The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake

by Nick Drake

Overview

The relatively scant body of work English folk singer Nick Drake created in his short life has proven to be one of the more lastingly influential in music history. Though plenty of artists have impacted the sound and vision of those that followed, the painful obscurity of Drake's music while he was alive, the incredible power he harnessed in just three studio albums, and the mysterious air that touched everything he did all contribute to the unique spell he has continuously cast over generations of fans and music makers. The Endless Coloured Ways is one of several various-artists compilations paying tribute to Drake's catalog, but this one has an interesting angle in that the acts involved were instructed to ignore the original version of the song they covered and instead reinvent it in their own way. This concept yields a better mix of results than might be expected. Let's Eat Grandma's soft electro-pop take on "From the Morning" doesn't lose any of the original's gentle joy, despite completely replacing its fingerpicked guitars with vibrating synth pads and the static sway of an archaic drum machine. AURORA's beautiful electronic take on "Pink Moon" is similar. A hazy duet on "Harvest Breed" by Skullcrusher and Gia Margaret builds on Drake's spare arrangement with cloudy ambient textures and layers of haunted vocal harmonies. There's a gnawing post punk-rendition of "Cello Song" from Fontaines D.C., a rearrangement of "Northern Sky" from Karine Polwart and Kris Drever that pairs jazz inflections with traditional folk vocal styles, and a fairly faithful cover of "Time Has Told Me" from Ben Harper -- all ear-catching standouts. Due to the nature of the compilation's prompt, The Endless Coloured Ways lacks continuity, and some of its unmoored stylistic experiments clash with one another. The strongest submissions make it worth the listen, however, as it's wonderful to hear yet another generation of artists doing interesting things inspired by Drake's evergreen presence. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	07/07/2023
Label:	Chrysalis Records
UPC:	0810098500128
Rank:	28322

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Voices [Prelude]  -  Wandering Hearts
2. 'Cello Song  -  Fontaines D.C.
3. Hazey Jane II  -  Prince
4. Saturday Sun  - Mike Lindsay
5. Road  -  Bombay Bicycle Club  -  Staves
6. From the Morning  -  Let's Eat Grandma
7. Place to Be  - David Gray
8. Three Hours  - Aldous Harding  - John Parish
9. Parasite  -  Stick in the Wheel
10. Time Has Told Me  - Ben Harper
11. One Of These Things First  - Emeli Sande
12. Northern Sky  - Kris Drever  - Karine Polwart
13. Black Eyed Dog  - Craig Armstrong

Disc 2

14. Road (Reprise)  -  Bombay Bicycle Club  -  Staves
15. Poor Boy  - Nadia Reid
16. Which Will  - Christian Lee Hutson
17. Harvest Breed  - Gia Margaret  -  Skullcrusher
18. I Think They're Leaving Me Behind  - Katherine Priddy
19. Pink Moon  -  AURORA
20. Time of No Reply  - Joe Henry  - Meshell Ndegeocello
21. River Man  -  Famous Blue Cable
22. Free Ride  - Liz Phair
23. Fly  - Phil Selway
24. Day Is Done  - John Grant
25. Voices  -  Wandering Hearts

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Craig Armstrong   Primary Artist
Joe Henry   Primary Artist
Famous Blue Cable   Primary Artist
Katherine Priddy   Primary Artist
Gia Margaret   Primary Artist
Fontaines D.C.   Primary Artist
The Wandering Hearts   Primary Artist
Let's Eat Grandma   Primary Artist
Nadia Reid   Primary Artist
Stick in the Wheel   Primary Artist
AURORA   Primary Artist
Christian Lee Hutson   Primary Artist
Aldous Harding   Primary Artist
Skullcrusher   Primary Artist
The Staves   Primary Artist
Emeli Sande   Primary Artist
David Gray   Primary Artist
Bombay Bicycle Club   Primary Artist
Kris Drever   Primary Artist
John Parish   Primary Artist
Ben Harper   Primary Artist
Mike Lindsay   Primary Artist
Karine Polwart   Primary Artist
Meshell Ndegeocello   Primary Artist
Prince   Primary Artist
Phil Selway   Primary Artist
Liz Phair   Primary Artist
John Grant   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Nick Drake   Composer