Always Woman

Virgil, that famous Roman poet of old, is on record to have proclaimed that 'woman is ever a fickle and changeable thing'. Be that as it may, here's a pair of lovely recent tunes by two strong and talented women. Semper femina indeed. Let Laura Marling bowl you over first with the price track of her last album, and listen to Joan Shelley's mouthwatering take on an old chestnut next. I'm sure Nick Drake, and maybe even ole Virgil himself, would have been proud.

Laura Marling - The Valley
Joan Shelley - Time Has Told Me

Calling Me Last Night

It's six pack time again, folks. This time, you got to lift - or throw - ev'ry voice and sing! You know you want to. Artwork as usual by the lovely Tinca.

The Radiants -Voice Your Choice
The Bees - Voices Green And Purple
Anita Carter - Voice Of The Bayou
Nick Drake - Voice From The Mountain
Buddy Boy Hawkins - Voice Throwing Blues
Shooby Taylor - Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing

Brighten My Northern Sky

In his short life, Nick Drake only recorded three longplayers and change. And although hardly anyone got it at the time, all of them contained pure musical magic. Don´t know about you, but I´m always hard pressed to name my fave Drake album. Sometimes it´s the bleak Pink Moon, sometimes the almost baroque Five Leaves Left, and at the moment I´d definitely go for the lushest one in the canon: Bryter Layter.

"Would you love me through the winter,

Would you love me ´til I´m dead,
Oh, if you would and you could, come blow your horn on high...."

Nick Drake - Northern Sky MP3

Family Tree

I´ve always been an admirer of Nick Drake. Dead way too young at age 26 after a long bout with chronic depression, he left behind only three albums that never got much recognition during his lifetime. Nowadays Five Leaves Left (´69), Bryter Layter (´70) and Pink Moon (´72) are widely regarded as classics however.

It´s a small oeuvre, so I was very happy when Island Records finally released Family Tree last year, a cd collecting Drake´s home recordings from the days before he had a proper recording contract. This is Nick Drake finding his form and trying out styles at his parental home in Tanworth-in-Arden, in Aix En Provence and in Cambridge. These tapes were circulating in collector´s circles for ages btw, but the sound quality has been much improved upon here. We learn just how these tracks started to circulate in the first place from the intimate liner notes by his sister: when after his death fans started to show up at the Warwickshire house where Nick was brought up, his parents would welcome these pilgrims with open arms, showing them around and even making copies of these recordings for those who asked.

There´s a lot of interesting stuff to be found on Family Tree, but it only hints at the genius Drake would display later on. So be sure to buy the three regular albums first (or the Fruit Tree boxset, with features a nice extra disc of rest material). The first three tracks below are classic Nick Drake - one from each cd - for the uninitiated among you, while the last three are from Family Tree.

Nick Drake - Day Is Done MP3

Nick Drake - Northern Sky MP3

Nick Drake - Pink Moon MP3

Nick Drake - Blues Run The Game MP3

Nick Drake - Been Smokin´ Too Long MP3

Nick Drake - Way To Blue MP3