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o s e l e s s a w a r e o f t h e t r u e m e a n i n g a n d q u a l
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u t w i t h o u t f u r t h e r a d o f u f f e n s o f f e r y o u t
o i n c r e a s e y o u r k n o w l e d e g e a b o u t m u s i c a n
d i n t h a t w a y c r e a t e a b e t t e r w o r l d f o r o u r c
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a r t i s t va
a l b u m poor boy-nick drake tribute
l a b e l songlines
g e n r e jazz
r i p d a t e 17-07-2004
s t r e e t d a t e 00-00-2004
o r i g i n a l r e l 2004
s u p p l i e r m00g
s o u r c e cd
b i t r a t e VBR
e n c o d e r lame 3.90.3
r e l e a s e n o t e s
British folkster Nick Drake's gorgeous, melancholy, tantalizingly
ambiguous songs have been covered often, but not perhaps with the
range of interpretive powers and depth of emotional commitment that
these (mostly) Vancouver and Seattle artists bring to bear in
re-imagining his music.
Long fascinated and deeply moved by Drake's work as well as by his
enigmatic persona, Songlines label owner Tony Reif mounted a 4 1/2
hour tribute concert in Vancouver in 1999 which was recorded by the
CBC. After mulling over the tapes for a year or two he decided to
produce a tribute record from scratch, with high quality studio sound
and the benefit of hindsight. The concert had covered the stylistic
spectrum, from pop, rock, folk, and singer-songwriter to jazz and
ambient. Reif began by concentrating on the jazz side, revisiting
Nick's songs with Vancouver musicians he knew well -- clarinetist
Francois Houle, vocalist Kate Hammett-Vaughan, pianist Chris Gestrin,
guitarist Tony Wilson, and cellist Peggy Lee, and bassist Simon Fisk
-- and adding vocalists Jason Michas and Danielle Hebert, guitarist
Ron Samworth, trumpeter Brad Turner, violinist Jesse Zubot, drummer
Dylan van der Schyff, and visiting Italian accordionist Filippo
Gambetta. The arrangements left room for improvisation; the feeling
modulated from introspective to hip, knowing to exploratory, and
everything was recorded in a couple of takes, with no overdubs or
editing (except for Houle's solo clarinet fantasia on "Road").
A concert highlight had been the collaboration of singer-songwriter
Veda Hille and one of her heroes, Seattle's Robin Holcomb. Their two
songs were now recorded in Seattle, as was singer-songwriter Ian
Moore's first-time collaboration with the brilliant string player
Eyvind Kang. Reif also organized a session with other Seattle
musicians he had gotten to know -- out/rock guitarist Bill Horist,
genre-busting singer-songwriters Aiko Shimada, Mike Dumovich and Sam
Mickens, and studio/electronics guru Tucker Martine. (As Mount Analog
the latter was also working on a cover of "River Man" with
alt-country songster Jesse Sykes). The Seattle recordings were
tracked more like a pop record: with layers of overdubs certain songs
took on a psychedelic aura, while others seemed stripped down to the
essentials of melody, harmony and lyrics. They frequently made use of
tools not at Drake's disposal (e.g. electronics) or approaches that
might have occurred to him but that he never developed (the
quasi-devotional raga-like feel of "Black Eyed Dog").
Reif now pondered the sequencing. He wanted the record to have an
experiential arc, and knew that like the concert it would climax with
"Black Eyed Dog" followed by Nick's transcendental envoi "From the
Morning." It was already plenty long but, once again unwilling or
unable to call it a day, Reif played his last wild card and emailed
Ian Masters, former lead singer of the British shoegazer band Pale
Saints, now living in Japan. Masters' Friendly Science Orchestra had
contributed to a Tim Buckley tribute but Reif wanted something
farther out; Masters came up with a spookily disengaged rendition of
"Parasite." As the mastering neared completion, Reif decided that to
do the record sonic justice required converting the 24-bit master to
DSD for release as a hybrid SACD (Songlines' preferred format).
For the design of Poor Boy Reif had developed a visual metaphor --
photographs of Drake's black leather pouch/changepurse containing a
1948 ha' penny (the year of his birth), a gift from his father that
he apparently always carried with him for luck...not therefore a coin
to be lightly thrown over the poor boy's shoulder. But, as Richard
and Linda Thompson put it after Nick's death in "The Poor Boy is
Taken Away" -- a song as rich in ironic (yet heartfelt) implication
as many of his own lyrics: No use standing, waving adieu / The penny
won't drop in your mind / The penny won't drop in your mind / The old
flame's left you behind.
A keen sense of absence and its flip side, an intimate if ghostly
presence, is perhaps the central Drake trope, the thing that, once
felt, seems to pull the listener ever deeper into his world of
transience and permanence. Now, with the release in June 2004 of a
newly discovered Drake song and other unheard treasures (Made to Love
Magic, Island/Universal), the legacy will again be re-evaluated. Poor
Boy confirms its expressive potential for musicians drawn to his
vision and capable of giving it their own voice. This is music that
truly crosses styles. (For interviews with some of the musicians
involved: www.songlines.com/drake.html.)
...and remember: s t a y f u f f e n s f o r l i f e
t r a c k l i s t
bill horist-aiko shimada--cello song 05:53
kate hammett-vaughn--clothes of sand 04:51
chris gestrin-simon fisk--one of these things first 02:19
jason michas-chris gestrin--three hours 07:47
robin holcomb-veda hille--hanging on a star 02:37
francois houle 6-danielle hebert--for nick-horn-know 14:04
kate hammett-vaughan--poor boy 06:11
mike dumovich--dly 03:33
friendly science orchestra--parasite 04:09
veda hille-holcomb-houle--road 03:36
bill horist-sam mickens--things behind the sun 04:33
mount analog-jesse sykes--riven man 05:17
ian moore-eyvind kang--black eyed dog 09:33
mike dumovich--from the morning 03:54
78:17
MB 103,3
g r o u p n e w s
From now on, we rip everything in VBR, using --alt-preset standard.
h e l p f u f f e n s
We are looking for quality sites in Europe and US, to be afilliated
on. Remember, we are not in it for the creds, but for the spreading
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that wants/needs it. More pre sites fills this purpose.
g r e e t s
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s p e c i a l g r e e t s t o : SChiZO and FRAGMENT
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u y t h e s t u f f b e c a u s e t h i s i s m a d e b y r e a l a r
t i s t s a p a r t f r o m t h e m a i n s t r e a m p r o d u c t s
t h a t s i n t h e t o p 2 5 l i s t i n t h a t s t o r e y o u w i
l l v i s i t r i g h t a w a y t o s h o w y o u r s u p p o r t t o
t h e t r u e a r t i s t s o f m u s i c - t h e f u f f e n s a r t
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