In order to fully examine the minds of torment and depression, one would need to be familiar with Nick Drake's 'Black Eyed Dog.' With his transcendant ability to translate his demons into song, Nick Drake accounts a supernatural phantasm chasing him through the darkness of his own neurosis. 'Black eyed dog he claws at my door' - sung in his upper register, with the use of heavey falcetto, sounds like he is straining to survive a nightmare. His performance, despite the sparse production of acoustic guitar and vocal, is expansive. Use of harmonics and finger roll on this song proves the mastery of his instrument, as an amateur guitarist I am baffled by the sound he can create. The singular pulse of the guitar string rings-out with a delicate harmonic while the layering of other voices continue subtly underneath. And the result is the tragic embrace of his own psychological deterioration; a horror unlike the Macabre style of the French, it stands as its own haunting style, that of 'Drakesque.'
As we know his depression did finally catch up to him, and as a revisionist I would say that Nick knew it would all along, sooner or later. One would only need to hear this song and some of the pieces are put into place.
from Time of No Reply (Hannibal Records HNCD 1318), available on CD
05 Sep 02 ·Liv: they say he had to have several overdubs of his voice on this track until he got it right, because of his depression his voice was trembling.. so far from the classical orchestrations of his early recordings, the sparse instrumentation and the intense emotion of "Black dog" affects you even more as Nick's haunting voice sounds like he's singing through an abyss of infinite darkness and despair.. 28 Feb 03 ·songs-I-love: Actually, the lyrics to this song go "A black-eyed
dog, he CALLED at my door...", but with Nick's way
of singing (or rather: expressing himself), it's
just all too easy to get confused.
The line "I'm growing old and I wanna go home" gets
through my heart like a bullet every time I hear
it. Only few songs can evoke such strong emotions in me. 13 Jul 05 ·kkkerplunkkk: Yes beautiful and chilling, but it's a small comfort to know that this wasn't actually the last song he ever recorded, that sad honour going to the recently discovered Tow The Line.
It�s about ten years ago I heard Nick Drake for the first time, and I understood that the sixties were more than just Beatles and the Stones. Nick Drake has truly done an huge impact on me.
Nick Drake's style is probably catagorized under British folk rock. This song is smooth with the happy keys jumping around and the organ in the background. Best if played while driving with the windows down on a cool morning.
14 Jun 04 ·eftimihn: A song of plain, pure beauty. It's emotionally moving, especially when he sings "Would you love me through the winter/Would you love me 'til I'm dead"
Well, Nick Drake seems to be finally enjoying his place in the sun, fame & success-wise, even if: 'Fame is but a fruit tree, so very unsound'.
I first heard Nick Drake being played in a record shop in London. I thought it was '60's Donovan. Anyway, it wasn't & I bought the record and haven't looked back since.
Part of his non-success was due to his inabilty to come up with a hit single, or a single at all and this was still, to a large degree, a singles era.
I've often thought that this song, of all of his, could have been a single, given a slightly different treatment.
Anyway, it wasn't, but I love it very much and do think it's one of his catchiest, even though that's probably not the right word for anything by Nick Drake.
from Pink Moon (Island) available on CD - Yes (Island)
