The first time I listened to Nick Drake was after Christmas 1979. Fruit Tree, the three record box set of all his three albums had been on my wishlist. It was difficult to get hold of. My mother had to order it. It probably arrived early January 1980. I don't remember what I felt when I heard Time Has Told Me, the first song on Nick's first record Five Leaves Left. I was 16 and stood six foot three at the time. The exact height of Nick Drake. He was the hero of my late youth. I never met anybody (up till 1990 or something) who knew his music and I only shared it with my best friend. Nick's music was a part of me. There were times when I thought he sang about me. About my inability to connect to life, to find a girl-friend. He was my friend in spirit though he had been dead for five years already. He was me. And still is.

I just heard a cover of Day Is Done by Norah Jones (see last post). And thought she should have been forbidden to cover him. God was her version shallow. Additionally she probably sold more with this one song than Nick did with all his records in his lifetime. Fck her. Nick Drake in my world is the most difficult musician to cover. I only heard a cover of his once before. It was Joey Burns from Calexico doing Clothes of Sand. It is a very nice rendition of the song though I must admit that this song is not on Fruit Tree, I guess it is on the compilation of rarities called Time of No Reply which I only have on tape (got it later) and didn't listen to very often. I never ever want to hear a cover of any song of any of the three original Nick Drake studio albums in my life again. I want to keep him in my heart like when I was 16. In January 1980.

Nick Drake Special on BBC2, narrated by Brad Pitt (!). (via said the gramophone)