Comus

Recorded in 4 hours over two days this album is the culmination of the musical talent that is Nick Drake. Completely solo using only his acoustic guitar and his voice apart from piano on the title track this is what Drake could do alone, and it is breathtaking. His last album before his death is certainly worthy of his name, and it has established his legacy and fame. The title track certainly sets the scene, apart from a small part of piano overdubbed it is simply Drake's beautiful lyrics and his guitar.

The simplicity of it compared to the first two lushly produced and arranged albums creates a stark contrast and it is the end of a tragic trilogy. Drake is now throwing caution to the wind, no longer concerned with his commercial success, he knows he is good and he's going to do what he thinks is his best. The result is astonishing, the guitar shines nearly as much as his vocals and lyrics. Surprisingly the result of this raw sound is a far more accessible album, the vocals are clearer and again more easy to sing along to. This delivery let the lyrics truly shine in a way not before seen on a Drake album.

The balance between guitar and man is met here in no way that can be done better even by the virtuoso guitarists of our age. The natural feel of the playing complements the absolute confidence in Drake's delivery and it is a beauty to behold. Road shows this confidence perfectly, the fact that he can play as he does shows that he has finally accepted that this is what his music should have been. While never exactly being catchy per se this album is the closest Drake ever gets.

This album is hard to review since the songs mainly all possess the lyrical quality and brilliant fingerpicking guitar. It is worth mentioning how well this album was produced by John Wood, I don't suppose he would have had much of a job considering the style of the album. However it could very easily have been ruined by overproduction. The sound is crisp but still raw and I feel that this is how Drake should always have sounded.

I have read reviews which consider this album poor in respect to his earlier work and even going as far as considering it to be less accessible. I very much dissagree with this, even the short instrumental Horn feels more accessible than the more lush instrumental melodies on his earlier albums. I feel the sparesness contributes to the fact that it won't take long to get into and get used to. A much better connection between artist and listener can be felt here, and while it doesn't have that overt emotional control like the other albums have it certainly has an undertone of it.

You have to discover it yourself, but the emotional control this album has in the context of the other two is astonishing. Considering the lush well crafted optimism of Five Leaves Left and the more mature attempt at mainstream that was Bryter Layter both leading into this raw stripped version of what Drak can do. The emotional journey of the three albums is brilliant and it is certainly something that I reccomend trying.

One of my favourite songs on this album is the start of the three strongest songs, Know, Parasite and Free Ride. The humming and vocal conveyance here is perfect for the guitar delivery, ending abrubtly into the more crafted Parasite with a perfect juxtaposition. Parasite is the lyrical strongpoint of Drake's career, and that is no mean feat, the beautiful mournful lyric here is perfect on the position of the album, it's getting near the end and we're finally shown the potential that this great young man had.

This is when the sense of tragedy truly strikes it will tug at your heart strings in a way you can't get from artists that lived and did what they achieved. The tragedy is more that he is well known because he died rather than for his beautiful music. I'm not gonna jump on the bandwagon and say that had he lived he would be the biggest star ever, but he would certainly have gifted us with more great music.

Pink Moon displays drake's true potential, although I have no doubt that if he had lived he would have created more great albums I very much doubt they would in any way be better than Pink Moon. It is a stretching of his talents, and a summation of his greatest writing while I said he reaches his true potential with Parasite I don't think he could ever grow beyond such brilliance. While Drake is no Bob Dylan, he was never political and I don't think he ever should have been, he was very much rooted in the folk era which was well on its way out by the time he started.

Either way Pink Moon is Drake's true masterpiece it finally showcases his musical as well as his lyrical talent. While he plays guitar on his other albums it has not before been thrust to the fore. Regardless of whether he had survived or not it was but a matter of time before this album would be considered a masterpiece.

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