Nick Drake: Bryter Lyter

One of the things I've learned from my musical sage, Sean, is that albums, like weather, are seasonal. Nick Drake, it seems, is sensational at creating autumnal albums.

Much like Van Morrison's Moondance, both this album and Pink Moon convey the autumnal season sense. A cool, brisk evening. Leaves falling. You can feel the fall morning frost.

That being said, this album feels like it fails a bit where Pink Moon succeeded. Coming two years before Moon, I feel like Drake may have seen where to take things differently to get it right.

Bryter Lyter gets it right enough to get it overall, but falters in a few spots. Hazy Jane II just doesn't work quite right inside of the context of the album; neither does Sunday.

On the other hand, Hazy Jane I, One of These Things First, Poor Boy, and Northern Sky seem to nail that sound right on the head.

In the end: Even being a lesser Nick Drake album puts this far above anything else out there. Enjoy Pink Moon first, then this one.

Technorati Tagged: Nick Drake | Folk Rock