaves Left' was chaotic, with Drake desiring an intimate sound that contrasted with the mainstream style of the time.

Drake's second album, 'Bryter Later', was a shift towards a more mainstream sound, but it still failed to achieve commercial success.

Nick Drake's final album, 'Pink Moon', was recorded in just two days and is considered his most personal and honest work.

Despite the critical and commercial failure of 'Pink Moon', it has since become regarded as one of the most darkly beautiful albums ever made.

Nick Drake's music was too pure and real for the music industry at the time, and he refused to conform to the expectations of the business.

Drake's music feels timeless and transcends the trends of his era, connecting with listeners on a universal level.

Nick Drake's legacy has grown posthumously, with his music now celebrated and influential among modern artists.

Drake's struggle with depression and isolation is palpable in his music, which has resonated with listeners even decades later.

The tragic story of Nick Drake highlights the disconnect between an artist's talent and the recognition they receive during their lifetime.

Drake's music has been recognized as some of the best ever made, with all three albums included on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.

Nick Drake's impact on modern musicians is evident, with artists like Radiohead, Iron & Wine, and Bon Iver citing him as a major influence.

Transcripts

despite releasing three albums that are

today considered some of the best ever

made Nick Drake died alone and penniless

at 26 years old because almost no one

listened to his music while he was alive

he had become obscure and impoverished

after years of depressive struggling and

Failure to Launch his career all three

of his albums sold less than 5 000

copies while he was alive and his

concerts were poorly attended with most

critics writing that his music was dull

at best while today we recognize that

Nick Drake's music is a deep and

captivating tapestry of emotion that

contains some of the most beautiful

songwriting you'll ever hear Nick Drake

was considered not much more than an

obscure failed singer while he was alive

as a person he was withdrawn and quiet

enough to the point where there are only

a handful of photos of him in existence

and no known video footage at all

Nick Drake's career didn't take off

until almost 30 years after he died but

once he finally received recognition for

being the artistic genius he was his

albums have since been recognized as

some of the best ever made

so why did Nick Drake's career suffer

while he was alive and what changed

after his death to make him the legend

he is today let's talk about the tragic

story of Nick Drake the Vincent van Gogh

of music

[Music]

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monthly or wait until the end for more

information Nick Drake was always a

reserved person to put it politely he

didn't have a bad life growing up in

fact Nick's life was quite good from a

young age but almost everyone who met

him over the years noticed that he

seemed like he was never all there he

was detached depressed and cold even as

early as Elementary School while Nick

Drake was born in Burma modern day

Myanmar thanks to his parents careers he

grew up in rural England after his

parents moved back when he was five his

father was an engineer and his mother

had a lifelong passion for poetry music

that would end up being hugely

influential on Nick's music later as her

amateur home recordings were full of

fatalism foreboding and depressive

emotions and very frail sounding vocals

and piano much like the sound that Nick

would develop later on

[Music]

love lies in the arms of change as a joy

cat is a pain

and no one knows

Nick was given a lot of opportunities as

a kid all in all he had a pretty good

life his parents sent him to a private

school from the age of nine until high

school and he eventually got involved

with sports like sprinting and rugby and

instruments like piano clarinet

saxophone in the school orchestra and

even singing in his own band but when

you look through all of the writing

about Nick all of the biographies and

histories of his life most people still

say that he was quiet aloof and

generally hard to get to know even when

he was a teenager everyone from his

family to his friends seemed to only

know him from a distance in the words of

his composer Robert Kirby Nick was in

some strange way out of time when you

were with him you always had a sad

feeling of him being born in the wrong

Century if he would have lived in the

17th century as a royal composer he

would have been alright Nick was an

elegant honest lost romantic a friend

from his university said that he would

never say much and he had never done his

homework either he was simply going

through the motions and didn't

participate in school at all given that

the 1960s was the decade of hippies and

ideas like trying to find yourself and

exploring Yourself by the time Nick

Drake was finished with high school in

the mid-1960s he was smoking as much

weed as possible dropping acid all the

time traveling to Morocco with his

friends to find drugs and playing his

guitar in the Town Center for fun

wherever he was at one point he studied

in France for a few months where a

friend of his from this time says that

he would sometimes show up to her

apartment in the middle of the night to

play his guitar but he would never look

at her and he would never talk he just

played songs stared off into the

distance and then left she said I'm

still not sure who I met and for someone

who was so elusive he had an

unmistakable presence that Drew people

in when he was finally back in England

around the age of 20 Nick started

playing guitar and singing in coffee

shops and clubs and it wasn't long

before he ended up being introduced to

the now legendary record producer Joe

Boyd who after just a few months of

listening to Nick's demos recorded on

tape in his college dorm saw a huge

potential in him and offered him a

full-time recording contract Joe Boyd

would later tell the story of offering

Nick a recording contract telling him he

wanted to make full album with a

promotion cycle through a major label

and how the only thing next said in

response was okay sure Nick dropped out

of college to work on his first album

five leaves left but the production

process ended up being a chaotic mess

Nick's vision for the album was that he

wanted it to be intimate with simple

close-up vocals not like the shiny pop

Reverb sound that was in style at the

time but the composer they had picked to

put the songs together ended up creating

an overly mainstream and watered down

sound regardless so Nick wanted to

restart everything from scratch and have

his college friend Robert Kirby

completely redo the strings and woodwind

instruments Joe Boyd thought it was a

pretty bad idea to bring in a college

student with no experience to do such an

important job but it ended up working

perfectly and Nick Drake's debut record

five leaves left came to life as a

masterpiece album with Moody Melancholy

lyrics that stand in contrast to the

smooth warm peaceful welcoming

instrumentals

[Music]

will you never fall five moves left is

full of simple yet beautiful songs like

River man fruit tree and time has told

me that paint a picture of life from a

lens of quiet composure everything is

comfortable sounding no part of this

album blasts you away with some dated

sounding 1960s Pop Style which can sound

so overwhelmingly boring today in this

way it feels Timeless because it's so

subdued and subtle even when Nick's

songwriting detaches itself from reality

and his lyrics touch on more strange and

conceptual ideas the beauty of his

guitar keeps the music grounded in a

familiar and comfortable

when the game's been fought

newspaper

lost much sooner

songs on fruit tree River Man in The

Cello Song feel particularly beautiful

as he eloquently touches on themes of

Life Death Fame and unfruit tree in

particular seems to almost predict his

own future he sings famous but a fruit

tree so very unsound it can never

flourish till it's done

famous but a fruit tree

sovereign

can never fly

till its stock is in the ground

so many Fame

you never find a way

[Music]

