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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DRAKE AT HIS BEST, November 18, 2002
The cinematic instrumental, Introduction, opens this treasure trove of an album, and is followed by Hazey Jane II, a lilting dreamy pop number. At The Chime Of A City Clock has its jazzy moments with lovely sax, while One Of These Things First, with its lively piano, is the closest Drake comes to happiness. The wistful and spacious Hazey Jane I is followed by the title track, an elegant breezy instrumental, and the sublime Fly. This version, with its fuller instrumentation, is my top favorite Nick Drake song, displaying the man at his best in its exquisite spirituality. Poor Boy is a jazzy/R&B song with soulful backing vocals, while John Cale's celeste, piano and organ contributions on Northern Sky make this track a classic. Like two of his collaborators, Richard Thompson and Cale, Nick had his own poetic voice from the beginning, and his legacy is being rediscovered by a new generation of musicians. This album is the perfect entry point to investigate Drake's magic. So many styles, but so coherent. Bryter Layter's variety, sympathetic production and breathtakingly beautiful songs make it my favorite by this gifted artist.
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mott will be Bryter Layter, May 4, 2001
There were a whole lot of demons wrapped up in the brilliant, but tormented soul of Nick Drake, who succumbed to depression and death before his full talent was allowed to flourish. Nick Drake only left behind three complete albums, "Bryter Layter" being the middle and most beautiful one. The string arrangements are superb and with sympathetic backing from the likes of Dave Pegg, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattocks and John Cale, the songs really grab your heart. In a year when the singer / songwriter has comeback from the Wilderness the re-issue of Drake's "Bryter Layter" could not of been better timed or more welcome. This is the best way into his oeuvre: ornate, drenched in melody, emotion, evocative of a long-lost London and its small, smoky nightclubs. All told, the songs run counter to his melancholic reputation, as evidenced by the very breezy and up tempo opening track, Hazey Jane II. However, in case you start getting the idea that it would all be dog biscuits you are soon brought down by "At The Chime Of A City Clock", which reminds you of who you are listening to. "You stay indoors, beneath the floors, and talk to neighbors only", sighs Drake. Pretty autobiographical then. Nick Drake's, finger-pickin' guitar rises above all the musical arrangements to leave you breathless at his dexterity. Although the re-mastering of the songs has given them much more definition and depth, my problem with this re-issue is in its time. Forty minutes of music is not a lot in these days of C.Ds, perhaps Island Records could have found a few more songs from Nick Drake's back catalogue to give the C.D. buying public a better deal. If your not familiar with Nick Drake, the excellent "Way To Blue" is a must buy. This clocks in at way over the hour and containing songs from all three albums, "Pink Moon", "Bryter Layter", "Five Leaves Left" and the posthumously released, "Time Of No Reply". It gives a good overview of Nick Drake's work plus a nice booklet with an introduction by `Nick Drake Devotee' Joe Boyd, some photos and complete lyrics. Not music to listen to when your low, rather relaxed and contemplative. Mott the Dog.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A soul with deep footprints., October 27, 2000
A critic wrote once that Nick Drake can change your life. In this sentence I would underline the word "can". It changed mine, I learned a lot from him about life and how to perceive and face the world we live in, though it's strange to say that about a person that probably, almost surely, committed suicide. Yet, it's not music for everybody. Nick teaches you how to slow down the rythm of the world, pay attention to little things, colours, sounds, trees, tiny animals... but some people find it very depressive. I find it relaxing and spiritually enriching. Personally, I do believe this is still the best music you can buy, especially if you belong to the introspective kind that sometimes stops to wonder why. He goes deep into feelings but without sticky sentimentalism, asks some questions to life but without being aridly philosophical... he was - and for us who love him, still is - a human being who went deep into life, until it became too much, and the yearning for a better further place to be too strong. I consider "Bryter Layter" his best album (though the choice, in his case, is really difficult): not so naked as "Pink Moon", not so suffocated by crazy Bach-like arrangements as "Five Leaves Left" (though songs like "River Man" are unforgettable). He was also very innovative in his way, and you really can't tell that it's music from the beginning of the Seventies. If you have at least a crumb of sensitivity, and you are not ashamed about it, well... you simply can't miss this album!
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by Nick Drake 
