Nick Drake Appreciation - Album By Album & All Things Nick Drake*

Agree practically identical.

 

Beautiful setting, guitar ...and picking by you, N.

 

Wonderful stuff, N. How can any true Drake fan NOT be interested...very fascinating! Thanks.

More please.

 

Capo third fret ?

Nice location guitar tone musicianship.

 

Still surprised there was no fancy Anniversary box for FiveLeavesLeft. Maybe there’s not enough material to pad it out. Still could have did a sacd mix ( apparently there’s already one)..stereo ..mono faux mix., poster ..guitar strings. Just saying !!

I would have bought it.

 

Nice playing and that guitar sure captures the ND sound. Care to share the tunings of those clips? Thanks for posting.

 

There is a quality live recording from 1968 they are sitting on.

 

Mic used for recording.

 

Wonder what the hold up is?

Gatefold sleeve.

Instant purchase!!!!!!

 

Thanks for posting this....fascinating read. One thing puzzles me though. The Levin has dark sides and I assume back also. If it's made of maple then it must be stained dark like the color of rosewood. Otherwise,maple in the raw is blonde. Some of my own favorite guitars over the years for fingerstyle were maple. It does have that bright, yet dead, short decay sound excellent for Ragtime/Blues styles. I tend to keep my strings on for a long time for a slightly deader sound.

I wonder if Robert Kirby was thinking that the Levin was a Martin?

 

Checking out some books at my local library today, I spotted the “Fruit Tree” box set sitting on a shelf of CDs for sale. The price was $1.00. I had it already, but couldn’t just leave it there. I bought it. Great condition.

The librarian said “Oh my god” when I put it down on the counter.

 

Was Nick Drake friends with Sandy Denny?

 

More with Linda Thompson and Bev Martyn, but their paths must've crossed, as they shared the same bill on at least one occasion

 

Love that you had heard of and played a Levin back then! I have a soft spot for Eko too, keeping an Eko ‘Colorado’ as a backup, which is also heavy, considering it is merely parlour sized.

Referring to some pictures & receipts in NICK DRAKE, Remembered for A While pg56 we see Nick (or family) liked to shop in London from No. 20 Denman Street, W1 & 56 Rathbone Place, W1. From the latter a set of Martin Medium Strings were purchased for £1 in May of 1967.

Thank you for your kind words, and it is reassuring that you hear characteristics of the Nick’s tone from the Levin! Yes, Time of No Reply is in BEBEBE, with a capo 3rd (usually 4th). Introduction is in CGCFCE, with a capo 2nd.

Oh Wow! Do you have any more details on this live performance?

Do you know if there is any information on how Nick’s guitar was recorded by John Wood? My mic positioning is not the best I’m sorry to say.

I love that you know this! Yes, you’re correct, maple is almost white originally. The Levin factory made Violins so had a technique of ‘flaming’ the maple on those instruments to the customary dark brown, thus the Levin LS-18 has ‘flamed’ Maple back and sides matching the color of a violin.

Which guitars did you play with Maple may I ask?

Yes, I think this is the case - where Robert Kirby mistook Nick’s Levin for a Martin; We have a puzzle piece which fits now! Take care.

 

Guitar strings Rathbone place ? There’s a folk guitar shop there still ..no doubt a different guitar shop.

 

What's your source for this info? Would love to hear more about it.

Best Wishes,
David

 

Hobgoblin.

 

I feel very fortunate to have met Beverley in Brighton, UK, November 2016. Sadly, she was using crutches to aid her movements at that time and had dark shades on so I couldn’t see her eyes, being not in the best of health. After my ex-girlfriend introduced me to her, Beverly spoke, almost without pause, for half an hour and at a very fast pace.

On our second meeting during the same month, she gave me a lock of her hair sprinkled with lavender in a small black box.

 

It is an excellent quality recording of Nick playing 5 songs live with a string quartet in the Bateman Room at Caius College in Cambridge in early(?) 1968.

The set was recorded by Peter Rice who ran the Cambridge University Tape Recording Society. Peter held on to the live tape as well as another recording he made of Nick solo - both tapes were made available to the Drake estate but for some reason they don't want the live tape released.

 

I'd love to hear the rejected 'New York' mix of Bryter Layter - totally different mix of the album made at Vanguard in NYC. This was the 2nd of 3 attempts at mixing the album - the other attempts were done at Sound Techniques with the 3rd attempt used on the LP.

 

I bought the Island sampler 'Nice Enough to Eat' for 17 and six in early 69 and was instantly entranced by 'Time Has Told Me', so much so that I bought the 'Five Leaves Left' album at Spillers Records in Cardiff for full price several days later . The copy I got had been in their inventory for several months and was therefore a first edition copy , I still have that copy in a frame above my record player .
Way back in 2004 my wife and I came over to the UK intending to visit several target sites ,including Nick Drakes grave , well, we got to Ivor Gurneys gravesite at St Matthew church Twigworth Gloucestershire .The custodian seemed surprised that we were interested in Ivor Gurney and told us there were few visitors .
We decided there and then not go on to Tamworth on Arden and visit Nick Drake's grave , our feeling was that I did not think that we could cope with individuals leaving souvenirs and ephemera at the gravesite .

 

We visited Nick’s gravesite last summer. It was clean and well tended. I’m glad we made the drive.

 

That must have been a memorable trip! It's nice to add the musical dimension to a vacation!

 

Thanks for those tunings. I actually use BEBEBE myself. I tried it back in the early 80's after reading an article featuring Steve Stills and his gear and tunings. It's sort of a dulcimer tuning and works well with Celtic and Folk flavored tunes but really any style/genre. I was just playing in that tuning a few nights ago and my wife commented on how beautiful the guitar sounded. Of course, it was her guitar, Collings C-10 Western, but that's another story. At least she lets me play it.

You asked what maple guitars do I play? Unfortunately,currently,none . In the past I had Taylor 614-C and 612-C, Gibson J-185's (my oldest son still has an early Montana one),many J-200's,Kalamazoo Oriole,and the best was a 1930's Gibson made L-00 but branded as something else for a retailer. The name was worn off the headstock ,could have been a Cromwell or other. Great vintage guitar with a huge V neck that worked best raggin' the Blues. I miss that one. Last I heard it was in very good hands in Nashville.

 

Here's an article I wrote about Nick Drake's life and albums for Michael Fremer's review site - now on Analog Planet:

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