We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
It’s an age old story…an artist is ignored during his life only to find that his work becomes more widely followed after his death. Case in point….British folk singer Nick Drake who released his final LP, Pink Moon in February of 1972.
And, what’s funny is that it was a TV car commercial that drove sales of the LP in 1999.
Drake was an artist troubled by depression issues for years and ended up dying young of a drug overdose in 1974.
This LP is stripped down featuring only his fine acoustic fingerpicking and one small piano part he added on the title track. Rolling Stone’s review at the time said, ” His lyrics are so compressed as to be kind of folkloric haikus, almost childishly simple in their structure and elemental in their imagery. His voice conveys, in its moans and breathy whispers, an alluring sensuality, but he sings as if he were viewing his life from a great, unbridgeable distance. That element of detachment is chilling”
The album had only sold 6000 copies in the US until Volkswagen used the title track in a compelling commercial…..
This commercial is credited with making it ok to use popular music in advertising. After the spot aired numerous times sale of the LP went up noticeably, rising to 74,000 by the year 2000 and 329,000 in the US by 2004.
The song “Which Will” was covered by alt-country singer Lucinda Williams.
I’m listening to this mid morning in my office under harsh lighting. And I’m still transported. This should, for full effect, be listened to around 1am in the shadows and on the edge of a good buzz.
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