A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.
Word has been out for several decades now, but for a time Nick Drake was one of music’s best kept secrets. Artists like Robert Smith drew upon Drake’s inspiration early on, but many fans didn’t even know who Nick Drake was or heard anything from his relatively short, but profound catalog until years after his death. With a return to cleaner acoustic-driven, folk-inspired, singer-songwriter records after the grunge era, Nick’s music resonated with fans, including the title track to the last album before his death: “Pink Moon”.
In between verses, Nick sings “Pink, pink, pink, pink”, going lower with each repetition, demonstrating the deep richness of his oak-barreled baritone voice. It’s a marvel to behold that a voice so deep can be so delicate and even serene – a stark contrast to the raw edge found in singers like Johnny Cash, Ian Curtis and Tom Waits. Nick’s voice – not just his vocals, but his message – has no peers. Even still today.
“I SAW IT WRITTEN AND I SAW IT SAY, A PINK MOON IS ON ITS WAY.”