Nick Drake

The life and music of Nick Drake is under review in San Francisco this week. Between Remembering Nick Drake, the October 2, 2007, City Arts & Lectures presentation co-sponsored by Noise Pop, and A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake (2000), a documentary showing at the SF Doc Fest on October 3, 9, and 10, locals have had a rare opportunity to learn about this private, enigmatic artist from those who knew him best.

The City Arts and Lecture series included a discussion with local songstress Jolie Holland, Nick Drake’s sister, Gabrielle Drake, and his friend and music producer Joe Boyd (producer of Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left (1969) and Bryter Layter (1970) ). The lecture will be rebroadcast on KQED on November 25, 2007.

The Art, Music and Recreation Department also has two full-length biographies of the singer / songwriter: Darker Than The Deepest Sea: The Search For Nick Drake by Trevor Dann (2006) and Nick Drake by Patrick Humphries (1998). The A to X of Alternative Music by Steve Taylor, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s by Joe Boyd, The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians by Scott Stanton, and Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' roll: Psychedelic Unknowns, Mad Geniuses, Punk Pioneers, Lo-fi Mavericks & More by Richie Unterberger all include sections on Nick Drake.

The Library's Audiovisual Center has several CDs of Drake's music including Bryter Layter, Five Leaves Left and, Pink Moon. Way to Blue: An Introduction to Nick Drake is a good starting off point that presents representative works off of all of Drake's albums and includes an biographical essay by Joe Boyd.