Customer Reviews

Nick Drake: The Biography

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was very disappointed in this book - and while some of that disappointment is with the style of writing Mr. Humphries employs here, there's more to it than that. Writing a biography is a tricky proposition at best. In the case of an artist like Nick Drake - reclusive and withdrawn, with only one interview given during his brief lifetime - it's a task even more daunting than one would usually expect. Humphries has written bios of other musicians - Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Thompson, Tom Waits, &c - and has evidently built a career and reputation in this area. I'm sure that he felt drawn to the music of Nick Drake in some ways, rather than simply choosing an artist about whom to write in the hope of selling tons of books - there are innumerable choices that would have garnered him greater sales - but without the cooperation of two critical people in Nick's life (his sister Gabrielle and his manager/producer Joe Boyd), given the nature of his subject, the project was more or less doomed from the start.

Humphries mentions in his forward that Joe and Gabrielle `had decided not to cooperate' - and since Joe's Warlock Music is the publisher of all of Nick's songs, this also meant that Humphries would be unable to quote from Nick's lyrics. He was thus reduced to quoting Gabrielle and Joe from previously available sources. Molly and Rodney Drake, Nick's parents, were deceased, so no direct conversations between them and the author were possible either. The only other sources left for him upon which to draw were the remembrances of various friends of Nick and written articles about the man and his music. What emerges from all of this is inevitably a choppy picture of the man - not unsympathetic, but jarring and incomplete. Many parts of the book are simply strings of quotes strung together - and too many of the gaps have been filled in by well-meaning but ultimately tedious anecdotes about the music scene of the 60s and 70s in general. Referring to the musicians and bands emerging from the public school scene in the UK of the time, Humphries mentions Genesis coming out of Charterhouse to begin their `windy, wuthering road' to success - a reference to their `Wind and wuthering' album of the late 70s. He's trying a little too hard here for my tastes, I'm afraid.

Another irritating practice of Humphries is that he contradicts himself in too many places to mention. He can't seem to settle on his own opinion. On p. 93, he says `FIVE LEAVES LEFT is an astonishingly assured and mature debut' - on p. 94, he says `Lyrically the songs on FIVE LEAVES LEFT are largely unremarkable'. Huh? On p. 89, he speaks warmly of how well Robert Kirby (Nick's school chum and string arranger on his first two albums) worked with Nick's songs: `...his arrangements remain an integral part of the distinctive sound of Nick's debut album' - then, again from p. 94: `...perhaps the arrangements are a tad lush'. This sort of `playing both sides' persists throughout the book. These are not instances of Humphries quoting the opinions of others (at least they are not presented in that way) - these are his own words.

The publisher, Bloomsbury, must also be taken to task, for their (lack of) editing - there are several errors in the book that have nothing to do with writing style, but everything (apparently) to do with allowing one's computer spell-check program to act as an editor. This point may seem to be a bit picky, but in context of my other problems with the book, it merely added to my inability to appreciate it.

There's another review below that wisely suggests that those interested in Nick allow his music to speak for him - and this is of course the closest we can come to him, for his music came from his heart and soul. Over the years since his death, it has become much more widely appreciated than it was in his lifetime - sadly this is the case in too many who die before their time. There is beauty in that music. Humphries speaks in several places of the darkness of Nick's lyrics (but, being unable to quote from them, gives no examples), that his depression was a result of an adolescent never coming into maturity, unable to cope with the world - and many of the songs were dark, without a doubt. There were, however, many moments of light and beauty. One only has to listen to the first track on his debut album (`Time has told me' from FIVE LEAVES LEFT) - to me, the song is one that speaks of hope and patience, of learning and recognizing the important things that are worth waiting for. That sounds like maturity and good judgment to me. Nick may well have been a troubled soul - but he was not without happiness, and he obviously understood and appreciated things that a person stuck in adolescence would not.

