Nick Drake

Rating:
Summary: Diminish the aura
Review: Any biographical information about the life of Nick Drake has to be welcomed and Patrick Humphries has done his best in tracking down Nick's old aquantinces. But you'd have to be close to illiterate not to figure out there's an awful lot of padding and repetition in this book.

The life and recording career of Nick Drake was so short that ironiclly the lack of visual images featured here only adds to the aura. It's as if we only had a miniscule visual record of Nick Drake. On the contrary, photos of him seem to be in relevant abundance and seeing them would have done more to humanize his past than speculation and half-forgotten anecdotes.

A lot of time was given over to descriptions of Nick's appearance and there was some interesting details supplied by the photographers who shot the album photos. But I felt myself wanting to see the actual photos of Nick and interpret them for myself rather than read about what somebody else thought about them. Interpreting already available photos is hardly great autobiographical insight.

As such I think this would have been a much more complete reflection on Nick's life if it had been released as a photo book. That way the biographical text could have been shortened to 100 pages or so of the most relevant and important information and the rest of the book could include a photographic record of Nick Drake with the complete photo sessions of every album.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I have found most biographies will give some insight into an artist/person's reason, background, or basis for their work(s). This book, whilst interesting and as factual as he can make it, infuriatingly, only makes Nick Drake the man of mystery) more enigmatic and puzzling.
If you are looking for the man behind the cult, give up now; we will never know, understand, or fathom how he was able to receive a recording contract (for three albums), let alone what spurred him on to create these monumental albums.

Rating:
Summary: A STONE IN A TIN CAN...
Review: I was very disappointed in this book - and while some of that disappointment is with the style of writing Mr. Humphries employs here, there's more to it than that. Writing a biography is a tricky proposition at best. In the case of an artist like Nick Drake - reclusive and withdrawn, with only one interview given during his brief lifetime - it's a task even more daunting than one would usually expect. Humphries has written bios of other musicians - Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Thompson, Tom Waits, &c - and has evidently built a career and reputation in this area. I'm sure that he felt drawn to the music of Nick Drake in some ways, rather than simply choosing an artist about whom to write in the hope of selling tons of books - there are innumerable choices that would have garnered him greater sales - but without the cooperation of two critical people in Nick's life (his sister Gabrielle and his manager/producer Joe Boyd), given the nature of his subject, the project was more or less doomed from the start.

Humphries mentions in his forward that Joe and Gabrielle `had decided not to cooperate' - and since Joe's Warlock Music is the publisher of all of Nick's songs, this also meant that Humphries would be unable to quote from Nick's lyrics. He was thus reduced to quoting Gabrielle and Joe from previously available sources. Molly and Rodney Drake, Nick's parents, were deceased, so no direct conversations between them and the author were possible either. The only other sources left for him upon which to draw were the remembrances of various friends of Nick and written articles about the man and his music. What emerges from all of this is inevitably a choppy picture of the man - not unsympathetic, but jarring and incomplete. Many parts of the book are simply strings of quotes strung together - and too many of the gaps have been filled in by well-meaning but ultimately tedious anecdotes about the music scene of the 60s and 70s in general. Referring to the musicians and bands emerging from the public school scene in the UK of the time, Humphries mentions Genesis coming out of Charterhouse to begin their `windy, wuthering road' to success - a reference to their `Wind and wuthering' album of the late 70s. He's trying a little too hard here for my tastes, I'm afraid.

Another irritating practice of Humphries is that he contradicts himself in too many places to mention. He can't seem to settle on his own opinion. On p. 93, he says `FIVE LEAVES LEFT is an astonishingly assured and mature debut' - on p. 94, he says `Lyrically the songs on FIVE LEAVES LEFT are largely unremarkable'. Huh? On p. 89, he speaks warmly of how well Robert Kirby (Nick's school chum and string arranger on his first two albums) worked with Nick's songs: `...his arrangements remain an integral part of the distinctive sound of Nick's debut album' - then, again from p. 94: `...perhaps the arrangements are a tad lush'. This sort of `playing both sides' persists throughout the book. These are not instances of Humphries quoting the opinions of others (at least they are not presented in that way) - these are his own words.

