Producer Joe Boyd has brought together a group of artists to create a tribute album for Nick Drake. Nick Drake died at the age of just 26, still relatively unknown, but his songs have grown in popularity since his death. What is unusual about this album is that although each song is recorded with different singers or musicians, these weren’t recorded separately – instead Joe Boyd got everyone together in one place to record together. The artists chosen had to have one quality – they had to sound unlike Nick Drake.
So what we have here is a collection of 15 of Nick Drake’s songs, recorded with quite different styles with very different sounding vocalists. There’s a mix of male and female vocals, with all being at a high level of quality. ’Things behind the sun’, performed by Luluc is one of my favourites on the album – the vocals are simply stunning.
With different artists performing each song then as you’d expect there’s quite a lot of variety here, but the songs all feel like they belong together – it’s a hard balance to achieve, to make them different enough to keep things interesting, but similar enough that they all appeal to the listeners.
A great album that’s well worth a listen.
’Way to blue – the songs of Nick Drake’ will be released on 15th April 2013
Track Listing:
1. Things Behind The Sun – Luluc
2. Place To Be – Scott Matthews
3. Fruit Tree – Green Gartside
4. Poor Boy – Shane Nicholson
5. Time Has Told Me – Krystle Warren
6. Parasite – Robyn Hitchcock
7. One Of These Things First – Danny Thomson & Zoe Rahman
8. Which Will – Vashti Bunyan
9. Black-eyed Dog – Lisa Hannigan
10. Rider On The Wheel – Shane Nicholson
11. River Man – Teddy Thompson
12. Saturday Sun – Luluc & Lisa Hannigan
13. When The Day Is Done – Scott Matthews
14. Fly – Luluc
15. Pink Moon – Teddy Thompson & Krystle Warren
