Article: The Best Version Of ... Nick Drake's Bryter Layter

Good Lord, another epic review and write-up. Amazing!!!

Was slightly familiar with Drake, but had never heard a whole album. Just listened to Bryter Layter 24/96 on Qobuz, and it's quite good sounding - a nice warm "analog like" sound. It does sound like a 1970 recording (not lots of very low or very high frequencies), but it's definitely a good listen.

Now I just have to get to know the songs better. The Qobuz has the lyrics for most of the songs, which helps.

Oh wow!  Thanks so very much for this @JoshM! 

I have 8 Nick Drake albums (all the originals plus various European complications and rarities)--all on vinyl LP.  The only digital albums I have are Bryter Later and the compilations "A Treasury" (24/96KHz from SACD rips) and "Way to Blue".  

I do not know the provenance of the digital Bryter Later I have (I'll have to strain my eyes and neck looking through my unorganized CD shelves), but I sure do know how large the differences between masterings can be.

[Sidetrack: I became an audiophile record collector at 12--46 years ago, spending all my part-time job dollars on British rock import LPs in L.A. record stores, often the same week of release. Between those LPs--still in pristine condition since even as a teen I cleaned records and quality cartridge stylus religiously--and my jazz and world music collection I could probably finance another house if I had the patience to sell and if the market still exists.]

Once I moved towards CDs (not until the early '90s because CD mastering and playback was really cold and lifeless until then and gave me headaches) I quickly discovered how bad many CD remasterings were/are.  So of course not only do I have several (or a half-dozen!) versions of favorite LPs, but now the same with CD/digital album releases.

Sadly I have neither the time, patience, or writing skills of our Mr. Josh here. Otherwise I'd offer up VBVO articles on favorite digital versions of records such as:

--Pentangle (the first one)

--Nina Simone "Little Girl Blue"

--King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (or any of their first 4 albums)

--Jethro Tull "Minstrel in the Gallery"

etc.

Sorry for the diversion.  I am just awestruck with your prowess and patience in producing these highly informative and useful articles. Bravo!

P.S.  For those just discovering Nick Drake: Bryter Later is terrific, but do not overlook the preceding "Five Leaves Left."

It too is a landmark work of songwriting, arrangements, and musicianship.  Richard Thompson (then of Fairport Convention) and Danny Thompson (then of Pentangle) accompany, as do a number of other talented season players.

"Cello Song", "Fruit Tree", "River Man" are all stone classics--great feeling and great SQ. 

Haven't even read this yet, but was introduced to Nick Drake by a roommate in 1980 and very much appreciate the opportunity to learn more about (and snag the best sounding version of) this album all these years "layter."

(Also agree with @Superdad about Five Leaves Left.)

Great review! 😊 I put on my SACD of Nick Drake's A Treasury while reading this review. I think Island did a great job on this SACD, it sounds very warm and realistic, however it's the only Nick Drake recording I've ever heard so I have no idea how it compares to his other albums.

The credits list the 5.1 mix by John Wood with Clive Gregson, no mention of who performed the 2.0 mix.

5 of the songs from Bryter Layter are on this compilation: Introduction, Hazey Jane I, Hazey Jane II, Poor Boy, Northern Sky

4 of the songs are from Five Leaves Left: River Man, Cello Song, Fruit Tree, Way To Blue

4 of the songs are from Pink Moon: Pink Moon, Place To Be, Road, From The Morning

2 of the songs are from Made to Love Magic: Magic, Black Eyed Dog 

Made to Love Magic was a 2004 compilation album of out-takes and remixed tracks.

"Magic" was originally recorded for the Five Leaves Left sessions but did not appear on the final album.

I've now read the very fine and enjoyable article, and wanted to mention someone who's noted in passing there: John Martyn. He's not that widely known, at least in the US, but had an absolutely prodigal career of about 40 years. I had the pleasure of seeing him live a very long time ago. He might be the second best acoustic guitar player I've ever seen after John McLaughlin, and I've seen Clapton among others. His unique vocals were better than the guitar playing as far as I'm concerned. They were half-jazz-scatted, half-sung, and a bit mumbled, especially in his mid to late career. One of my favorite albums is his No Little Boy from 1993, a reworking of some of his own material. (He liked reworking material, never doing one of his songs the same way twice, and he went through various labels, so his discography is, to put it politely, a bit disordered.)

If you find yourself liking Nick Drake, check out Martyn.