sings life is but a memory it happened

long ago you can feel his disconnect

from The Real World in that way I think

while the music may feel smooth or

simple beneath the calm surface there is

a dreamy surreal universe that could

only exist in the mind of a true artist

he draws heavily on images of Nature and

the way that nature exists outside the

human Spirit he uses it as a force to

illustrate his own insignificance in a

Melancholy way and it feels this way the

whole record through mysteriously

beautiful or most importantly it's

Timeless I have no appetite for 60s

music but this is different it doesn't

feel like it relies on any of the trends

that made the 60s sound like the 60s

it's too disconnected from reality to

really remind you of anything when you

listen to it it truly shows us how much

of a genius Nick Drake was but at the

same time it made the album a massive

commercial failure it's been written

that Joe Boyd next manager fully

believed that Nick was going to follow

in the footsteps of Leonard Cohen and

sell 100 000 copies on his debut album

from out of nowhere but ultimately five

leaves left sold less than 5 000 copies

and they got little to no radio airtime

which was a hugely important aspect of

Music promotion at the time it was more

or less a flop why exactly the album

failed is uncertain it could be that

Nick just didn't have enough Mass Appeal

with intricate guitar playing subtle

Melodies and deep songwriting without

choruses or hooks or rock band

instrumentals but either way the album

just didn't take off magazine critics

wrote that it was poetic yet boring and

it didn't help that Nick refused to do

interviews with radio shows or

newspapers and because five leaves left

didn't get good reviews or sell many

copies Nick Drake's parents were very

angry that he decided to leave

University and keep making music they

wrote him multiple letters about how

finishing school would give him a good

sense of security that music never could

and much to their dismay as well as NYX

things only got worse from there Nick

didn't have an apartment so he would

just Drift from friend to friend and

stay on people's floors and couches

eventually his manager paid for him to

get a room in a shared apartment while

they were still trying to promote and

sell five leaves left they were able to

book a few small concerts that ended up

being yet another string of massive

disasters which only drove Nick deeper

into the state of introversion and

anxiety that already had him in a

negative State of Mind each of the

concerts they played the audience seemed

angry that there were not enough

choruses and sing-alongs in Nick's songs

and one artist who was present wrote

that the audience completely missed the

point and it was extremely painful to

watch this negative experience only made

Nick more reluctant to perform live

which meant a few concerts he was

willing to do were poorly attended and

awkward but Nick was still so talented

that his entire team continued to

believe in his talent and potential to

succeed and they pushed on to try again

for another album unfortunately at this

point they felt like they were playing

from somewhat of a defensive position on

the back foot and Nick felt compelled to

switch up his formula to take yet

another shot at the mainstream success

he wanted brighter later sounds a lot

different than five leaves left you can

hear that he was really trying to make

an impact with his music he wanted to

succeed he wanted to be famous and I

think in a way that attitude of trying

to orchestrate a comeback to nothing but

Doom the album from before it was ever

released and sure enough brighter later

once again sold poorly and got bad

reviews so much so that Nick's manager

dropped him as a client and moved away

from the UK to focus on other musical

projects in the U.S but brighter later

is still a beautiful album The

musicality is significantly more diverse

than anything else Nick Drake ever made

taking inspiration from Bossa Nova Jazz

pop and an overall livelier more

energetic sound

[Music]

thank you

what will happen in the evening in the

forest for the weasel with a teeth that

bites so sharp this was Nick Drake's

shot at Mass Appeal and he did a great

job but it just didn't work after the

failure of brighter later Nick's career

more or less fizzled out to my ears

brighter later doesn't have the same

magical special feeling as five leaves

left it has a much more normal sound its

production is less thoughtful and deep

and more Poppy and impersonal one of the

big reasons why this change happened was

because Nick and his producers and

manager didn't know why the first album

failed but their best guess was that it

was missing the more pop appeal

characteristics like drum and bass

tracks to make the songs catchy

entertaining and radio friendly and all

sorts of different pop influences to

make them stand out from each other even

though that was originally not what Nick

wanted for his music in some ways he

felt forced to make the change towards a

sound that would hopefully be more

marketable but ultimately it was not

foreign

[Music]

