Pink Moon

And none of us should be ashamed of this.

The facts of an artist's life are an inextricable part of his work. We've known this, cherished it in fact, since the first artist put a voice into music, or drew pictures and made gestures that expressed thoughts without words. Nick Drake was one depressed dude at the end. Either he killed himself deliberately or the drugs that did it -- and they were antidepressants -- were powerful enough to do it by accident.

I got "Pink Moon" about five days ago and have played it about 35 times. The title track and the final one ("From the Morning") move me about as much as anything I've heard. Everything in between establishes a mood that could be interpreted as heavily flavored by sadness, if not dominated by depression. Even "Morning," a song of hope and uplift if ever was, is tinted by the small, haunting ache that attends the knowledge of death as an inevitable part of life. And the death that's on our minds is, unavoidably, Nick Drake's. It matters not why and how he died; it was too soon, this was his last record before it happened, and it colors -- unavoidably and rightly -- what we hear. When one knows how an artist's pain worked itself out in the artist's own life, it has an inevitable impact on how one receives the record.

I join the people who thank Volkswagen for this record. I never saw the VW ad; I don't watch TV enough to do that. But I sure read enough about it here; and I only recently found that the wonderful lavish sounds I'd been hearing as sign-on music back in the early-mid '70s on good ol' WMAL-FM were Nick's own "Bryter Later." So I can claim to be one of the fogies who Knew Him (sorta) When. But only the one piece. That and the VW ad -- what's all this about a damn ad? -- prompted one of my best album purchases ever. I'm torn -- just run back to the store where they have his other two studio releases, nine-ninety-nine the pop? Or spring for "Fruit Tree"?

Drake's first two albums are lusher, more lavish, more produced, more, well, what? optimistic. Then this one. Nick, his guitar, and a smattering of overdubbed but perfect piano. It would be interesting to have heard "Pink Moon" AFTER his first two records, instead of hearing it first. The contrast between those discs and this one is startling enough as it is. If you want to hear folk guitar played about as well as it can be, accompanied by a voice that, light and almost airy as it is, seems to triple the weight of the lyrics, Do not pass Go. Head straight to this record. If you don't have "Pink Moon" yet, and kind of wish there wasn't quite so much production on those two lovely Drake discs you do have, pick this one up. 'Cause the production is, well, not. I think it's wonderful that we got to hear not only as much of Nick Drake as we did, but as many different sides. I wouldn't want the first two records without the overdubbed strings and keyboards. This one, likewise, is perfect, just as is. Stark, painful, full of despair and full also of hope and appreciation for the beauty the artist saw in the world. It's just as in the first two records, but expressed differently and just as spot-on beautifully.

Don't feel bad that you first heard about Nick Drake from a car salesman. Carlos Santana was right: It's getting it, not how, that counts. You have the music now, is what matters. The world is beautiful and it's OK. Play "Pink Moon" again, and again. That's Nick, telling you so.