Nick Drake – Bryter Layter

Nick Drake – 02/19/1971

Introduction

Bryter Layter by Nick Drake is like a warm bath. Jazzy folk, music that moves you, encourages contemplation, and almost forces the listener to slow down and relax.

Nick Drake

Nick Drake was born on June 19, 1948, in Burma. In 1951, the family moved (back) to England. Drake’s father and mother were musically inclined (his mother Molly’s music was released after her death), and his sister Gabrielle became a reasonably successful actress.

From a young age, Drake played the piano and soon began composing his own music. He later learned to play the clarinet and saxophone, and in the mid-1960s he formed his first band. In 1965, Nick Drake bought his first acoustic guitar. In 1967, he left for France for a temporary period of study and began seriously studying and playing the guitar. Cannabis also entered his life around this time.

Back in England, he began studying English literature, but his passion was music, particularly English and American folk. In early 1968, Drake came into contact with American producer Joe Boyd. Boyd was impressed by Drake’s home recordings: “Halfway through the first song, I felt this was pretty special. And I called him up, and he came back in, and we talked, and I just said, ‘I’d like to make a record.’ He stammered, ‘Oh, well, yeah. Okay.’ Nick was a man of few words.” Boyd offered Drake a contract, Drake quit his studies, and began work on what would ultimately become his debut album.

Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left

In 1968, Nick Drake recorded several songs, supported by musicians from the folk groups Fairport Convention and Pentangle. After some initial setbacks, the recordings were successfully completed, particularly after Drake’s friend Robert Kirby was brought in to write arrangements. On July 3, 1969, Five Leaves Left was released, a beautiful album that received somewhat restrained reviews from critics. Promotion and marketing were severely lacking. As a result, the album sold poorly. Drake’s music was rarely heard on the radio, with the exception of programs by BBC disc jockeys John Peel and Bob Harris.

Drake toured as a support act with Fairport Convention, but many of his performances were not appreciated by audiences. Folk singer Michael Chapman said: “The folk crowd wanted songs with choruses. They completely missed the point. He didn’t say a word the entire evening. It was actually quite painful to watch. I don’t know what the audience expected, I mean, they must have known they weren’t going to get sea-shanties and sing-alongs at a Nick Drake gig!” Colleagues frequently described his performances as “embarrassing”, mainly due to Drake’s obvious discomfort on stage. Drake decided to stop performing live.

Despite the lack of success of the debut album, Boyd was eager to record another album. In July 1970, recording sessions for Bryter Layter began, with a planned release date of November 1, 1970. Promotional copies were sent out around that time, but Drake was unhappy with the album cover, which delayed the release.

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter

Bryter Layter

On March 5, 1971, the second Nick Drake album, Bryter Layter, was released. In an attempt to attract a wider audience, more instruments were added to the sound palette, including drums and bass.

Although reviews were slightly more positive, the album once again sold only modestly, and attention quickly faded. Drake gave an interview, of which interviewer Jerry Gilbert later said it was very difficult to get anything usable out of Drake (“I don’t think he made eye contact with me once”). The published interview was a single-column piece in the English music magazine Sounds, published on March 13, 1971.

Something else for Nick?

Nick Drake is a shy, introverted folk singer, who is not usually known to speak unless it is absolutely necessary. But Nick is not the kind of folk singer who will drift into your friendly neighbourhood folk club; in fact, if you’ve seen him perform, the chances are that it was on the bill of a sell-out Festival Hall concert.

Last week I spoke to Nick, and eventually discovered that it has been precisely these kind of gigs that had hung him up – the reason why he has shied away from public performances almost without exception.

“I think the problem was with the material, which I wrote rather for records than performing. There were only two or three concerts that felt right, and there was something wrong with all the others. I did play Cousins and one or two folk clubs in the north, but the gigs just sort of petered out,” Nick explained.

Nick pointed out that he was not happy with the way the gigs were working out and he couldn’t get into them properly. Why, then, was he performing at such esteemed venues as the Festival Hall?

“I was under some obligation to them, but it wasn’t the end of the world when I stopped. If I was enjoying the gigs it would have made much more sense.”

Don’t, however, gain the impression that Nick is not a superb artist. Placed in the right context, his songs produce quite a stunning effect over a period of time. He has worked on two albums with Witchseason producer Joe Boyd, the latter having been released only only last week. Entitled “Bryter Layter”, it features some of the musicians who contributed to the success of the John and Beverly Martyn albums, notably Paul Harris; and Robert Kirby’s arrangements are just as important as Nick Drake’s songs.

Says Nick: “I had something in mind when I wrote the songs, knowing that they weren’t just for me. The album took a long time to do, in fact, we started it almost a year ago. But I’m not altogether clear about this album – I haven’t got to terms with the whole presentation.”

