Nick Drake, Richard Morton Jack
Nick Drake, Richard Morton Jack
List: $38.99 | Sale: $27.30
Club: $19.49

Nick Drake
The Life

Author: Richard Morton Jack, Gabrielle Drake

Narrator: Richard Morton Jack, Gabrielle Drake

Unabridged: 19 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 11/14/2023


Synopsis

Experience the only memoir of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the twentieth century with this eye-opening book featuring a foreword by Gabrielle Drake. In 1968, Nick Drake had everything to live for. The product of a loving, creative family and a privileged background, he was not only a handsome and popular Cambridge undergraduate, but also a new signing to the UK’s hippest record label, Island.
 
Three years later, however—having made three well reviewed but low-selling albums—Nick had been overwhelmed by a mysterious mental illness. He returned to live in his family home in rural Warwickshire in 1971, and died in obscurity in 1974, aged just 26.
 
In the decades since, Nick has become the subject of ever-growing fascination and speculation. Combined sales of his records now stand in the millions, his songs are frequently heard on TV and in films, and he has become one of the most widely known and admired singer-songwriters of his generation.
 
Nick Drake: The Life is the only biography of Nick to be written with the blessing and involvement of his sister and estate. Drawing on copious original research and new interviews with his family, friends, and musical collaborators, as well as deeply personal archive material unavailable to previous writers—including his father’s diaries, his essays, and private correspondence—this is the most comprehensive and authoritative account possible of Nick’s short and enigmatic life.

About Richard Morton Jack

Richard Morton Jack's other books include Galactic Ramble, Endless Trip and Labyrinth. He has overseen reissues of many classic rock, jazz and folk albums, and edits the music history magazine Flashback. He is the co-founder of the music marketplace and archive elvinyl.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on November 04, 2023

**Five Stars** The story of Nick Drake has been teasing at the edges of my mind for several years as I would skim snatches of articles about this tragic artist from decades ago. All I gleaned to date was that he was a British musician, extremely talented, not appreciated globally during his time, a t......more

Goodreads review by None on April 06, 2025

Nick Drake's story is a melancholic melody, one that starts with a promising intro but fades into a heart-wrenching descent. Unlike his sardonic contemporary Bob Dylan, Drake craved recognition yet retreated from the very audiences who could provide it. This irony is a recurring motif throughout the......more

Goodreads review by MR on June 17, 2023

This is an engrossing, deeply moving portrait of one of the most gifted British musicians of the 20th Century. Heartbreaking, tender and moving. Morton Jack leaves no stone unturned. I got through the beautifully read audiobook of 19hrs(!) in just over a week. I couldn’t stop listening.......more

Goodreads review by Chris on April 04, 2024

Back in 1985 I was sitting in a caravan in Wales listening to Richard Skinner’s Saturday Sequence on BBC Radio 1. Andy Kershaw came on and waxed lyrical about a new compilation album by the little known (and deceased) English folk musician Nick Drake. I was transfixed and bought the record, titled H......more

Goodreads review by Tyler on January 24, 2025

Read this 450-page sucker in about a day! Typing this in something of a delirium, but oh well. Nick Drake is an all-timer for me. I’m knocking off a star because this bio does the annoying “at X time on X day, [FULL LEGAL NAME] was birthed to a loving mother and father…” thing. You have to read a si......more


Quotes

"This is the book we've been waiting for . . . It is a biography to be treasured."—Joe Boyd