Thorough account of the all-too-short life of the brilliant British singer-songwriter.
Nick Drake (1948-1974) was an enigmatic figure during his brief career. His three albums sold poorly during his lifetime, and his resistance to self-promotion left even his enthusiasts bemused (“Forgive me please for being so rude in asking, but who are you?” read one fan letter). Music journalist Jack demystifies Drake’s life without presuming to understand the psychic storms that led to an overdose at age 26. Born in Burma to British expats, Drake took to music early; an indifferent student, he was more inclined to smoke marijuana and travel with friends to Marrakesh or Saint-Tropez. His gorgeous, precise guitar style caught the attention of a member of one of the preeminent British folk-rock bands, Fairport Convention, who connected Drake with producer Joe Boyd. Despite supportive friends and collaborators, his career never took flight. He had a timid stage presence and was demoralized by gigs in loud, boozy venues paired with ill-suited acts like flamboyant progressive rock band Genesis, which prompted him to avoid touring. Jack interviewed most of the available key figures in Drake’s life, most notably Boyd and Drake’s sister, Gabrielle (who contributes a foreword); letters from Drake’s father expose the depths of compassion and despair the musician’s worsening depression provoked. Drake’s slow decline makes for melancholy reading, and the text could have been trimmed significantly. Curiously, his remarkable posthumous acclaim merits only a handful of pages; an appendix detailing his guitar collection is almost as long. Jack’s biography is nearly as inward-looking at Drake seemed to be; more context about his music’s place in the larger world, before and after his death, would be welcome. Nonetheless, this will deservedly stand as the definitive account of his life.
Somber by necessity, but passionately engaged with its subject.