The publisher, Bloomsbury, must also be taken to task, for their (lack of) editing - there are several errors in the book that have nothing to do with writing style, but everything (apparently) to do with allowing one's computer spell-check program to act as an editor. This point may seem to be a bit picky, but in context of my other problems with the book, it merely added to my inability to appreciate it.

There's another review below that wisely suggests that those interested in Nick allow his music to speak for him - and this is of course the closest we can come to him, for his music came from his heart and soul. Over the years since his death, it has become much more widely appreciated than it was in his lifetime - sadly this is the case in too many who die before their time. There is beauty in that music. Humphries speaks in several places of the darkness of Nick's lyrics (but, being unable to quote from them, gives no examples), that his depression was a result of an adolescent never coming into maturity, unable to cope with the world - and many of the songs were dark, without a doubt. There were, however, many moments of light and beauty. One only has to listen to the first track on his debut album (`Time has told me' from FIVE LEAVES LEFT) - to me, the song is one that speaks of hope and patience, of learning and recognizing the important things that are worth waiting for. That sounds like maturity and good judgment to me. Nick may well have been a troubled soul - but he was not without happiness, and he obviously understood and appreciated things that a person stuck in adolescence would not.

Near the end of the book, when Humphries is writing of the release of Nick's final four songs, and some additional material - early home recordings and alternate takes - he quotes both Nick's parents and Joe Boyd as saying that they were trying to make sure that anything they released reflected only well on Nick, that they were concerned with how he was represented, that he deserved that consideration. I think that he deserves better than this bio - that might seem harsh, but there's simply too much contradiction and padding here. Rather than a 270+page book, this could have been edited down to a decent magazine article. There are a lot of facts here, but very little understanding. If you have the opportunity to view it, check out the fine documentary A SKIN TOO FEW - it's a much more satisfying portrait of this gentle man.

Rating:
Summary: MEMORIES & RECOLLECTIONS
Review: Once you get past the ridiculous account of the sinking of the Titanic in the introduction, this book becomes quite absorbing. Humphries writes engagingly about Drake's early years, with reference to the culture of the fifties and speculations on possible early musical influences. The description of the British pop scene in the early 1960s and how it related to Drake's years at Marlborough school is very helpful in framing Drake's music in time and place.

It's interesting that the singer had completed his schooldays in 1966 when The Beatles released Revolver and Dylan was making waves with Blonde On Blonde. Nick's visits to France and Marrakech are covered in detail. The description of the UK folk scene of those times is very informative, as Humphries writes about musicians like Danny Thompson, Fairport Convention and Richard & Linda Thompson and the clubs and circuits where they performed.

Much of the text consists of various peoples' recollections of Drake, most of them within the music industry. So there is an amount of repetition and revisiting the same eras and incidents through the eyes of different narrators. Humphries also discusses Drake's rare coverage by various music publications of the time like Sounds and Melody Maker, including reviews of his albums. In addition, he attempts to recreate the circumstances of the recording of each album and provides illuminating information and opinions on most of the individual songs. I was particularly pleased to read about John Cale's contribution to Bryter Layter and his recollections of the recording sessions.

Drake's tragic decline from a happy, well-adjusted school kid to increasingly isolated and alienated young man is treated with understatement, but the overall effect leaves a strong impression. The chapters on Drake's posthumous rediscovery and growing influence are well-researched and provides detailed information on covers of his songs and compilation albums that contain his work. There are eight pages of black & white plates with photographs, a lino cut and a pencil sketch. The book concludes with a discography that includes Drake's individual and compilation albums, multi-artist compilations and the tribute album Brittle Days.

