Way To Blue - The Songs Of Nick Drake

Various Artists (feat. Luluc, Lisa Hannigan, Vashti Bunyan, Scott Matthews, Teddy Thompson & more)

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Cat No: NAVIGATOR080

Release Date: 15 April 2013

Label: Navigator Records

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 5052442003816

Genres: Rock

Description
Undoubtedly one of the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years, Nick Drake found little mainstream success during his lifetime; however, since his untimely death at the age of 26, his fragile acoustic,
autumnal music has touched the hearts of millions of people.

Nick Drake is an unlikely romantic hero. In the 1970s he was a minor English singer and songwriter who peddled a lyrical brand of introspection that earned him a small but devoted following and few record sales. Dogged by depression and embittered by his lack of success, he died of an overdose in 1974, virtually unknown and unnoticed. He left an amazing legacy - a handful of recordings of his sparsely beautiful songs across just three albums, less than two hours of music.

But over the ensuing decades, the enduring potency of these songs has ensured Drake's reputation as one of the UK's truly great musical talents. "Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake" curated by Nick Drake's original producer, Joe Boyd (at the helm for two of the Drake albums - "Five Leaves Left" in 1969, and "Bryter Layter" in 1970), combines live recordings from 2 remarkable concerts at Melbourne Recital Centre 15 & 16 November 2011 and another at The Barbican Centre, London in January 2010.

Here, renowned contemporary singers, united by their reverence for the work Nick Drake left behind collaborated with those who were actually involved in those unforgettable original recordings. The band and string section is led by musical director Kate St John, anchored by double bassist Danny Thompson, who played on many of Drake's albums, and features the original orchestrations arranged by Robert Kirby in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Sadly, Kirby passed away very recently, but not before conducting the string section at the UK's very first "Way To Blue" concert in May 2009. Now, "Way To Blue" has become a tribute to Kirby as well as Drake.

The special guest artists who sing and re-interpret Nick Drake's often hauntingly poetic material include: folk rediscovery Vashti Bunyan, Scritti Politti front-man Green Gartside, psychedelic pop maverick Robyn Hitchcock, stunning Irish singer Lisa Hannigan, American soul powerhouse Krystle Warren, UK success-story Scott Matthews, Teddy Thompson, Luluc, Zoe Rahman, Neill MacColl, Shane Nicolson, Kate St John and Danny Thompson.
Tracklisting