Near the end of the book, when Humphries is writing of the release of Nick's final four songs, and some additional material - early home recordings and alternate takes - he quotes both Nick's parents and Joe Boyd as saying that they were trying to make sure that anything they released reflected only well on Nick, that they were concerned with how he was represented, that he deserved that consideration. I think that he deserves better than this bio - that might seem harsh, but there's simply too much contradiction and padding here. Rather than a 270+page book, this could have been edited down to a decent magazine article. There are a lot of facts here, but very little understanding. If you have the opportunity to view it, check out the fine documentary A SKIN TOO FEW - it's a much more satisfying portrait of this gentle man.

Patrick Humphries' greatest achievement in writing a biography of Nick Drake, one of the great singer songwriters of his (or any) generation, is that he was able to find enough material to fill a full-length book. Which is both a blessing and a curse: the last three years of his life must have been a nightmare for Nick Drake, a young man who along with his considerable talent also, it appears, crafted an image of himself as a loner artiste, an image which became the reality that eventually consumed him. Therefore, Humphries was faced with the daunting task of making interesting the interviews with friends and relatives, who, almost without exception, claimed that Drake was quiet, incommunicative, present but not really all there; in short, there wasn't much story to tell: three brilliant albums, a staggering mental breakdown and depression, and a death that may have been accidental, may have been suicide, but in any case was as tragic as it was inevitable. Humphries great achievement is to take the simple facts of Drake's life and put them in a context that makes them seem belong-able to a real human being, rather than part of the myth that Nick Drake has become. Most fascinating is his portrayal of the music scene that Drake became associated with via his manager, Joe Boyd, the legendary producer of many of the great British folk-rock groups of the late 60s; in fact, while Drake is the centerpiece of Humphries' book, Boyd's colorful presence in Nick Drake's life and his role in 60s rock often outshines the story of Nick Drake himself, simply because so much more is known of Boyd. Made most clear by this biography is that to know more about Nick Drake than we knew before would be virtually impossible, because, more so than even a man like Bob Dylan, Drake WAS his music. The story of the music and how it was developed, crafted, and recorded, is therefore the core of Nick Drake's life, and I found the details surrounding these to be the most insightful of the book.

Any biographical information about the life of Nick Drake has to be welcomed and Patrick Humphries has done his best in tracking down Nick's old aquantinces. But you'd have to be close to illiterate not to figure out there's an awful lot of padding and repetition in this book.

The life and recording career of Nick Drake was so short that ironiclly the lack of visual images featured here only adds to the aura. It's as if we only had a miniscule visual record of Nick Drake. On the contrary, photos of him seem to be in relevant abundance and seeing them would have done more to humanize his past than speculation and half-forgotten anecdotes.

A lot of time was given over to descriptions of Nick's appearance and there was some interesting details supplied by the photographers who shot the album photos. But I felt myself wanting to see the actual photos of Nick and interpret them for myself rather than read about what somebody else thought about them. Interpreting already available photos is hardly great biographical insight.

As such I think this would have been a much more complete reflection on Nick's life if it had been released as a photo book. That way the biographical text could have been shortened to 100 pages or so of the most relevant and important information and the rest of the book could include a photographic record of Nick Drake with the complete photo sessions of every album.

This is what we will have to make do with. I recommend this for fans of this brilliant musician as it is simply the only large book available and has the most information in one volume. Unfortunately. Humphries breaks up his narrative with information on the Titanic, history of Cambridge University, and casual acquaintances of Drake, often in no sensible sequence. For those new to English Folk rock, more background information on Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention and others associated would have been helpful. Also, some perspective on Drake's music in relation to pop culture late 60's early 70's would have been appreciated.

In the author's defence, Nick Drake is a difficult man to research, due to his own reclusiveness and short life. Despite the brilliance of his music it's not hard to understand why he never became a "pop idol" after reading this. There are enough interviews and anecdotes inside to piece together, with difficulty, a portrait of Nick Drake as he lived.

Hopefully, with Drake's recent surge in popularity, the friends & family of Nick Drake still surviving will help provide a dedicated writer the information on a truly enlightening and memorable work.

I wish Nick had lived to see the following he has today. I think he was one of the greatest musicians of all time, and I think the book pays tribute to the man he was. This book captures what Nick was, and I think it is one of the best biographies ever written. I heard Nicks' music a long time ago, and I learned a lot about him, but there was so much more I wanted to know, and this book tells everything. I read the book in one sitting and when I was done I couldn't stop thinking about him. I have always loved Nick, but after reading the book, I see that there is much more to him than I ever thought. I wish there were more books on Nick. I think most people would love his music, and love reading about him. I gave the book five stars. It is a classic.