even though they had tried to make a

record that would sound more

conventional more normal more

entertaining it was somehow an even

worse failure than his first record

right off the bat the reviews were bad

critics called it well made but awkward

and it sold even fewer copies than five

leaves left despite having such

beautiful songs as northern sky and one

of these things first things just got

worse Nick's mentor and manager Joe Boyd

who had originally secured his record

deal gave up on Nick's career and moved

the US to work on film soundtracks and

with his recording contract in shambles

after two failed records and a string of

horrible concerts Island Records had no

real interest in continuing to work with

Nick Drake in the summer of 1970 he gave

what would be his final live performance

and he ended up walking off the stage

halfway through a song never to be seen

in public again

shortly after in 1971 Nick Drake was

prescribed antidepressants by his doctor

which ended up not helping him at all

things only continued to get worse with

his sister later describing him as

becoming disheveled and emotionally

absent only ever leaving his apartment

to buy drugs but as Nick's mental state

got worse it turned out that he was just

around the corner from the creative

breakthrough of a lifetime the most

honest beautiful and personal album he

would ever make even though his record

label wasn't interested in the third

Nick Drake album with his managers

feeling like he had wasted whatever

potential he did have to succeed in the

industry he ended up unexpectedly

bringing them a new album anyway at the

end of 1971. the album that would

immortalize him as a genius for decades

after his own life ended pink moon was

recorded in a span of just two days and

it was only 28 minutes long with an

average song Length of less than two and

a half minutes and the pink moon is the

polar opposite of the rest of Nick's

releases it is incredibly quiet simple

and intimate it's far less Poppy and

mainstream than anything he had ever

made before I would say it's one of the

most personal albums ever recorded with

the most honesty and the least pretense

of any music I've ever heard it's a

diary in musical form and it sounds so

pure that it feels like it's from

another world not our world of

corruption capitalism exploitation of

Art and the commercialization of Pop

Culture Nick's world is a different one

A more mystical Universe where he

battles his inner demons in a languid

phantasmal way that leaves you sitting

in Wonder as to how one person could

possibly create a sound with such depth

and honesty again like I said before it

feels like Nick Drake was just too real

for our world somehow even in his

darkest moments as he was tormented by

failure criticism and isolation there

was still an innocent mysticism in

everything he made pink moon feels

unreal in the same way as childhood

memories can feel unreal maybe overly

real Everything feels special when

you're young even something as simple as

a summer at night time and because Nick

Drake was so sincere he was able to

capture emotions that most other artists

never could listening to songs pink moon

things behind the sun parasites and free

ride it feels like you're looking deep

into his soul only to find something

both ominous and innocent at the same

time it's Eerie yet relaxing hauntingly

beautiful one of the best albums ever

made and the solitary sound of his

guitar playing against the organic kiss

of his impromptu recording setup feels

like a journey into a place that you've

just never been before it's like staring

at the night sky as a kid not knowing

what's out there in the darkness in many

ways it feels like you aren't meant to

hear it Nick paint pictures of the

natural world in a very untouched way

using the imagery of forests rivers and

trees to remind us of the insignificance

of human life the most striking thing is

though is how its Darkness doesn't make

you feel unsettled the way he describes

depression loneliness and isolation is

more peaceful than anything some of the

most brilliant songs on pink moon

include parasite which is a dark and

almost disturbing meditation on his

feelings of being an outcast I think

it's not only the most brilliant song he

ever made but it's one of my favorite

songs of all time as he's saying lifting

the mask from a local clown feeling down

like him you get a true sense for how

Nick Drake saw the world as if he was

not part of it

[Music]

sailing downstairs to the northern line

watching the shine of the shores

hearing the trials of the people there

who's together

can we see me

if I am parasite of this town while pink

moon is made beautiful with imagery of

nature and love and life it's also an

expression of some of the darkest

emotions humans could feel on songs like

place to be he expresses this idea that

as life goes on things only get darker

and darker until we realize how utterly

alone and doomed we are as if that's the

true nature of reality to be alone

forever despite the song placed to be

only having three verses of lyrics he

confronts his struggle with depression

in a more self-aware way than he ever

had before he admits that his loneliness

feels impossible to shake off and he

thinks he might be doomed to feel this

way for the rest of his life similarly

the song things behind the sun addresses

his feeling of being an outcast because

he's tormented by other people's

perceptions of him which makes him feel

deeply alienated as we already discussed

Nick had long felt like an outsider in

his life which made him reluctant to do

concerts and interviews and radio shows

which in turn only made him more of an

outsider as his beautiful music went

unappreciated by The General public it

was a self-destructive cycle which only

made it harder for him to continue down

the path of being a musician no matter

how amazing his music was he was deeply

disconnected from the world in a way

that made him feel smaller and more

isolated than ever as he sings don't be

shy You Learn to Fly

don't be shy Learn to Fly and see the

sudden days

[Music]

