For the love of Pete no Drake movie please. Kirby says in the most excellent comp of his work from a few years ago that he thought Shelagh had a better voice than Drake. I really want this LP to be re issued. It won't happen though....... Who has the rights to all the B&C gold? This is a really nice set. The book is essential. Alex Pop, I believe you said you wrote the Pink Moon review on Analog Planet. If I recall you stated that you liked the first US pressing best, even better than the first UK. I was lucky to obtain a reasonably priced first US press of Pink Moon recently, fortunately it's barely been played. It does sound wonderful and I suspect it's even rarer than its UK counterpart.
Oh, I won't be selling it. I think it's probably increased in value since I bought it six months ago...... My mint US first press sterling is a prized record. I have no doubt the US first press of Pink Moon is very rare. Early Drake LPs are only going to get more expensive.
The fact that Mcdonald's LP was called Stargazer is something I had not considered too deeply until your posts. Within the song she sings of Mercury and Jupiter in a knowing alchemical-astrological tongue. I'm not an expert on such matters, but understand its significance. Then I started to think of Nick Drake's lyricism and how the luminaries feature rather a lot throughout his oeuvre, particularly the Sun and Moon. Perhaps it is indeed a symbolic language which is not earth bound in it's entirety. I mean, Things Behind The Sun could refer to celestial cycles of world ages, which go round and round in mutable, fixed & and cardinal stories or signs. There is a saying that there is 'nothing new under the sun', or 'that everything's been said' and done before and will come to pass again and again. Similar to the story of McDonald and Drake is the artist Sibylle Baier, whom recorded a haunting album of songs somewhere between 1971 and 1973 titled Colour Green, which was shelved and forgotten until 2006:
Maybe Kirby fancied the Scottish lass, he visited her ( block) flat in Islington, London. Her music reminds me of Joni Mitchell with Brit folk template, not a bad thing. But ..Nick Drake is completely original by comparison.
Almost 5 years ago I attended the launch of Gabrielle Drake's book, Remebered For A While. Depending on your point of view, its a good or bad thing, but its very unlikely The Estate will release more music. Or allow a film etc. Cally runs The Estate & Gabby has final say. What came across from them both is that unless music is of a high enough standard it wont get the nod. And thats already happened. Likewise a biopic is equally unlikely. If more was to come, I believe we'd have seen it by now. But then you never know.... The actual talk runs late as there are sound problems with the DVD projector. To make up for the loss of a live act, it is hoped to show us a film, ‘A Skin Too Few’, which was on the most recent version of ‘Fruit Tree’ , but it refuses to play with sound. For the first part of the evening, we, therefore, move back into the bar, The Estate buys us a few drinks each and we listen to a £150 10” ‘Peel Session’, which Cally tells me there are no plans for a CD release, although it is on iTunes for a fiver. We all go back into the back room, and music writer Pete Paphides questions Gabrielle, Cally and Julian Lloyd about their relationships, Julian was a close friend and photographer of Nick's, and sheds light on things that even Gabrielle didn't know. Nick Drake - Remembered for a While Launch, Rough Trade, Nottingham, 27/11/12015
Heres a few links about Keith Morris I saw Nick Drake - photographs by Keith Morris Keith Morris: One of Britain’s Greatest Rock Photographers - The Parts You Don't Hear The Keith Morris Archive
An amazing artist...recorded in her kitchen as I recall. It has that stripped down, haunting feel the Pink Moon has. Of course comparing anyone to Nick is futile. Incomparable... And please! No biopic with some star trying hard to be Nick, or even worse trying to imitate Nick's voice and guitar playing like Nick. Never, ever!!
Read that Kirby said the block of flats(a squalor ala Gorbals)..her abode, wasn’t that bad for a 23 year old. One of the reasons for her 30 odd years disappearance was a bad acid trip, or a guy she was trying to avoid. Sad story non the less. Aside... wonder if Nick ever visited it. He had a wide circle of friends?
Did he ever comment on his contemporaries success ..ie Ralph McTell streets of London chart hit, or his old school chum Chris de Burgh had his first solo album out in 1974?
Alexpop...gee first time I’ve ever heard anyone mention Gorbals. My Mum is from Gorbals. Wow some stories there
Picked up Pink Moon cd....already have Pink Moon btb Vinyl + Fruit Tree PM Vinyl version. CD cheap a couple of $, over the moon with the price.
It's Hampstead Heath a short walk from the Royal Free Hospital. Keith Morris photo session and not one of his happiest.
Yeah ..,I bought all the Island samplers and Nick Drake just didn’t stroke my muse at the time. Guess he was ahead of his time.. 50 years later his music is still current.