Nick Drake and others like him

Second the Elliot Smith and Iron&Wine suggestions. Elliot's music is very subtle and grows on you over time. Cheers,
Spencer

I remember playing him quite a while ago and couldn't get on with it, maybe i'll give him another shot. I just get a little turned off by guys in the past 10yrs or so who play somber, navel gazing music and think they're like nick drake. I truly doubt they'll be getting played 40 yrs from now. As to my crack :) about the thread, there are many from nick drake's era who it would serve you all well to check out.

I just get a little turned off by guys in the past 10yrs or so who play somber, navel gazing music and think they're like nick drake. I truly doubt they'll be getting played 40 yrs from now. As to my crack :) about the thread, there are many from nick drake's era who it would serve you all well to check out.

I assume you're talking about Elliot Smith there. I'm actually drawn to rather somber tunes myself, yet I couldn't get into his music either. It all sounds the same to me, very monotone, and doesn't really take me anywhere I'd like to go, in spite of my draw to that type of music in general. It goes a bit too far south, kind of like Mazzy Star does for me (though I like their music better than Smith's), I end up feeling like ending it all myself (which, in Smith's case is what he decided - as did Drake). Again, check into Alexi Murdoch - there's no navel gazing going on there. Where I find Smith lacking in comparison is the lack of the absolutely brilliant sense of musicianship that Drake has. Murdoch definitely shares Drakes intimacy with the guitar and how he's using it to take you through his songs, as well as the sheer diversity of how he uses it.

I'm sure your suggestions would be appreciated - give us some specific suggestions beyond the book you pointed to.

Yes, I find that the thing that ,above all else, draws one to Nick Drake is a sense of profound mystery in his songs...the deep attachment to something perhaps he himself could not get a handle on-something that ultimately overwhelmed him. ...that is what I find missing in so many of the others. Usually, there is no experience of the trancendant there or the mythic. I did hear that in Tim Buckley to some extent... Have not listened enough to the others to make the same.

"Black-Eyed Dog" is perhaps the most poignant example of what I'm talking about. Sometimes it gives me the creeps so bad that I have to just skip over it.

I find that "Way to Blue" is a wonderful album even if some of the strings were added later on in production.

Yes, "Way to Blue" is great, even though I have all the albums, I usually grab it when I want to hear him, even over the "treasury" hits on vinyl.