I just want you to realize just how

disconnected Nick was and the way that

he was able to transmute that experience

into a feeling of foreboding and

Sinister emotion it's absolutely

brilliant despite its roughness and the

small size of its scope pink moon is by

far one of the most Darkly beautiful

albums ever made it's Nick Drake's

Masterpiece his defining body of work

recorded in just two nights just 28

minutes long it sounds as fresh today as

it did when it was released 50 years ago

and it touches on some truly Universal

Topics in a way that almost no other

music had to that point in history and

even though they had previously given up

on him Nick's label was immediately

convinced that pink moon would be his

big break they saw amazing potential in

the music and they tried their hardest

to get Nick to promote the album with

concerts and interviews again he refused

but when pink moon was released to poor

reviews and even worse sales Nick Drake

realized he had failed again it wasn't

long before his label gave up on him

entirely and stopped sending the 20 a

week retainer they had been paying him

at one point it was said that he

couldn't afford to buy new shoes or get

haircuts and it only got worse from

there Nick considered different careers

like joining the Army or becoming a

computer programmer but even though he

got a job in a programming office he

quit within the first few days of work

and ultimately Nick could no longer

afford to live alone and he ended up

back at his parents house shortly after

pink moon was released

in many ways the final years of Nick

Drake's life were somewhat like that of

a ghost people in his life talk about

how he would disappear from home for

hours and only return when he ran out of

gas in his parents car Robert Kirby the

composer of Nick's first two albums

later said that he would arrive and not

talk he would sit down listen to music

have a drink and sleep on the couch but

the next day he would be gone and three

months later he'd come back or sometimes

he wouldn't the months after pink moon

Nick had a nervous breakdown and he

ended up being hospitalized for more

than five weeks finally he was

prescribed antidepressants he tried to

start working on a fourth album in the

summer of 1974 but he was unable to

bring any of his ideas to life and the

record was left alone as a failed idea

and in November of 1974 two and a half

years after the release of pink moon a

two and a half year period of mental

deterioration and struggle Nick was

found dead from an overdose of

antidepressants at the age of 26. his

entire career had been just five years

long

his father wrote in his diary that day

the worst day of Our Lives the housemaid

had looked in on Nick at 11 45 and found

him lying across the bed she went in and

found him dead after desperate phone

calls we got the doctor and shortly

after an ambulance which was of course

too late the doctor said Nick had been

dead for some hours the contents of a

tryptosol were missing and so ends in

tragedy our three-year struggle while

Nick Drake left no suicide note his

family believes he killed himself on

purpose as it was later found that he

died from taking a significant number of

antidepressants all at the same time to

the point where the coroner ruled that

suicide was undoubtedly his cause of

death just 50 people a small group of

family and friends attended Nick Drake's

funeral the music industry did not mourn

at all I wouldn't even say he was

forgotten because he was hardly ever

known in the first place it's often said

that during what remained of their lives

his parents Molly and Rodney Drake

perhaps even with gratitude would

welcome the small but steady trickle of

people who discovered their son's music

and for whatever reason arrived at their

door in this way they kept a connection

to him though they would be gone

themselves before his work found the

wider consideration and respect it

deserved

but if we fast forward 30 years Nick

Drake had become an underground Legend

thanks to a handful of documentaries and

books his albums went from selling 2 000

copies in 1999 to over 70 000 copies in

2000 thanks to an American Volkswagen

commercial from that year today in 2023

Nick Drake has over 2.5 million monthly

listeners on Spotify with tens of

millions of streams across most of his

songs and the critical attitude towards

his music has changed too in 2003 all

three of Nick's albums were included on

the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Of

All Time list well in 1999 the guardian

named brighter later the best

alternative album ever made on

rateyourmusic.com pink moon is the 28th

highest rated album ever made major

artists of the 21st century like

Radiohead iron and wine and Bon Iver

have discussed that Nick Drake's work

from his subtle yet genius guitar

playing to his surrealy innocent

songwriting had a major influence on

their own development as musicians but

why is Nick Drake considered among the

greatest musicians to ever ever lived

today while almost no one ever listened

to him when he was alive I think there

are a few main reasons why first of all

his music was too pure and real for the

music industry at the time even back in

the 70s you really had to play the

industry game with your persona and your

music you had to play concerts go on

tour do festivals sit for interviews and

Nick just couldn't bring himself to do

