Pink Moon

Pink Moon
Studio album by Nick Drake
Released	25 February 1972 (1972-02-25)
Recorded	October 1971 at Sound Techniques, London
Genre	Folk
Length	28:22
Label	Island
Producer	John Wood
Professional reviews
Allmusic link The Music Box link Q link Rolling Stone link
Nick Drake chronology
Bryter Layter (1970) Pink Moon (1972) Fruit Tree (1978)

Pink Moon is the third and final album by British musician Nick Drake. It was recorded at midnight in 2 two-hour sessions, over two days in October 1971, featuring only Nick Drake's vocals and guitar, as well as some piano later overdubbed by Drake on the title track.

Album information

Initially, Pink Moon garnered a small amount of critical attention, but after Drake's death it received widespread public and critical acclaim. The music on Pink Moon is sparse and unadorned (especially in comparison to Drake's previous recordings), leading some to consider it to be the least accessible of his three albums, though it nevertheless continues to be thought of by many of his fans as his greatest work.

In 1999, the title track was used in "Milky Way", a Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and lensed by Lance Acord, leading to a large increase in record sales,^[1] and a number-five placing for Pink Moon in Amazon.com's sales chart.^[2]

The cover of the album features an illustration by the partner of Drake's sister Gabrielle, Michael Trevithick.

Reception and influence

In 2000, Melody Maker placed Pink Moon at 48th in their list of 'All Time Top 100 Albums'.

In 2000, NME ranked it #8 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums."

In 2003, the album was ranked number 320 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

In 2004 was named the 13th on Top 100 Albums of the 1970s by Pitchfork Media.

Entertainment Weekly (12 May 2000, p.24) - "One voice, one guitar, one set of beautifully dolorous songs...the equivalent of an amble down a darkened country road. Model after-hours listening." - Rating: A

Q magazine (August 2000, pp.112–3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Nick Drake's best album....[Its] excellence shines through....Few records have ever sounded so intimate, or embodied Melancholy with such grace and assurance."

Alternative Press (March 2001, p.88) - "With a voice paradoxically feather-light and grave, [one] of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever recorded."

Mojo (July 2000, p.99) - "His masterpiece and the Robert Johnson comparisons are fully deserved."

Spin (p.101) - "[H]is Keatsian mark on music is indelible."

Track listing

All songs written and played by Nick Drake.

1. "Pink Moon" – 2:06
2. "Place to Be" – 2:43
3. "Road" – 2:02
4. "Which Will" – 2:58
5. "Horn" – 1:23
6. "Things Behind the Sun" – 3:57
7. "Know" – 2:26
8. "Parasite" – 3:36
9. "Free Ride" – 3:06
10. "Harvest Breed" – 1:37
11. "From the Morning" – 2:30

Personnel

• Nick Drake - vocals, acoustic guitar on all songs; piano on "Pink Moon"
• John Wood - production, engineering

Releases

slip cover of the 2000 remastered edition

• 1972 - LP: Island ILPS 9184 / UK, original release on the first "palm tree" label
• 1972 - LP: Island SMAS 9318 / US, first US release
• 1980s - LP: Island ILPS 9184 / UK, re-release on the orange-blue "palm tree" label; Discogs

LP: Island 1980s re-issue

LP: Island 1980s re-issue

• 1990 - CD: Island IMCD 94 / Polygram 842 923-2; CD release within the Island Masters series; Discogs

• 1992 - CD: Hannibal HNCD 4436 / US; Discogs
• 2000 - CD: Island IMCD 94/ Universal 842 923, international re-release within the Island Masters series now labeled "Island Re-Masters" with additional slip cover, and original label reprint on the CD.

• 2003 - CD: Island 422 842 923-2 / US; Discogs

References

External links

• Pink Moon at MusicBrainz
• VW Cabrio commercial