Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972)
[Album 158/1001]
This is it.
Most of my musical belief system is based on records like this.
– Swiftly recorded
– Just vocals + acoustic guitar (with one pretty, if superfluous, piano overdub)
– 11 songs (or almost song fragments) with a running time under 30 minutes
I listened to this while driving to (& back from) a friend’s house in the country one night. Perhaps the perfect soundtrack for such a quiet, reflective occasion.
Of course, that was not the only evening Nick Drake’s final studio album made it in the rotation. Not even close.
Listening to Pink Moon makes me want to be a better guitar player. It certainly inspired me to attempt playing in alternate tunings.
For an album to be so sparse & so captivating is a master class in songwriting.
Great write-up, and I’m glad you spotlighted his guitar playing. I think that’s an aspect of his music that often gets overlooked. When I first started listening to him in the mid-90s, I kept wondering who his guitarist was, and when I found out that he accompanied himself it took his music to another level for me. The same thing happened with Jeff Buckley, who was an underrated guitar player. “Pink Moon” is amazing, and yet it’s not even my favorite of his albums. I think “Five Leaves Left” is hard to beat. All three of his original albums are essential.
Thank you sir – and agreed about Jeff Buckley as well. Both exceptional musicians, both careers tragically, forever incomplete. Buckley’s song “Grace” might be in my top 5 songs of all-time. Fortunately all 3 of Nick Drake’s albums made it on the 1001 list – I haven’t heard Bryter Layter yet, very much looking forward to it!
Nick Drake. So talented…So tragic. Glad we still have his music.