Starring Jeremy Mason, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Robin Williamson, John Renbourn
Written By:
Directed By:
Studio: MVD
Buy on Amazon.com link
I’ve been a fan of Nick Drake for a few years now but back then I would only just listen to his music on and off. Now it seems like I can’t go by one day without listening to a few songs. Nick Drake wasn’t very successful when he was alive, but once he passed away; his music and life became much more noticeable. In this 90 minute documentary, experts and friends talk about the eclectic British singer/songwriter and criticize his music. After all, the DVD is called ‘Under Review.’ The Under Review series is pretty interesting and I like them a lot because it’s not just a documentary, it’s a critique about the person or that band’s work.
It’s always interesting to me to know a musician’s background and life story. I’m just waiting for their to be a biopic on Nick Drake’s life because it does seem to be quite interesting and depressing at the same time. He only lived to be 26 with many believed to be an apparent suicide on anti-depressants. Plus, he never really got the recognition he deserved until he passed away at such a young age. He made 2 or 3 official albums, and then after his death; there was a few “vault” albums where the estate of Drake’s releases raw recordings of his music. But according to some people in this video, they only believed Nick had two complete albums because Pink Moon was just Nick in a studio recording one or two takes. But to me, ‘Bryter Layter’ and ‘Pink Moon’ are brilliant albums. It’s interesting to hear what some of Nick’s friends, colleagues, and people that have studied Nick’s work think about the musician and his music. All of them think that he definitely had so much more potential, and left this world way too early. Also, some people think he was way ahead of the time because no one was really like him at the time. I agree with one of the members of Fairport Convention in that Nick Drake isn’t just folk music. There’s definitely a little bit of jazz and other genres of music in there as well. Out of the all the songs Nick has written, one that has emerged as a favorite of mine is “Northern Sky” off the Bryter Layter album. It’s such a beautiful piece of music, and very haunting at the same time. One thing I learned about Nick Drake in this Under Review series was he wasn’t very big on live performances. He barely did any live performances, and when he did, he wasn’t happy with them. It’s a shame no one can see any real footage of the man performing.
If you’re a fan of Nick Drake’s music and want to know a little bit more about him, this Under Review series is pretty interesting. The documentary is a more of a critical look at his life and music more than anything, so if you think that’s something you’d enjoy, then check out this DVD.
Features:
– Robin Williamson performing a Tarot Card reading on Nick Drake
– Interactive Nick Drake quiz
Audio:
Video:
Subtitles:
Favorite Scenes:
Rating: NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: