D is for... Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

Revisiting my vinyl collection, one letter at a time...

I've been collecting records for as long as I can remember, and sometimes it's easy to skip over things, and forget what you've got. I'm going to start listening to things in alphabetical order, it give me a chance to look through my collection again, and give me an opportunity to share things with other music lovers, and vinyl collectors.

The rules are simple, I will start at A, and choose an artist from my collection beginning with that letter, next day I move on to B, then C, etc.

The story so far...

D is for...

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

Bryter Layter is the second album from the beautiful singer songwriter Nick Drake, released in 1971. It's a wonderful production, featuring Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks & Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention, John Cale from the Velvet Underground appears on a few tracks, and there's even a couple of Beach Boys making an appearance.

I first heard Nick Drake on a compilation album called Back On The Road, an amazing double album of some of the finest music from the 1960's. That song was the brilliant Northern Sky that closes this album. My passion for Nick's music was cemented when I heard a CD called Way To Blue - An Introduction To Nick Drake which I read a review of and decided to buy. I wasn't disappointed, every track was just submlime.

Nick Drake had a troubled life, suffering from depression. He died of a drugs overdose in 1974. He recorded three great albums in his 26 years, they're worth spending some time getting to know them.

Here's my copy of Bryter Layter, it's only a recent pressing, but sounds great nonetheless...

And here's a few tracks to inspire you to delve further into his music...