Album of the Day — July 23
Nick Drake — Bryter Layter
Published in
8 min readJul 23, 2020
23.July.2020
Nick Drake
Bryter Layter
1970
In looking at Nick Drake’s oeuvre, conventional wisdom would point to looking at either his first album, Five Leaves Left, or his last studio recording, Pink Moon.
Naturally, I selected neither.
Often overlooked is the middle child album, 1970’s Bryter Layter.
After the antagonistic indifference that met his debut, Five Leaves Left, Englishman Drake returned to the studio with producer ex-pat American Joe Boyd.
Where Five Leaves Left is notable for its sparse instrumentation and Drake’s solo approach, Bryter Layter is the opposite.
- There are brass instruments and lush string arrangements — all by Robert Kirby — who would go on to work with Elton John, Paul Weller, and Elvis Costello, among others.
- There are drums — played by Beach Boy drummer Mike Kowalski and Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks.
- There are collaborations — most notably, Richard Thompson (lead guitar on “Hazy Jane II”), and The Velvet Underground’s John Cale (viola and harpsichord on “Fly” and celeste, piano and organ on “Northern Sky”)
