Family Tree

It's hard to listen to Nick Drake and not be reminded of those VW commercials where "Pink Moon" played while hipsters rode through the dark in their cabriolet. Nick Drake has the voice that you hear in your dreams at night. His new release, Family Tree, contains songs he recorded with his mother and family before having a record deal. Nick Drake masterfully fingers folk songs on his guitar and sometimes the piano. I have always admired his skill of making a few instruments sound like many, but what I found most impressive were the tracks where his mother and sister sang.

Music obviously ran in the Drake family, and it's difficult to listen to the CD without feeling that you are in the Drake living room yourself. Although I found Family Tree to be a fascinating look inside the Drake household, I would only recommend it for die hard Nick Drake fans, and would recommend newcomers to start with Bryter Layter _or _Pink Moon.

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