Music CD - Nick Drake: Bryter Layter

	Music CD: Bryter Layter Artist: Nick Drake List Price: $18.98 Our Price: $6.35 Your Save: $ 12.63 ( 67% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Umvd Import
Average Customer Rating:
Tracks: 1. Introduction 2. Hazey Jane II 3. At The Chime Of A City Clock 4. One Of These Things First 5. Hazey Jane I 6. Bryter Layter 7. Fly 8. Poor Boy 9. Northern Sky 10. Sunday
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0042284600521 Label: Umvd Import Manufacturer: Umvd Import Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Umvd Import Release Date: 2003-05-06 Studio: Umvd Import
Related Items Five Leaves Left Pink Moon Made to Love Magic Family Tree XO
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: And so, we revise. Comment: History is not so much doomed to repeat itself as it is to revise itself. Clearly Bryter Layter has been an important touchstone for the indie-folk and chamber-pop set, and it is a glimpse at Drake out from under his usual spare, melancholy mantle. There are some positively bubbly arrangements that belie the myth of Drake the introverted suicidal. Flutes, strings, and percolating piano lines adorn songs that, in a more "Pink Moon" mood, might have garnered tags like "somber" or "interior." For fans of Drake who appreciate his fingerpicked guitar and wistful, reflective material, Bryter Layter is often the least favorite -- "Poor Boy" and "Hazy Jane II" don't fit the mold of Drake as lonely outsider. Clearly some daring was shown in producing this album -- Drake even insisted he had "no songs left" when Bryter Layter's three instrumentals were in jeopardy of being left off the album. He was proud of the arrangements and the lusher sound. He rethought this approach by the time he recorded Pink Moon, an album without so much as a vocal harmony. It is really difficult to listen to Nick Drake dispassionately, forgetting he was an overlooked genius in his own time, forgetting his recorded output is entirely crystallized by his early death and by critical adoration. He is destined to be forever brilliant, forever charmed, forever sad and haunting. Idiosyncratic albums like Bryter Layter might be seen as stylistic blips leading to his "true" sound on Pink Moon -- just an idealistic dalliance with adding lush orchestrations to his simple and emotionally gripping songs. Now that Drake is cannonized by Volkswagen commercials and a younger generation "discovering" and "revering" him, all his albums are considered brilliant. If a demo is unearthed, it is given huge amounts of attentive listening. If only living artists had this privilege! In that light, and perhaps in a deliberate effort to find fault with Bryter Layter and the general adulation given Drake, I could complain that the orchestral arrangements veer close to what would become smooth jazz, that the breezy horns and flutes are at odds with the outlook of the songs. I'm not ready to fully adore this album the way "Five Leaves Left" and "Pink Moon" salve my ears and listen like clear, sparse poetry. Indeed the album was met somewhat coolly upon its release. Yet the strength of Nick Drake's songwriting shines through the experimentation with swelling strings and jazzy rhythm guitars. The search for pop is in high evidence here. This was a necessary misadventure for Drake, still standing on its own feet and earning its own four stars by merit alone. The most dated of Drake's recordings, but far far from inessential. Some sobriety is needed in the reviews -- not all new listeners will listen charitably (at least not at first). Bryter Layter is probably the most pleasant sounding "challenging" music out there. If misteps were made, at least they were made with confidence, and led to further artistic growth. Customer Rating: Summary: "...I never held emotion in the palm of my hand..." Comment: I never held emotion in the palm of my hand - until I bought this album. It's full of life - in that typically Drakesque, somber but lush, sound. Wake up, get a cup of coffee, maybe light a cigarette and listen to this album... Customer Rating: Summary: (3.5 stars) Good but not as good as its bookends Comment: The closest thing to a mainstream album that Nick ever recorded. There's even a near-rocker ("Hazy Janey II"), albeit one in Nick's usual somber style. I actually don't think this is nearly as good as the previous record or the next one: a bunch of weak instrumentals (title track; "Sunday"; "Fly"), and "Poor Boy" is the closest to overproduced Drake gets. Regardless, there are several fantastic songs: "Hazy Janey II" and its psychedelic-folk counterpart, "Hazy Janey I"; "At the Chime of a City Clock", which is some good jazzy stuff; "One of Those Things First" is charming but slightly rambling; and "Northern Sky" is one of the most resonant pieces in Drake's catalogue, which is saying something. So it's slightly uneven, but the best songs make it very worthwhile. Customer Rating: Summary: a complete masterpiece Comment: Just as every great story comes complete with a beginning, middle, and end, Bryter Layter sews the missing hem between the promising future in the album Five Leaves Left and the bleak, tragic finale of Pink Moon. Even in fifth grade, the first time I ever heard a Nick Drake song, it struck me with awe that something so beautiful could be so sad at the same time. Of course I was too young to think much of it, and I nearly forgot the name for close to ten years. Moving out on my own and beginning college, I subscribed to an online music service that offered me a nearly unlimited selection, and it was not long before I fell back in love with his music. The enchanting arrangements complement the character behind every note of guitar and voice, which is always undeniably Nick. Duality still existed in my mind though, wondering how these expressions of a life so melancholy could still be upbeat and nearly happy. My questions were answered upon buying the Fruit Tree Box Set and realizing that the online service I was using did not have rights to the song 'Northern Sky'. Any of you who have heard this song may very well understand the element of my surprise. For the rest of you, it is almost necessary to start at the very beginning. The album opens, as it should, with only Nick on guitar. A soft backdrop of strings follows shortly, and we're given a nice little minute-and-a-half of 'Introduction'. The most Pop-oriented song on the album, 'Hazey Jane II' jumps in with a fairly rhythmic strum, as well as a few horns to add to the mix. Of notable mention here, in case you're unfamiliar with the complexity of his lyricism, this first song starts "What will happen in the morning..." and after reasonable questioning, ends "If songs were lines in a conversation, the situation would be fine." Shifting into the realm of Jazz, although not entirely leaving the Pop feel, 'At The Chime Of A City Clock' gives quite a proper impression of roaming the streets of London in the 70's. This sets up a 6/8 Jazz romp on piano, 'One Of These Things First' which you might recognize from the 2004 movie 'Garden State'. Even with the total shift in format, Nick's voice and guitar are always the forefront, and always the base of the song. 