"
Pink Moon" is, to put it simply, an
album by
Nick Drake. But to give this incredible
piece of art more justice ...
The years leading up to "
Pink Moon" were filled by Drake's attempts to find himself and his audience. Drake made
folk music of the most
desolate kind,
music so utterly
melancholic that fragments of his work will become
the soundtrack of your saddest hours, but at the same time so unspeakably
beautiful that you will find yourself listening to it on
lazy summer evenings.
Before "
Pink Moon" (1972), Nick released the albums "
Five Leaves Left" (1969) and "
Bryter Layter" (1970). On these two albums, Drake's delicate vocals and
guitar are accompanied by several instruments -
bass,
drums,
strings. The albums never sold well, also because Nick was too
shy to perform live. The lack of success resulted in the brooding
depression that dominated Nick's final years.
Then, in 1972, Nick brought the tapes for "
Pink Moon" to his
record label. His
producer asked, after listening to the bleak tracks with only guitar and voice, how he wanted the songs to be produced. "They are finished", Nick answered. He wanted the tracks just like that - no drums, no bass, nothing. Just the
sadness of his voice, and the beauty of his melodies.
The result is, in my eyes, the most beautiful
folk album every created. The
lyrics, the melodies, the sentiment are stripped of all embellishment, resulting in sheer
perfection. "
Pink Moon" is naked
melancholy. This music is the final cry of
loneliness from one of the greatest musicians of this century.
The years after 1972 were increasingly difficult for Nick. He was hospitalized for
psychiatric problems. He continued to record songs, some of which are collected on the
posthumous album "
Time of No Reply". Nick was found on November 26, 1974, dead from an
overdose of
anti-depressants. The album "
Pink Moon" is the
testament of a great songwriter.
I was born in 1972, the same year "Pink Moon" was released. This means a lot to me.