Pink Moon

Infobox Album | Name = Pink Moon
Type = Album
Artist = Nick Drake


Released = February 25, 1972
Recorded = October 1971 at Sound Techniques Studio, London
Genre = Folk
Length = 28:22
Label = Island Records
Producer = John Wood
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ewaxqj6yojsa link]
* The Music Box Rating|4|5 [http://www.musicbox-online.com/nd-pink.html link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/nickdrake/albums/album/135925/review/6067500/pink_moon link]
* Wireless Bollinger (93/100) [http://www.wirelessbollinger.com/content/view/940/81/ link]
Last album = "Bryter Layter" (1970)
This album = "Pink Moon" (1972)
Next album = "Fruit Tree" (1978) |

"Pink Moon" is the third and final album by British musician Nick Drake.

It was recorded at midnight in 2 two-hour sessions, over two days in October 1971, featuring only Nick Drake's vocals and guitar, as well as some piano later overdubbed by Drake on the title track.

Album information

Initially, "Pink Moon" garnered a small amount of critical attention, but after Drake's death it received widespread public and critical acclaim. The music on Pink Moon is strikingly sparse and unadorned (especially in comparison to Drake's previous recordings), leading some to consider it to be the least accessible of his three albums, though it nevertheless continues to be thought of by many as his greatest work.

In 1999, the title track was used in "Milky Way", a successful Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and lensed by Lance Acord, leading to a large increase in record sales,Drake, Nick. " [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/nick-drake-youre-nicked-407954.html Nick Drake - You're Nicked] "The Independent" (UK), 2006. Retrieved on 8 May, 2008.] and a number-five placing for "Pink Moon" in Amazon.com's sales chart. ["Rock Star Back from the Dead". "The Birmingham Post" (UK). 7 April, 2000.]

The cover of the album features an illustration by the partner of Drake's sister Gabrielle, Michael Trevithick.

Reception and influence

In 2004 was named the 13th on Top 100 Albums of the 1970s by Pitchfork Media.

In 2007, Blender named it the 69th greatest Indie rock album of all-time.

In 2000, Melody Maker placed it on their 'All Time Top 100 Albums' ranking it 48th.

In 2000, NME ranked it #8 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums."

Entertainment Weekly (5/12/00, p.24) - "One voice, one guitar, one set of beautifully dolorous songs...the equivalent of an amble down a darkened country road. Model after-hours listening." - Rating: A

Q magazine (8/00, pp.112-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Nick Drake's best album.... [Its] excellence shines through....Few records have ever sounded so intimate, or embodied Melancholy with such grace and assurance."

Alternative Press (3/01, p.88) - "With a voice paradoxically feather-light and grave, [one] of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever recorded."

Mojo (7/00, p.99) - "His masterpiece and the Robert Johnson comparisons are fully deserved."

Spin (p.101) - " [H] is Keatsian mark on music is indelible."

Track listing

All songs written and played by Nick Drake.

#"Pink Moon" – 2:06
#"Place to Be" – 2:43
#"Road" – 2:02
#"Which Will" – 2:58
#"Horn" – 1:23
#"Things Behind the Sun" – 3:57
#"Know" – 2:26
#"Parasite" – 3:36
#"Free Ride" – 3:06
#"Harvest Breed" – 1:37
#"From the Morning" – 2:30

Personnel

*Nick Drake - vocals, acoustic guitar on all songs; piano on "Pink Moon"
*John Wood - production, engineering

Releases

*1972 - LP: Island ILPS 9184 / UK, original release on the first "palm tree" label
*1972 - LP: Island SMAS 9318 / US, first US release
*1980s - LP: Island ILPS 9184 / UK, re-release on the orange-blue "palm tree" label; [http://www.discogs.com/release/607088 Discogs]
*1990 - CD: Island IMCD 94 / Polygram 842 923-2; CD release within the Island Masters series; [http://www.discogs.com/release/414348 Discogs]
*1992 - CD: Hannibal HNCD 4436 / US; [http://www.discogs.com/release/391327 Discogs]
*2000 - CD: Island IMCD 94/ Universal 842 923, international re-release within the Island Masters series now labeled "Island Re-Masters" with additional slip cover, and original label reprint on the CD.
*2003 - CD: Island 422 842 923-2 / US; [http://www.discogs.com/release/865700 Discogs]

References

External links

*MusicBrainz album|id=c356465b-656b-4081-b474-dda0d08018a5|name =Pink Moon
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3733651826588034673&q=pink+moon VW Cabrio commercial]