Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969)
Okay, cool guy. You've heard of Nick Drake. You like to say things like, "all of modern acoustic guitar singer-songwriting owes him thanks" (guilty), or maybe "his style is just now being understood" (guilty). Nick Drake is like the Erik Satie of acoustic singer-songwriters: anyone who knows anything is aware of him, but everyone likes to pretend he is a big secret that no one understands or has even heard of.
So great, you heard Pink Moon on that car commercial and subsequently saw an Amazon review that says he's one the most brilliant musicians of the century. I mean, cool, whatever it takes to get you listening. But wait, don't stop at Pink Moon, armed with platitudes! He has two whole other albums!
Of which this is the first. Let's start with this: this album is beautifully depressing. It's not depressing in the "OMG SADDEST [totally fucking boring and generic] PIANO SONG EVER YOU WILL CRY" Youtube video way (seriously, I want to start a witch hunt every time I see one of those videos - and no one gives a shit about your shitty inability to get over your ex, Youtube commenters). Phew, excuse me. No, this album is depressing in a way that gets inside you, that brings you into Nick Drake's world and shows you his drowned cities, his foggy forests, and his fragile glass heart. Mmmm.
Let's finish with this: there are few songwriters in the history of music that can stack up to Drake's songs. His guitar playing is spectacular, and his orchestration on this album is flawless. Listen to it.