it all he wanted was to make music

nothing more nothing less but even more

importantly than that he wouldn't water

down his sound for any reason either

when you listen to Nick Drake's songs

they feel perfectly Timeless there's no

stylistic corneas that makes pink moon

feel old or dated even though it came

out more than 50 years ago from the

beautiful surreal cover art to the

poetic lyricism to the intricate guitar

playing pink moon is a magical album

It's removed from reality in a way that

most music isn't and because of that he

speaks not to his decade or his culture

or his Trends but the deepest contents

of his heart in a way that universally

applies to everyone who hears his music

as he sang When I Was Young younger than

before I never saw the truth hanging

from door

and everything

it expressed feelings from deep inside

his soul in a way that reminds us not of

the hippie movement or the folk movement

or the 1970s you don't have to be

connected to Nick or his culture or time

in any way to recognize just how

beautiful this is that's what makes him

truly unique as a 23 year old if I

listen to this I understand what he's

saying and where he's coming from in a

way that I really don't with most other

70s artists he touches on the darkness

that sits inside all of us in such a

pure way that his Spirit can live on

through the music more than 50 years

later you can understand who he was so

the way that he put his darkest thoughts

into dreamlike poetry between impeccable

guitar skills doesn't feel old it feels

Timeless John Wood the producer behind

pink moon said that he truly to this day

doesn't understand how Nick wasn't more

popular he thinks if Nick had maybe been

American where introspective thoughtful

artists were more popular like Leonard

Cohen and Bob Dylan he maybe could have

been a big star but Nick was far more

alienated than even they ever were and

in England the expectations for easily

digestible single Style music drowned

Nick out of the industry and Nick just

couldn't bring himself to sell out to

find that thing ultimately Nick Drake

was a genius artist who was lost in time

he had the talent and the spirit to be a

star but he was born in the wrong era it

wouldn't be until the internet age more

than 30 years later that pink moon would

be rediscovered and become a legendary

piece of music

in the end Nick Drake's greatest

strength as an artist is the same thing

that killed him he wanted to be famous

and he wanted to be recognized for his

efforts and talents and because it never

happened he just kept channeling that

fear of failure into better and better

music that became less and less Popular

until tragically he died after just

three albums if he had survived I think

it's possible he would still be working

today and he would probably be

recognized as one of the greatest

artists alive his music feels more

personal than anything else his

contemporaries made and that's why it

still sounds good 50 years later it was

truly sincere and Brilliant but Nick

never made the impact he wanted to make

and his lifetime is remembered as a

tragedy more than anything would he be

remembered as a genius today if he had

given up after one album and gone on to

become a normal person somewhere in

England I don't think so tragically like

many of the greatest artists we loved

today Nick was only acknowledged once he

was no longer there to enjoy it in the

words of one of his greatest songs fruit

tree from five leaves left famous but a

fruit tree so very unsound it can never

flourish till its stock is in the ground

so many Fame can never find her way

famous but a fruit tree

so very unsung

[Music]

till its stock is in the ground

[Music]

so many Fame

you never find a way

in this flower

far from that dining

[Music]

Nick Drake who was barely recognized

while he was alive yet many years later

would be recognized as one of the

greatest artists of all time seemed to

understand even from the beginning that

he just like a fruit tree would have to

be buried in the ground before his

artistic output the fruit of his life

would truly come to life and be

understood for the beauty it contained

unfortunately his prediction came true

while Nick Drake suffered from

depression and isolation his whole life

he seemed to understand that his music

would set him free and he truly did make

three of the best albums of all time the

tragedy of it all is that he never lived

to see himself become a legend but the

Twisted fact is that he may never have

become a legend at all if he hadn't died

yes we can say if only he had been a

better live performer if only he was

willing to be interviewed he might have

succeeded but in a simple fatalistic way

he just wasn't

his death in many ways is the final

piece of the puzzle he had created with

those somber and ominous yet deeply

beautiful albums even though success is

all he wanted he wasn't made for this

world he was a ghost who made haunting

music and his art only started to make

sense and it was seen from a distance

the same distance from which his

dreamlike music holds the world around

it his music was a personification of

the deepest parts of his soul cold and

detached on the surface but deep down

warm alive and full of life removed from

time but at the same time one of the

greatest and not just his time but all

time I'm Philip this is Volkswagen thank

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