Self Titled Nick Drake Original Island SMAS-9307

$

57

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This VERY, VERY difficult to come by ORIGINAL stereo issue copy...Island SMAS-9307... is in very nice shape. No drill holes, saw marks etc on cover. Only the slightest of rub wear on front and ring wear on the back of the cover detract from it and they are pretty minor overall. Original inner sleeve is near perfect as is the vinyl....retaining practically all of its' gloss...beautiful crisp, clean, bright labels and the most important part...The Vinyl is near perfect with only one light mark (dnap) to show that it was played perhaps as there are no other indications that a needle ever touched it. You will be VERY pleased with this beautiful copy and have my 100% guarantee.
From artistfacts...
Nick Drake became interested in music at an early age. Both of his parents were musicians and he began playing piano as a little kid. His one older sister, Gabrielle, also entered the entertainment industry and went on to become a successful film and TV actress. Drake began recording as a child as well, using a reel-to-reel tape machine his mother kept in the family room. In the later '50s, Nick Drake became heavily involved in sports while attending public school at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England. He became an accomplished sprinter and set the record for the 100-yard dash. As of 2012, Drake's record still stands at the school. Nick Drake formed his first band, The Perfumed Gardeners, in 1964 with several of his classmates. The band played originals as well as covers by bands like The Yardbirds and Manfred Mann, which were popular at the time. One notable member of The Perfumed Gardeners was Chris de Burgh, who later went on to record the successful 1986 hit "Lady In Red." In 2004, actor Brad Pitt hosted a radio show dedicated to late English musician Nick Drake. Pitt said he was a "huge admirer of his records" and added: "I was delighted to be asked and pleased that I could fit it into my schedule." The radio documentary aired on BBC Radio 2 and featured a lost track called "Tow the Line" that finally aired for the first time. Even though he only released 3 albums during his career, Nick Drake has influenced dozens of musicians since his unfortunate death in 1974. Dave Grohl, Eddie Vedder, Norah Jones, and R.E.M. have all cited Drake as an influence on their songs. By 1970, Nick Drake had lost his passion for life and music. Island Records decided to stop paying him and he turned to prescription drugs and pot. His management said Drake smoked "unbelievable amounts of marijuana" and by 1974, the singer was completely out of the public eye. The last song Nick Drake wrote was called "Black Eyed Dog," supposedly written about Winston Churchill's description of depression. In 1974, Drake was found dead in his room at age 26, apparently from an overdose of antidepressant medication.

Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger

A singular talent who passed almost unnoticed during his brief lifetime, Nick Drake produced several albums of chilling, somber beauty. With hindsight, these have come to be recognized as peak achievements of both the British folk-rock scene and the entire rock singer/songwriter genre. Sometimes compared to Van Morrison, Drake in fact resembled Donovan much more in his breathy vocals, strong melodies, and the acoustic-based orchestral sweep of his arrangements. His was a much darker vision than Donovan's, however, with disturbing themes of melancholy, failed romance, mortality, and depression lurking just beneath, or even well above, the surface. Ironically, Drake has achieved a far greater stature in the decades following his death, with an avid cult following that grows by the year.

Part of Drake's failure to attract a mass audience was attributable to his almost pathological reluctance to perform live. It was at a live show in Cambridge, however, that a member of Fairport Convention saw Drake perform, and recommended the singer to producer Joe Boyd. Boyd, already a linchpin of the British folk-rock scene as the producer for Fairport and the Incredible String Band, asked Drake for a tape, and was impressed enough to give the 20-year-old a contract in 1968.

Drake's final couple of years were marked by increasing psychiatric difficulties, which found him hospitalized at one point for several weeks. He had rarely played live during his days as a recording artist, and at one point declared his intention never to record again, although he wished to continue to write songs for others. (It's been reported that French chanteuse Françoise Hardy recorded some of Drake's songs, but she hasn't released any.) On November 25, 1974, he died in his parents' home from an overdose of antidepressant medication; suicide has been speculated, although some of his family and friends dispute this.

In the manner of the young Romantic poets of the 19th century who died before their time, Drake is revered by many listeners today, with a following that spans generations. Baby boomers who missed him the first time around found much to revisit once they discovered him, and his pensive loneliness speaks directly to contemporary alternative rockers who share his sense of morose alienation.