13 minutes ago, Jud said:

I've now read the very fine and enjoyable article, and wanted to mention someone who's noted in passing there: John Martyn. He's not that widely known, at least in the US, but had an absolutely prodigal career of about 40 years. I had the pleasure of seeing him live a very long time ago. He might be the second best acoustic guitar player I've ever seen after John McLaughlin, and I've seen Clapton among others. His unique vocals were better than the guitar playing as far as I'm concerned. They were half-jazz-scatted, half-sung, and a bit mumbled, especially in his mid to late career. One of my favorite albums is his No Little Boy from 1993, a reworking of some of his own material. (He liked reworking material, never doing one of his songs the same way twice, and he went through various labels, so his discography is, to put it politely, a bit disordered.)

 

If you find yourself liking Nick Drake, check out Martyn.

Absolutely! I love Martyn’s Grace & Danger album. 

Thank you for the article Josh.
 

When I briefly owned a record store around 2000 I always carried new vinyl of Nick. Not sure I ever sold a single copy but I tried... Being pre vinyl revival probably didn’t help. Still 3 of my favorite albums with a slight preference for vinyl but the new 24/96 downloads are very good. Bryter Layter is one of my favorite airport albums.
 

One of my favorite little tidbits is Elton John recording a demo session in 1970 using several of Drake’s song. First glance it seems like a tough fit but this is pre bombastic Elton and it comes off fairly good. 

Congrats, Josh!
Another masterclass chapter for your future masterpiece TBVO book !!!
I love your detailed and enjoyable writing.

Great work Josh! Drake's music is wonderful but such a sad back story - Wikipedia has quite a good article covering his life and work. His sister was the gorgeous actress Gabrielle Drake who later wrote a biography of her brother.

I'm really happy Chris or someone at AS opened the doors for content like this. Josh is a fantastic researcher and writer and I really enjoy all of these TBVO articles. They are great and I am happy that they are here on this site, I see it as something tastefully different and very valuable. 

Thanks again for another great article, and to introducing me to another great musician, collection of albums, and interesting history. 

19 hours ago, Jud said:

John Martyn. He's not that widely known, at least in the US, but had an absolutely prodigal career of about 40 years. I had the pleasure of seeing him live a very long time ago. He might be the second best acoustic guitar player I've ever seen after John McLaughlin, and I've seen Clapton among others.

I fully agree with you Jud!  (Though of course Martyn was a great deal mellower than McLaughlin, and we can all think of other extraordinary guitarists. ) You were quite lucky to see him play live.

For those looking to check him out, his peak period and greatest acclaim were with the albums "Bless the Weather", "Solid Air", and "inside Out," though I also enjoy the one after that, "Sunday's Child."  

"Solid Air" has been an audiophile favorite for a long time and has been remastered several times.

8 minutes ago, Superdad said:

(Though of course Martyn was a great deal mellower than McLaughlin, and we can all think of other extraordinary guitarists. )

True. But believe me when I tell you that when I saw him live ('73 or '74 IIRC), he and that acoustic were a wall of sound all by themselves.

Thank you for the kind words everyone! I just updated the article to fix a few typos and grammatical errors that I missed in my submitted draft. (Many were caught by my lovely wife, who's a much better writer than me.)

@Jud, @The Computer Audiophile, and @Superdad, I completely agree with you about Martyn. My interview with Wood was much longer than printed here. We got into his whole career, including his work with Martyn and Fairport, among others. Part of that will go towards an Interview Series entry (which I hope to have ready soon), and part of it will go towards future TBVOs, including one on Solid Air (one of my all-time favorite albums).

@Superdad, I'd definitely like to do one or more Crimson and Tull albums. I'm a big prog fan. I suspect the thorough Steven Wilson reissues will remove some of the suspense, in terms of which version is best. But they'll still be worth a TBVO for recording history. I'm also a big Nina fan, too. (Her cover of "My Sweet Lord" on Emergency Ward is one of the most transcendent performances I've ever heard.)

I'm very jealous that you saw Martyn live at his peak, @Jud. Apparently he self-released Live at Leeds and signed most of the original pressings. I've always been on the lookout for one of those to turn up on Discogs, but I haven't come across one yet.

That book by Gabrielle that you mention @blue2 is a must-have for Drake fans. It's a really lavish product. For space reasons, I've leaned towards Ebooks lately, but Remembered for a While is one of those books that having a hard copy is a must.