Description
An enthralling collection of 23 cover versions of classic numbers by the legendary British folk singer who tragically died in 1974 aged just 26. Sadly Nick Drake never achieved widespread popularity in his short lifetime, but the acclaim for his work has never been greater.
Some versions feel more like straight covers, but the most interesting offer more to songs which seem to grow ever greater through time. Among the standouts is Mike Lindsay’s (of Tunng) arrangement of Saturday Sun sung by Elbow’s Guy Garvey, which towards the end brings pitter-patter of woodwind and stormy sound effects, Fontaines’s drum-beating but ethereal ‘Cello Song, John Parish’s krautrocky version of Three Hours sung by Aldous Harding, Karine Polwart & Kris Drever’s delicate, trumpet filled rendition of Northern Sky, Emeli Sandé’s soulful One Of These Things First, John Grant’s doom-laden electronica Day Is Done, Joe Henry & Meshell Ndegeocello present a sublime interpretation of Time of No Reply. Along with many other fine versions, such as Ben Harper’s Time Has Told Me, Camille’s delicate Hazy Jane II, or Katherine Priddy’s folk-orchestral I Think They’re Leaving Me Behind. Endless variants, but the songs remain timeless. As with all tribute albums, you won’t love EVERY version…but let’s hope this reaches a wider audience & introduces more to the incredible talent that NICK DRAKE was & his extraordinary music lives on.