'Hazey Jane I' completes the cycle, and we return with a song that seems it would have been just as beautiful had there been no accompaniment of strings or drums at all. The lyrics sound as if they were from a poem Nick had been sitting on for years, and he had finally gotten the right music to complete his perfect picture of 'Jane'. Return the stylus, and flip to side two (or, as this is a review of the CD, just keep listening). The second half starts similarly to the first with the title track, 'Bryter Layter', a happy little swinging instrumental that reminds you of how brilliant these musicians really are. Solidarity sinks in immediately with the second track though, as 'Fly' is a shadow of how decadently Nick begins to see the world. Not to be taken heavily, next comes 'Poor Boy', a return to Jazz-Pop that is such a quick synchopated time signature, I spent years mistaking it as 5/4. Through the verses you come to see the character (of course, Nick himself) as someone who has lost so much and so often, that there is nothing left in the world but to live. A great saxophone solo to the end shows exactly how remarkably disenchanting that could be, which falls seamlessly into what was once unfamiliar to me: that first strum of 'Northern Sky'. Nick then said it best himself, "I've never felt magic crazy as this" as what unfolded was undeniably the most beautiful song in the entirety of his work. I probably listened to that song a dozen times in a row right then, and yet those first pings on the ride cymbal still give me goosebumps to this day. "Brighten my northern sky," he says, and it's as if the best friend you've been worried about for years just gave you the deepest, most sincere smile you've ever seen. It was at this point that I knew Nick Drake - he was broken and utterly disconnected, and yet, there was always one thing that would make him happy: music. Ever since he was a young boy, his family would constantly entertain themselves through performance, and it was here where he felt most at home. His mother was an avid songwriter, and he very much took after her influence, as 'Northern Sky' shows through its poetic inscription of the endless fields and wood he grew near in her household. The only words he knew well how to speak were notes, and it gave him some connection to the rest of the world. Finally, after hearing this song in its place with the rest, I felt as if I had discovered what was entirely missing from my Nick Drake experience, and it only made me love this album infinitely more. It concludes with 'Sunday', one last instrumental, although this one is rather somber. A lonely flute plays in and out of Nick's rock-solid guitar rhythms, and the drums, bass guitar, winds, and strings chime in to remind you of their presence. The song gets progressively louder and happier until dropping off, leaving the flute and guitar to duet one last time before fading to the end. As the album spins to a stop, so concludes the happiest days of the tormented Nick Drake's life. Fortunately for us, he left a beginning, middle, and end to a career that allows us to still enjoy his presence now, nearly forty years later. Customer Rating: Summary: Nick Drakes platform to stardom? Disgraceful cover sleeve... Comment: It is easy for a Nick Drake 'hardcore' fan of which I am one of them to dismiss this second of his 'great 3'. Bryter Layter is an album that should have appealed with its base of stars surrounding and developing the 'Drake' sound as other reviewers have commented. Having listened to all three albums this one is the least cohesive and while I like all Drake's music Hazy Jane II, At The Chimes Of The City Clock and Fly were my only memorable 'classic' Drake tracks on the album. Without wishing to dismiss Northern Sky's beauty I almost find myself skipping it at times as it seems over-produced and cringeable but stop myself with the knowledge that it was Drake on vocals. The cover sleeve for this album is absolutely disgraceful, I have many albums in my collection and have seen many more, 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s,00s....I have never seen a more uglier album cover in my life and this album was make or break time for Drake, what was the record company thinking of?.......if I had never heard a Nick Drake track previously or wished to pick up an origional album this one I would have avoided... Highly recommended (in the year 2007, though) More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: The second album from Nick Drake came in 1970, and while not quite as melancholy as his debut, Five Leaves Left, there are certain brooding qualities that continued to propagate the Nick Drake mystique. Horns, flute, and strings arrangements lift such songs as "At the Chime of a City Clock" and "Hazy Jane I" and "II" out of the realm of sad, folk-guitar music into something jazzier and lighter, while the beautiful piano and simple guitar of "One of These Things First" laments what could have been without sounding like a song of despair. But two tracks featuring John Cale on various instruments (such as viola and harpsichord) have the dark fragility of "Pink Moon": the lovely "Fly" is a fragile apparition, and "Northern Sky" is a dreamy, brooding plea for long-lasting love. Definitely not the same mood music as his starker work, but still a fine showcase for Nick Drake. --Lorry Fleming