Pink Moon: First Thoughts

Nick Drake's last release from 1972, Pink Moon, has always been one of my top 10 personal favorite albums to listen to & not for the reasons which you might expect. Very true, he recorded this album while he was in the midst of an extreme depression, a depression which really took the love of music out of him (a love which didn't resurface again until just before his death). But here are just some of the reasons why I love Pink Moon with a passion:


(1) Its brevity. Clocking in at a mere 28 minutes, Pink Moon gets to the point; after one musical statement has been made, Nick moves on to the next one without hesitation. (The longest track, "Things Behind The Sun," is 3:55.) I have always thought Simon & Garfunkel were the masters of making concise music (still do, in fact) but Pink Moon is a concise masterpiece in its own right, a statement which has stood the test of time, long after its creator has passed on.

(2) Its simplicity. Though simple, it also sounds stark & foreboding: Pink Moon is the sound of a man all by his lonesome - his voice & acoustic guitar (the only additional instrumentation - & this too is at an extreme minimum - is a small splash of piano on the title track). And if this isn't enough, this recording was completed in merely two nights, bare bones & all of its spooky vibe intact.

(3) Its emotional impact. Pink Moon reveals an artist not only in a deeply intimate setting - his voice & his acoustic guitar - but also in the throes of a devastating depression of which I mentioned earlier on. For him to create such a masterpiece of haunting, heart-wrenching beauty under such circumstances took a lot of faith & heart. And with his last bonafide album, that's exactly what he did, despite/in spite of the fact that his depression was pretty major.

As reason #3 boldly illustrates, such a beautiful recording like Pink Moon came about during a very dark time in Nick's life. Yet listening time & time again to all 11 songs, I can't help but marvel at how ethereal & riveting this entire album is, stark atmosphere aside. If there was an immense ray of light at the end of the tunnel, Pink Moon is that light, a ray of hope which continues to shine brightly & endure over three decades time.