Drake's life and music are carefully represented in Humphries' book. To Humphries' credit, he resisted the strong temptation to give a lopsided and over-romanticised account of Drake's life, instead relying on meticulous research based on interviews with contempories, friends and family. Two factors come through quite strongly in this book; the power and beauty of Drake's music, and the extent to which his tragic demise was such a harrowing and drawn-out affair. Well done Patrick! I take exception to one point however. The song Saturday Sun on Five Leaves Left is described as a filler, "unsuccessful jazz meanderings". Wrong Patrick, this is one of Drake's most beautiful songs, certainly my favourite!

I'll spot Patrick Humphries two and a half stars for covering such a relatively unknown but captivating, beautiful artist as Nick Drake. Humphries also earns stars for his respectfully honest treatment and his thorough and engaging writing. But I have to dock him a couple of stars for the repetitiveness that goes from slightly distracting to incredibly irritating as the book goes on. That Drake was painfully quiet and withdrawn for most of his adult life is not a difficult concept for a reader to grasp, and it does not need to be spelled out in every chapter. Island Records did all they could to promote his work, but Drake himself barely helped. How Humphries has managed to fill so many pages in so many chapters with this fact is beyond me. Admittedly, it's a herculean task to draw 271 pages of text from such a short (26 year) life, especially when the subject offered so little of his art (3 albums and change) and even less of himself (we hear from many aquaintances who all offer variations on the one theme of Drake's decline into distant solitude). When the author isn't padding his book with repetition, he does so by going off on tangents. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck has, like many, drawn a parallel between Drake and Robert Johnson. As a result, we get more than we need on R.E.M., Peter Buck (whose interview is revisited later in the book, of course) and Robert Johnson. Rumors have placed Francoise Hardy and Nick Drake together; where that could have been dealt with in a paragraph, we slog through several paragraphs about Ms. Hardy alone. Still, Drake somehow remains such a compelling figure, and Humphries is so commendable for knowing everything one could about his subject (and delivering it with earnest sincerity), that the amazing magnetism of Nick Drake carries the day. Truly, I don't see anyone else out there covering Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention and their ilk, so if you are a fan or are curious about the voice behind last year's "Pink Moon" VW commercial, this book is for you.

With this Book Patrick Humphries has given Nick Drake the Biography he has always deserved. Nick was just 26 years old when he died of an overdose of prescribed drugs in 1974, no one really knows wether it was an accident or not. One thing is certain though is that Nick Drake was one of the most talented musicians to have ever lived. The biography is brilliant please read it.

I hadn't read any of the reviews before reading this bio by P. Humphries.The one I agree most with is "This will have to be the Definitive Bio until..."

Humphries has done an admirable job, given the dictates of the project. It is really heart breaking, and of course a huge disappointment to him, that Sister Gabrielle Drake, and J.Boyd, (producer), would not participate, placing legal constraints on him, and personal ones that this book cannot overcome despite his effort here.Coupled with the fact that both parents had died, writing this book must have been like working with a straightjacket on.

The book is somewhat repetitive, and keeps referring back to the culture of BritFolk Music in the 60's. Being new to Nick Drake-the man and his music, I eagerly read, searching for the stories, the anecdotes, the details, that would flesh out the outline of the man-however reclusive. The stories that are there come from fellow students (male) from Marlborough and Cambridge, along with some musicians. It is surprising, in today's world, that friends/professional colleaugues, would not have gotten more involved with him upon seeing him decline, with an aim to help, but from the book it seems that only Joe Boyd, after moving to L.A., spoke to him ONE time on the phone, at the request of Nick's parents, about him getting some help, therapy. Others have expressed hindsight in relaying his withdrawal, but the book fails to elaborate on any incidents other than Boyd's one call. It may be that the attempts were there but didn't make it into the book.

