Plays Nick Drake
Gilbert Isbin

The late Nick Drake has become somewhat of a cult hero since his death in 1974 (the result of on overdose of prescribed anti-depressants). The hidden sophistication in Drake's music have made him a favorite of many musicians, while his darkly-themed lyrics have attracted an entirely different audience. Despite this underground appreciation, however, Nick Drake's music has remained largely unheard by the general public.
Enter Gilbert Isbin; a guitarist whose rather dark, brooding body of work seem to make him the perfect candidate for interpreting songs from the Nick Drake songbook. The resulting all-instrumental 11 song tribute CD (ten Drake tunes and one original composition) is a highly impressionistic, often abstract recording, that is generally a very pleasurable listen.
Isbin's interpretations of Drake's music range from rather straightforward (as on "River Man") to virtually unrecognizable (on tunes like "Way to Blue"). One of Isbin's signature techniques throughout is using a low open string drone throughout a song, reharmonizing melodies over the pedal. Which makes for some very tense harmonic moments, which Isbin embraces with great relish. All of the instruments (various overdubbed acoustic guitars) on the recording are played by Isbin, although it should be noted the music is extremely minimal throughout, and overdubbing is kept to a relative minimum.
It is not a guarantee that fans of Drake's music will necessarily enjoy Gilbert Isbin Plays Nick Drake. Isbin is not afraid to freely interpret Drake's themes, and make them his own. In doing so, Isbin certainly makes the music somewhat less accessible to the general public. For the adventurous and patient listener, however, Isbin's latest effort will be rather rewarding.
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