Track Listing

1. Cello Song
2. Hazey Jane I
3. Way to Blue
4. Things Behind the Sun
5. River Man
6. Poor Boy
7. Time of No Reply
8. From the Morning
9. One of These Things First
10. Northern Sky
11. Which Will
12. Hazey Jane II
13. Time Has Told Me
14. Pink Moon
15. Black Eyed Dog
16. Fruit Tree

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48016 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
The options where Nick Drake is concerned are limited, but wholly appealing. The downhearted singer-songwriter released only three albums in his 26 years; the posthumous rarities collection, Time of No Reply, rounds out his abbreviated oeuvre. The whole lot is contained in the exemplary four-disc Fruit Tree box set. Way to Blue is a scaled-back option for those who are enchanted by Drake's intricate yet cozy lamentations, but feel no need to join the ever-growing legion of Drake completists. But while the 16 songs included here provide a fine introduction to the ill-fated Englishman's work (which seems to fit together no matter how it's sequenced), Drake is one of those rare artists whose entire catalog is worth owning due to its excellence and, sadly, its brevity. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Hearing the music
Music reviews are difficult because we each hear the music differently. Our experience with an eclectic array of musical ideas frames how we hear the music.

My college years were 67-71 so I had broad exposure to the early English invasion - my favorites included the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Cream. At the same time I appreciated many American groups - Beach Boys, Byrds, Blood Sweat and Tears.

As time passed I experienced jazz and began to appreciate more textures in the music. Early jazz influences included the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Weather Report and Miles Davis.

Favorite singer/songwriters included James Taylor, Carol King, Joni Mitchell and early Elton John.

I write all this to give context to my perceptions of Nick Drake.

Nick Drake wrote beautiful, complex songs during his brief career. He did not write boring 3 chord progressions. Rather his music has many layers of complexity. While I do not find his lyrics profound, along with the music, I find them haunting.

For me the test of a CD is how often I want to listen to it. Does it addict me? Do the songs stay fresh as they become familar?

Nick Drake succeeded - even though few knew it at the time. His songs are timeless because his music remains interesting and unpredictable. He wrote uniquely - and that is wonderful.

So for those who do not hear the music as I and many other fans do - de gustibus non est disputandum. This CD meets my standard of greatness.

So who will like it - those who like their music a bit more complex - those who find that music creates mood - those who like Van Morrison, Jimmie Spheeris, and Leonard Cohen.

Four Reasons to hate Nick Drake and One Reason To Love Him
Four reasons to hate Nick Drake:

1. Folk music, haunting vocals, sensitive and bittersweet lyrics -- all for sissies! I'm a wartime reviewer, so I have to judge success on these matters.

2. Mellow, melancholy music recorded by a guy who killed himself at 27 -- you're kidding, right? That's not real life, it's a cliche from a screenplay written by a goth pothead freshman at NYU.

3. Bunch of yuppie hipsters ... driving around in their shiny new VWs ... playing Nick Drake to pretend that their souls haven't been crushed by an adult life consisting of crass commercialism and empty sex ... well I hate 'em all. And no, I'm not jealous.

4. Every open mic night has at least one Nick Drake wannabe, and, if you can believe it, they're usually even worse than the aging ex-frat boy in a hawaiian shirt accompanying Margaritaville on a casiotone.

One reason to love Nick Drake:

1. This CD, and any of his original releases, has some of the most beautiful music you'll ever hear. If you truly hate Nick Drake's music the part of your brain that forms fond childhood memories and tells you to stop and smell the flowers is probably damaged or missing.

If you've never heard much Nick Drake this CD is a great start.

Eerily compelling folkie blues
This is an excellent introduction to the work of Nick Drake. It also provides an entirely new perspective on his genius since the tracks are not arranged in chronological order. The individual albums are all classics but they are very much self-contained units that make one associate a particular song with the album. Way To Blue thus lends a new angle in the mix of songs. Although 10 tracks are repeated from the 1985 Heaven In A Wild Flower, the sound quality is much better.

From the album Bryter Later come Hazey Jane I and II, Poor Boy, One Of These Things First and Northern Sky. Five Leaves Left contributes Cello Sing, Way To Blue, River Man and Time Has Told Me, whilst the stark minimalist album Pink Moon supplies Things Behind The Sun, Which Will and the title track. Black Eyed Dog and Time Of No reply come from the posthumous Time Of No Reply album.

On Sweet Old World Lucinda Williams beautifully covered Which Will and Swans made a bloodcurdling version of Black Eyed Dog, found on their Various Failures album. The group Drive covered his song Road on their early 90s album Out Freakage. The Dream Academy dedicated the song Life In A Northern Town (1985) to Nick Drake. His song Mayfair had already been covered by Millie (of My Boy Lollipop fame) in 1970.

My only complaint about Way To Blue is the omission of Fly, a song that first appeared on Bryter Later and was then included, in a different version, on Time Of No Reply. In my opinion, it is one of his most moving songs. Besides that, this compilation contains the best of Drake's eerily compelling music but it is still worth it to investigate the original albums.