Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Neal: Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Neal, Neal, Neal. How can you call yourself a rock critic if you don't know and love Nick Drake? Don't you know that all rock critics are required to love Nick Drake, along with the rest of the "critics' darlings"? Does the Rock Critic Licensing Office know about this? We may have to turn you in. The sampler culled from the boxed set (I think it's called Way to Blue, but CRS syndrome is affecting me tonight) isn't a bad place to start, but I'll agree with Jim Roll and recommend just buying the boxed set. Once you fall in love with Nick Drake--and you will, Neal--you'll want to own all of his stuff anyway, and though buying a boxed set of an artist you're not familiar with may sound kind of drastic, there is virtually no risk that you won't be glad you bought it. Three equally gorgeous records, plus the four harrowing, beautiful posthumously released tracks--you really can't go wrong. If you insist on starting with a single record, though, Bryter Layter is the record that most people consider Nick's best. (I can't pick a favorite, myself.) --Amy
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... as a starting point and ending point i always turn to five leave left which will forever remind me of the dark brooding period of time when i discovered this dark brooding piece of workdrake is one of those artists that you tend to love or hate and i do love his work although he is one of those i listen to only when in a certain moodand usully that mood is dark when i dogive all his work a chance but i do suggest five leaves to begin with as for kelly willis and her versioni love her new record but her version of "time has told me" just doesn't quite work for methat is probably largely due to the fact that i enjoy the original so much but her version just doesn't capture the mood of drake'snow, if her cover opens some eyes and makes people wonder who nick drake is then ms. willis will have done a lot of good...i do hope more will check drake out and maybe this is a start of course lucinda williams did a very nice cover of drake's "which will" that is as brooding as drake so often was but then for some reason i believe drake and lucinda might have been able to relate on certain issuesthe woman knows how to brood pretty well as she has shown
Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Soron writes: As a minor Drake fan(atic), Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Neal Weiss
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
On Fri, 2 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Oh my fucking God does Nick Drake rule!! I would do the inevitable and buy the four CD box set. Personally Pink Moon and Bryter Later(sp?) are my favorites . . . but 5 Leaves Left has Cello Song (the prettiest song ever) and at least a couple of other essentials. And I am afraid I cannot listen to Kelly's cover of Nick knowing his version . . . just doesn't cut it, sorry. Just buy the box. And make sure you listen through a couple of times. The initial impressions are typically tame . . . but the payoff is one of the largest imaginable. My opinions of course . . . -jim
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Neal Weiss writes: Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Yeah, there's a real nice single-disc best-of collection on Rykodisc that'll serve you in good stead. If you want one of the real albums, I'd probably start with "Five Leaves Left." --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Speaking of, has anyone read that biography of Drake that's around these days. Being cheap, I haven't bothered to skim one of those expensive-looking hardcovers I see everywhere. But I will probably consider it when remainder / paperback time rolls around... --junior
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
James Roll wrote: On Fri, 2 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Oh my fucking God does Nick Drake rule!! I would do the inevitable and buy the four CD box set. Personally Pink Moon and Bryter Later(sp?) are my favorites . . . but 5 Leaves Left has Cello Song (the prettiest song ever) and at least a couple of other essentials. And I am afraid I cannot listen to Kelly's cover of Nick knowing his version . . . just doesn't cut it, sorry. I was in Neal's boat awhile back and asked a couple of Drake fanatics (the fan abbreviation does seem inappropriate here) and they both gave me, more or less, Jim's answer, per the box set. But as Jim said, it's not gonna grab you right away and takes some aural marination, so sounds like you're just outta luck Neal. g Nah, I bought FIVE LEAVES LEFT and I like it, but the corner hasn't been turned into fanaticism yet. b.s. n.p. Roger Miller box, disc1
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Ahhh . . . a chance to wax on the wonderful work of Nick Drake. None captures the twisted personal beauty of despair quite like him. You can truly hear him sinking into the end of his life on record. You can't go wrong with any of the discs. The compilation, "Way to Blue", is a great and representative sampling. The other extreme is just to buy the box set of 4 CDs . . . almost every track is great. The individual albums rank like this for me: Five Leaves Left - gorgeous stuff, a real competitor of "Astral Weeks" Bryter Layter - a more English folk-rock feel, great if you are a Fairport Convention et al. fan (some of those musicians appear) Pink Moon - wacked-out, sometimes abstract, largely solo, a great but somewhat slight record By the way, I'm fairly thumbs-down on the Kelly Willis cover. She's a little too sweet for the song. "A troubled cure/ for a troubled mind" just doesn't sit right unless sung by the spooked Mr. Drake. "Cradle of Love" is much better for her approach. JJM -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Friday, April 02, 1999 3:38 PM Subject: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots) Soron writes: As a minor Drake fan(atic), Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh... Neal Weiss
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
On Fri, 2 Apr 1999, William F. Silvers wrote: Nah, I bought FIVE LEAVES LEFT and I like it, but the corner hasn't been turned into fanaticism yet. I don't think I would have turned the corner ever with Five Leaves Left. Definitely either Bryter Layter (orchestrated) or Pink Moon (solo). I'm tellin' ya . . . -jim
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
On Fri, 2 Apr 1999, John Magee wrote: sweet for the song. "A troubled cure/ for a troubled mind" just doesn't sit right unless sung by the spooked Mr. Drake. "Time has told me you're a rare rare find a troubled cure for a troubled mind" fully agree. This is among my top two or three lines ever BTW. -jim
Re: Drake (Re: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
On the "me too" front, all Nick Drake is good. My favorite is the very spare _Pink Moon_, but _Way to Blue_ is an ideal introduction. Carl Z.
