4 of 4 thought this review was well writtenSimplicity is a wonderful thing. Many musicians take this element and stick to it. Just look at bands like KISS and AC/DC. All they've ever done is simple songs, and look at where they are in life. But what does this all have to do with the man Nick Drake? His third and final outing,
Pink Moon, has to be one of the simplest albums I have ever heard in my life. The album is barely a half-hour long, and it contains no drums and no bass. It is just Nick Drake, one man, singing into a microphone and playing simple, melodic riffs on his acoustic guitar. I thought for sure that this album would be a snooze-fest, but wrong I certainly was.
Eleven tracks have their place on Pink Moon, and all of these songs sound similar. You can't get much variety from track to track when it is just one man, with one instrument. But there's one thing you can get: Beauty. The whole album is soft, melodic, upbeat, and beautiful.
Dark Side Of The Moon is often regarded as some of the best music to go to sleep to, but Pink Moon would be the album of choice for me. Am I saying that this is a boring album? Of course not, but this is the album to listen to if you want to enjoy a good night's sleep.
Some songs, such as "Things Behind The Sun" and "Parasite", put off a melancholy feel, as these two are the darkest tracks...musically. As Rolling Stone magazine said, if the music on Pink Moon was as dark as the lyrics, it might not be such a pleasure to listen to. And I thoroughly agree with this statement. Drake's vocals are deep and it is sometimes difficult to make out exactly what is being said. So one cannot make out the dark lyrics sometimes, and his beautiful strumming disguises the darkness.
This is for sure a classic album, but it does not go without flaw. "Horn" is an instrumental interlude that lasts a couple of seconds, and it is the only track that can be considered filler. It is meant to add some variety to the album, but it's really just pointless. And at first, Drake's vocals sound odd and deep, but one gets used to them, and will begin to enjoy them. Every song is short and sweet, and I wouldn't want it any other way. However, some may think that the shortness of the songs is repetitive, but I certainly don't think this way.
Besides "Horn", every single track on the album has high quality. The title track has the most variety out of all of the other songs, due to the fact that our boy Nick plays a short, but fitting piano part. "Road" happens to be one of the stand-out tracks for me. Musically, is it any different from the other songs? The answer is no, not really. But this has a certain charm to it that just draws me in. Another favorite track of mine is the simple and soothing "Which Will", which sounds similar to the previous highlight I mentioned, but it has a far more upbeat and cheerful feel to it. The lyrics are simple, the guitar is simple, everything is simple and happy.
Overall, Nick Drake's
Pink Moon is a beautiful album. Technically, it has no flaws, except for "Horn". I should definitely give it full marks for this, but I feel that I just can't. I may when I hear the other two albums in Drake's discography, but until then, my score for this would be around a 4.2, possibly 4.3. But still, I highly recommend it, for it is sometimes upbeat, sometimes depressing and melancholy, but regardless of whatever mood a certain song has,
Pink Moon is beautiful all the way through.
4.2/5