Rating:
Summary: The legend of Nick Drake
Review: This biography on Nick Drake by Patrick Humphries is one of the better biographies I have read. Not only is it loaded with just about as much info as probably exists on the short career and lifespan of Nick Drake (a great musician who died in his prime), but it's also a insightful look into the 60's, as well as the development of blues and rock in general. Mostly however, what we get is a fairly insightful look into the life and mental state of Nick. For anyone who might think this book is too biased in one direction or another, too dark, too etc., one has to remember, it is a biography after all, and Nick Drake was who he was. If Nick Drakes's being so introspective and whatnot makes for a darker biography with not as much information as we might like, I don't think that is Patrick Humphries fault here. Sure, I think there was some information not necessarily real important that could have been left out, but with so little info available on Nick, the book is a fine job. Humpries tries to paint a large picture, delving into the past before Nick, etc. If your not a fan of Nick's, you probably won't be too interested in this.

As for a previous review that sated that "the author suggests that maybe Nick was gay, just because he had trouble communicating with people", I just finished reading the entire book cover to cover, and this does not seem to be too accurate a statement to me. In fact, Humpries, on pg. 159 of my edition says that "Though Nick's sexuality has increasingly become a focus of attention in the years since his death, there is no evidence that he was gay". Humpries goes on to even state that "Contemporaries from Cambridge even recall Nick's enthusiastic heterosexuality; one even remember 'getting laid at the same party'." According to Humpries, there is "no real evidence of any sustained relationship in Nicks life." But the whole point either way is beside the point, and has nothing to do with Nick's music. For those who know and understand more about the ups and downs of Nick's life, it may become apparent why he was a loner. Thanks Nick, thanks for everything. I wish things had worked out better for you, but maybe they worked out for your best and for our best after all in the long run...

Rating:
Summary: Until the definitive Nick Drake biography-
Review: This is what we will have to make do with. I recommend this for fans of this brilliant musician as it is simply the only large book available and has the most information in one volume. Unfortunately. Humphries breaks up his narrative with information on the Titanic, history of Cambridge University, and casual acquaintances of Drake, often in no sensible sequence. For those new to English Folk rock, more background information on Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention and others associated would have been helpful. Also, some perspective on Drake's music in relation to pop culture late 60's early 70's would have been appreciated.

In the author's defence, Nick Drake is a difficult man to research, due to his own reclusiveness and short life. Despite the brilliance of his music it's not hard to understand why he never became a "pop idol" after reading this. There are enough interviews and anecdotes inside to piece together, with difficulty, a portrait of Nick Drake as he lived.

Hopefully, with Drake's recent surge in popularity, the friends & family of Nick Drake still surviving will help provide a dedicated writer the information on a truly enlightening and memorable work.

Rating:
Summary: So you've heard Nick Drake... but who is he?
Review: Written in a non-bias yet appreciative perspective Humpries really gets into the life of Nick Drake. Without the ability to quote lyrics and with very restricted active sources the job is still done beautifully.

The book covers the launching of the Titanic, WWII, Humpries own connection to Drake and a very fluent, flowing account of the trouble mans life from his birth in Burma, to Cambridge Uni, to his artistic career at Island.

If you've recently got into Nick Drake and have noticed the severe lack of publicised material, this book should quench your thirst for knowledge and explain many questions you may have... as it did for me.

Thank You Patrick Humphries.

Anthony Jacobs

Rating:
Summary: So you've heard Nick Drake... but who is he?
Review: Written in a non-bias yet appreciative perspective Humpries really gets into the life of Nick Drake. Without the ability to quote lyrics and with very restricted active sources the job is still done beautifully.

The book covers the launching of the Titanic, WWII, Humpries own connection to Drake and a very fluent, flowing account of the trouble mans life from his birth in Burma, to Cambridge Uni, to his artistic career at Island.

If you've recently got into Nick Drake and have noticed the severe lack of publicised material, this book should quench your thirst for knowledge and explain many questions you may have... as it did for me.

Thank You Patrick Humphries.

Anthony Jacobs