As I read, I also longed for details having nothing to do with music, personal details that would show a bit what kind of person he was-did he ever, for example, release the frogs in science class? There's a dog on one of his sleeve pictures-did he like/ever have a family dog "in real life?" Did he have a valentine when he was eight? What foods did he love/hate? Did he take milk in his tea or coffee? A Bio is about The Life Of, and I wondered all about the life of this man/musician.

These Qs have "nothing to do with the music" of course-but Boyd's non-involvement precluded Humphries from quoting any of the lyrics anyway-so even that part is skeletal and leaves the reader hungry. He is a capable author and with the involvement of the two key missing people this book would have had so much more flesh on it's bones, instead of the padding others have mentioned, though the bit about teak and Burma and his grandfather delivering Nick set a nice background-but then moving into the life of Nick was sparser, like Clothes of Sand-NOT because Nick was sparse, I suspect, but just because the sources used only cover so much ground.

Had he lived,and learned to overcome or manage the depression and terminal shyness, there is a good chance that Drake would have gone on to composing more elaborate music, perhaps even conducting, and finally reaching the point where he could compose without feeling he was going too commercial-perhaps doing soundtracks (Randy Newman was an early influence, and after all Northern Sky is the tour de force of Serendipity-and NO individualism has been compromised) One of the insights the book provides is how, according to his mother, he loved to conduct from an early age. Mozart, broke, was composing for vaudeville when he died too early at age 35(Magic Flute) having once had some fame, now ignored by the Court and many of his contemporaries-was buried in a common grave, with no marker. And Nick, at age 26-"We will Rise and We are Everywhere." And Humphries is able to illustrate Drake's realization with his finally assertive: If I'm so good, where's the money? and the resultant Hanging on a Star.

Nick Drake may have been on the verge of really breaking in with the works to follow Pink Moon. Certainly Humphries is successful in this- relaying Drake's final musical efforts as indicative of his survivor's instinct kicking in-his productivity, and the Lost Track. To me, this makes the case for accidental overdose more compelling. He drives home the message of a pointless death-and with today's available treatments, all we who remain can do is howl at the moon.

What would be tragic is to have this one biography be the only one. I hope there will be another one, with MORE-more photos, more involvement, and legal releases, from the people still here who knew/know Nick best. Unfortunately, the sands of time do run, and Keith Morris (primary photographer) is missing/presumed gone-due to a scuba diving accident. The biography could indeed be edited, but again, given the constraints, Humphries does an admirable job, that will leave you hungry for more...looking around that next corner for, just plain old MORE.

This biography on Nick Drake by Patrick Humphries is one of the better biographies I have read. Not only is it loaded with just about as much info as probably exists on the short career and lifespan of Nick Drake (a great musician who died in his prime), but it's also a insightful look into the 60's, as well as the development of blues and rock in general. Mostly however, what we get is a fairly insightful look into the life and mental state of Nick. For anyone who might think this book is too biased in one direction or another, too dark, too etc., one has to remember, it is a biography after all, and Nick Drake was who he was. If Nick Drakes's being so introspective and whatnot makes for a darker biography with not as much information as we might like, I don't think that is Patrick Humphries fault here. Sure, I think there was some information not necessarily real important that could have been left out, but with so little info available on Nick, the book is a fine job. Humpries tries to paint a large picture, delving into the past before Nick, etc. If your not a fan of Nick's, you probably won't be too interested in this.

As for a previous review that sated that "the author suggests that maybe Nick was gay, just because he had trouble communicating with people", I just finished reading the entire book cover to cover, and this does not seem to be too accurate a statement to me. In fact, Humpries, on pg. 159 of my edition says that "Though Nick's sexuality has increasingly become a focus of attention in the years since his death, there is no evidence that he was gay". Humpries goes on to even state that "Contemporaries from Cambridge even recall Nick's enthusiastic heterosexuality; one even remember 'getting laid at the same party'." According to Humpries, there is "no real evidence of any sustained relationship in Nicks life." But the whole point either way is beside the point, and has nothing to do with Nick's music. For those who know and understand more about the ups and downs of Nick's life, it may become apparent why he was a loner. Thanks Nick, thanks for everything. I wish things had worked out better for you, but maybe they worked out for your best and for our best after all in the long run...