fri 27/12/2024

Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake, Barbican | reviews, news & interviews

Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake, Barbican

Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake, Barbican

Great music talents subsume ego for a visionary

The late Nick Drake: a hard act to interpretIsland Records

The dominant look among all ages of the sell-out audience at the Barbican Hall last night was distinctly “smart-Bohemian”, with plenty of thick-rimmed specs, duffle coats and subtly outré hairdos visible as they took their seats and gave one another knowing nods on spotting the “Fruit Tree” motif in the stage décor. For Nick Drake, the fragile Cambridge-born singer-songwriter who died of an overdose of antidepressants in 1974 aged 26, is perhaps the perfect cult artist: utterly singular, too intense and serious to be appreciated in his short lifetime, but increasingly influential on the mainstream with each passing year.

The dominant look among all ages of the sell-out audience at the Barbican Hall last night was distinctly “smart-Bohemian”, with plenty of thick-rimmed specs, duffle coats and subtly outré hairdos visible as they took their seats and gave one another knowing nods on spotting the “Fruit Tree” motif in the stage décor. For Nick Drake, the fragile Cambridge-born singer-songwriter who died of an overdose of antidepressants in 1974 aged 26, is perhaps the perfect cult artist: utterly singular, too intense and serious to be appreciated in his short lifetime, but increasingly influential on the mainstream with each passing year.

Comments

I went to the following night's performance (at Warwick Arts Centre) and agree with every single word the reviewer has written - an absolutely spot on review. A wonderful, wonderful night of Nick's music that started off ominously with some reasonably poor vocal renditions. However by the time the end of the second half approached, there was not a person in the room who wasn't secretly hoping Joe Boyd would come out and announce it was being for it to be extended by at least another 45 mins! The only thing the review misses out is emphasising how fantastic the backing orchestra and musicians were in performing Kirby's score.

I went to the following night's performance (at Warwick Arts Centre) and agree with every single word the reviewer has written - an absolutely spot on review. A wonderful, wonderful night of Nick's music that started off ominously with some reasonably poor vocal renditions. However by the time the end of the second half approached, there was not a person in the room who wasn't secretly hoping Joe Boyd would come out and announce it was being for it to be extended by at least another 45 mins! The only thing the review misses out is emphasising how fantastic the backing orchestra and musicians were in performing Kirby's score.

I too went to the Warwick show, had a fantastic evening. However, I must disagree with the review above in one respect, Scott Matthews the West Midlands 'newcomer', who I've seen four times over the last three years was one of my highlights. The way his voice soars takes your breath away, a cross between Nick Drake and Tim Buckley, not bad eh!

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters