Constantly looking to the past, modern rock music is in the grip of the Orpheus syndrome: in an attempt to revive the songs and poems of bygone days, we constantly wander through the underworld in search of ancient beauty. However, like Orpheus and Eurydice, we run the risk of forever losing our beloved: music. The Endless Colored Ways: The Music Of Nick Drake is another trip back in time in an attempt to resurrect one of rock music’s most influential and multifaceted icons, a legitimate operation supported by an unprecedented advertising campaign. This is not the first time Nick Drake has been the subject of more or less dedicated rereading. His small selection of songs – just three albums and a few posthumously unreleased tracks – has been reimagined with constant devotion and some unwitting derision, but the number of artists involved in “The Endless Colored Ways: The Music Of Nick Drake” is so significant that he deserves careful analysis.
It’s easy to become disillusioned with the apparent transfiguration of atmospheres and ideas evoked by Nick Drake on three masterpiece albums – Five Leaves Left, Bryter Later and Pink Moon – and it’s only natural to resort to deliberate speculation and commercial gimmicks. questionable honesty limited edition which only offers a seven-inch, but not unprecedented); but it would be cruel to remain indifferent to the elegant update of songs like “Place To Be” or “Hazey Jane II”.
The only certainty that another tribute to Drake offers is that the wonderful myth built around the British musician fits a unique and unparalleled repertoire. Therefore, conceptual revolutions in the approach to his creative heritage are welcome, given that no arrangement can be compared in strength with the originals.
Credit should be given to DC Fontaines for extracting the lead and hot iron from ‘Cello Song’, or to avant-garde folk band Stick In The Wheel for giving ‘Parasite’ an unhealthy and worn charm that the deceased wouldn’t mind. author. .
Folk writers such as Karin Polwarth and Chris Drever deftly avoid drifting the useless Northern Sky-style dub: Emeli Sande ventures a reckless and successful funky reading of One Of These Thing First, and it’s commendable. a pop distortion of “Three Hours”, even if Nick Drake’s most loyal fans will enjoy playing with AURORA’s respectful yet innovative version of “Pink Moon”.
Like all cover albums, “The Endless Colored Ways: The Music Of Nick Drake” is also an edgy project with ups and downs. Every listener will find strengths and weaknesses to argue about, but no matter what, it is Nick Drake’s cover project that has received the most media exposure, even if such operations risk freezing the myth and rendering it bloodless and purely self-referential.
I am not silent about the light hope that some listeners, turning their eyes to the past and at the right time to Drake’s music, this time will be able to save Eurydice from a sad fate.
08/14/2023