Nick Drake – Bryter Layter (1970/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter (1970/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:15 minutes | 898 MB | Genre: Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Island

With every passing year, it becomes a little less accurate to say that Nick Drake has a cult following. Cults, by their very nature, tend to exist on the margins, the subject of their admiration unknown or even unloved by the vast majority of people. Bryter Layter, Nick Drake’s second album, was released on Island Records in the UK in 1970. Like his debut album, it was engineered by John Wood and produced by Joe Boyd. All brass and string arrangements were by Robert Kirby, Nick’s vocals and guitar were augmented by Fairport Convention’s Richard Thompson on guitar, Dave Pegg on bass and Dave Mattacks on drums. John Cale contributed keyboards and viola, Ray Warleigh played viola and flute, Pat Arnold and Doris Troy added backing vocals, amongst others.

With even more of the Fairport Convention crew helping him out — including bassist Dave Pegg and drummer Dave Mattacks along with, again, a bit of help from Richard Thompson — as well as John Cale and a variety of others, Drake tackled another excellent selection of songs on his second album. Demonstrating the abilities shown on Five Leaves Left didn’t consist of a fluke, Bryter Layter featured another set of exquisitely arranged and performed tunes, with producer Joe Boyd and orchestrator Robert Kirby reprising their roles from the earlier release. Starting with the elegant instrumental “Introduction,” as lovely a mood-setting piece as one would want, Bryter Layter indulges in a more playful sound at many points, showing that Drake was far from being a constant king of depression. While his performances remain generally low-key and his voice quietly passionate, the arrangements and surrounding musicians add a considerable amount of pep, as on the jazzy groove of the lengthy “Poor Boy.” The argument could be made that this contravenes the spirit of Drake’s work, but it feels more like a calmer equivalent to the genre-sliding experiments of Van Morrison at around the same time. Numbers that retain a softer approach, like “At the Chime of a City Clock,” still possess a gentle drive to them. Cale’s additions unsurprisingly favor the classically trained side of his personality, with particularly brilliant results on “Northern Sky.” As his performances on keyboards and celeste help set the atmosphere, Drake reaches for a perfectly artful reflection on loss and loneliness and succeeds wonderfully.

Tracklist:
01. Nick Drake – Introduction (01:31)
02. Nick Drake – Hazey Jane II (03:44)
03. Nick Drake – At The Chime Of A City Clock (04:44)
04. Nick Drake – One Of These Things First (04:50)
05. Nick Drake – Hazey Jane I (04:29)
06. Nick Drake – Bryter Layter (03:21)
07. Nick Drake – Fly (02:58)
08. Nick Drake – Poor Boy (06:06)
09. Nick Drake – Northern Sky (03:44)
10. Nick Drake – Sunday (03:43)

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