What’s the next step for Nick? “I think there’ll be another album and I have some material for it, but I’ll be looking around now to see if the album leads anywhere naturally. For the next one I had the idea of just doing something with John Wood, the engineer at Sound Techniques.”

Would there be any gigs to promote the album? “I don’t think that would help – unless they were done in the right way. I’m just not very sure at the moment, it’s hard to tell what will turn up. If I could find making music a fairly natural connection with something else, then I might move on to something else.”

Sounds, March 13, 1971

Against the advice of his record company Island Records, Drake refused to give interviews, do radio sessions, or perform live to promote Bryter Layter.

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter – Ad

Review

Like so many others, I discovered Nick Drake long after his death. Drake is a prototype of the misunderstood artist who only received the recognition he deserved after he passed away. It is said that Drake sold only 4,000 copies of the three albums he released during his lifetime combined.

Bryter Layter alone makes that total incomprehensible. The album is indescribably beautiful, intimate, moving, and gentle. Drake’s whispering voice (think Sufjan Stevens), the rich instrumentation, the blend of folk and jazz, and his compositional talent make Bryter Layter an unforgettable listening experience.

Like its predecessor Five Leaves Left and its successor Pink Moon, Bryter Layter is essential listening!

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter – Back cover

Songs

All songs written by Nick Drake.

• Introduction
• Hazey Jane II
• At The Chime Of A City Clock
• One Of These Things First
• Hazey Jane I
• Bryter Layter
• Fly
• Poor Boy
• Northern Sky
• Sunday

Musicians

• Nick Drake – vocals, guitar
• Dave Pegg – bass, except on One Of These Things First
• Ed Carter – bass on One Of These Things First
• Dave Mattacks – drums on Introduction, Hazey Jane II, One Of These Things First, Hazey Jane I, Bryter Layter, Sunday
• Mike Kowalski – drums on At The Chime Of A City Clock, One Of These Things First, Poor Boy, Northern Sky
• Ray Warleigh – saxophone on At The Chime Of A City Clock, Poor Boy; flute on Sunday
• John Cale – viola, harpsichord on Fly; celeste, piano, organ on Northern Sky
• Lyn Dobson – flute on Hazey Jane I, Bryter Layter
• Richard Thompson – guitar on Hazey Jane II
• Paul Harris – piano on One Of These Things First
• Chris McGregor – piano on Poor Boy
• Pat Arnold, Doris Troy – backing vocals on Poor Boy

Nick Drake – Nick Drake

After Bryter Layter

In August 1971, the first Nick Drake release in the United States appeared: Nick Drake, a compilation of his first two albums. It did not lead to major sales, but it did receive positive reviews.

Meanwhile, Drake himself was not doing well. He was depressed, disappointed by the poor reception of his music, and increasingly withdrawn. When producer Boyd decided to leave England and move to Los Angeles, Drake felt abandoned. Boyd was not only a producer and associate but also served as a mentor to Drake. In early 1971, Drake visited a psychiatrist for the first time. He was prescribed medication for depression.

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

After a short holiday, Drake nevertheless began working on album number three, his first without Boyd and the first for which he did not use other musicians. At the end of October 1971, he recorded the entire album in two days. On February 25, 1972, Pink Moon was released. It received reasonable reviews but sold even worse than the two previous albums.

Drake suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized for five weeks. Around this time, he told his mother, “I’ve failed in every single thing I’ve ever tried to do.” Friends and family were relieved when Drake began working on recordings for a fourth album. His mood improved significantly, likely also due to his reunion with producer Boyd. Drake’s mother said: “We were so absolutely thrilled to think that Nick was happy because there hadn’t been any happiness in Nick’s life for years.”

Ultimately though, things went terribly wrong. On November 25, 1974, Drake took an overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline, which led to his death. Nick Drake was only 26 years old.

Nick Drake – 04/29/1969

Success

Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, Drake’s name was occasionally mentioned in publications, but overall attention was minimal. In the mid-1980s, his name was increasingly cited by artists who saw Drake as an inspiration, including Kate Bush, Paul Weller, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, and The Cure’s Robert Smith.

The stature of Drake’s music continued to rise. His albums became part of several “best of all time” lists in various publications, both inside and outside the UK. In 1999, Pink Moon was used in a commercial, and interest in Drake’s music surged. In 2000, the Nick Drake albums were remastered and reissued. All three albums were successful. By then, all three Nick Drake albums had been certified gold in the UK. World-wide sales exceeded 2.5 million copies… as of 2014 (I have not been able to determine the current figures).

In closing

What do you think of Nick Drake and Bryter Layter? Let me know!

Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Nick Drake – Bryter Layter. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.