Meet Jens Carelius.  Jens, my friends, is from Oslo.  That’s in Norway.  And as Jens will tell you, he sings the blues.

Aside from the devilishly throw back album cover, Carelius’ approach harkens back to the 70s folk and blues writing.  But to ignore the fact that he sounds almost exactly like Nick Drake, both in instrumentation and in vocals, would simply be foolish.  From that sense, Carelius is not really creating anything original; rather, he is entering territory that has been trod quite frequently yet unsuccessful.

The First Songs is more like a collection of some excellently concocted posthumous Nick Drake masterpieces.  But before I begin to proffer too much praise, Carelius does fall short.  Part of it stems from the fact that this music is too familiar.  Part of it stems from the fact that the mystery of Nick Drake should remain one–and his all too similar voice almost ruins that intrigue.  Nevertheless, The First Songs is worth more than a listen.D

Details about purchasing this album have been scant, but check his myspace.

Listen to “Song #1” (4.8/5)

Listen to “Summer Skin” (4.6/5)

I find the whole aura around Nick Drake to be simply fascinating on multiple levels. For one, how is it that such a miserable human being could craft equally beautiful arrangements? Moreover, how could these magnificent works be cast aside by several record companies during his lifetime? And perhaps the greatest irony of all is the sudden popularity and prevalence of Nick Drake tribute artists/bands over the past several years. Now the record companies are willing to sponsor anything with his name on it!

I would like to draw your attention, though, to the most recent of the Nick Drake tribute artists–esteemed classical pianist and now cover artist Christopher O’Riley. After having released a successful tribute album for Radiohead, O’Riley takes on the melodic piano-heavy music of Nick Drake and again achieves success. Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake is a collection of modest grand piano arrangements that convey the grace and beauty of Drake’s music with each stroke. Perhaps it’s just hearing the music played on a finer instrument that enhances its effect, but I would like to think that O’Riley’s skill has a great deal to do with it as well. “Three Hours” perfectly captures that addictive dissonance of the real version, while “Northern Sky” and “One of These Things First” have a particular fragility to them that make up for the lack of vocals. O’Riley is truly at his best on “Introduction-Bryter Layer”, which finds him not only mimicking but somehow taking the Drake’s work to the next level.

Go and and get a copy of Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake
Listen to “Introduction – Bryter Layer” (4.7/5)
Listen to “One Of These Things First” (4.6/5)

The now illustrious Nick Drake has pulled a 2pac with his latest collection of posthumous songs, Family Tree. While some of the tracks are a bit scratchy and relatively filler material, even the weaker tracks give a deeper look into a musical genius that had such a troubled mind. You can hear Drake making jokes over the demo takes, offering a rather lighter glance at the king of symphonic folk arrangements. What is very clear on this 22-track gem is the relative ease with which Drake could make instantly classic pop-folk-blues tunes, that would flirt between the delightfully cheerful music accompaniment to the rather dark and nature based imagery employed in the lyrics. “Black Mountain Blues” sounds like his classic “Man in A Shed” while “My Baby’s So Sweet” is a jammin’, fun-filled, blues-soul gem that features those silky smooth baritone vocals that made listeners perk up their ears in the first place.

Listen to “Black Mountain Blues” (4.9/5)
Listen to “Blues Run The Game” (4.6/5)