Nick Drake BRYTER LAYTER (new, deluxe ed, ltd ed, 180g LP)

$

55

BRYTER LAYTER
Nick Drake
Universal Music 
2013
Vinyl - Audiophile

Mastered from the Near Original Master Tapes at Abbey Road Studios by Original Engineer/Producer John Wood
Featuring an Original Shop Poster, Live Mini-Poster & Reprint of Drake's Handwritten Set List
Following the huge success of Nick Drake's third album Pink Moon on deluxe vinyl - comes his second album Bryter Layter in a similar deluxe vinyl offering. The album is an exact replica of the original 1970 release and is pressed on heavyweight audiophile vinyl, and remastered from near-original master tapes by the album's original engineer/producer John Wood. Although the original tapes were unusable, Wood had made a safety copy of the album in 1970 and it is from this that the new album has been made. 
The album comes in a box containing the original shop poster, a smaller 'Live' poster/brochure and a reprint of Nick's handwritten set list used for his live appearances, together with reproductions of the master tape and box lids. It is housed in an Island card inner bag in a single pocket textured sleeve just as the original release would have been. Most recent vinyl pressings of Bryter Layter have been of poor quality and/or illegal counterfeits; this edition is as close to an original pressing as it is possible to get. Original copies change hands for high collectors prices.
After crafting a debut album full of beauteous, somber chamber-folk, Nick Drake pulled something of an about-face in 1970 with the follow-up, Bryter Layter. With a bright, sparkling production and orchestrations that occasionally border on Easy Listening, the framework is light and airy where Five Leaves Left was dark and foreboding. 
The key, however, is that Drake's artfully expressed inner turmoil peeks through at every turn in the lyrics and in his understated-but-heartfelt vocal delivery. "At the Chime of a City Clock" finds Drake facing existential despair at every turn, despite an almost-lugubrious string arrangement. Perhaps the crucial moment of Bryter Layter occurs on "Poor Boy," where female backing vocalists literally mock the singers anguished laments. 
Clearly, for as much as Drake's heart and soul were bared in every note of his music, he was self-aware enough to know that his disillusioned-romantic view of the world was one that put him on the fringes of society. Of course, over 40 years later, his early-1970s work would find a much wider audience, even though the initial era of the sensitive singer/songwriter had long since passed.
"Compared to the gloomy, vinegary, autumnal Five Leaves Left and the reportedly stark Pink Moon, Drake's second album is a relatively pleasant collection. "Bryter Layter" and "Sunday" are light, carefree flute instrumentals, and the cantering "Hazey Jane II" is positively brisk. "Northern Sky" gently details how a loved one has enhanced his appreciation of life.
"Even in his best moods, though, Drake seems to be reaching out from a position of isolation to a like soul, as in "Hazey Jane I." More characteristic is the intensely considered solitude of "Poor Boy," "One of These Things First" and "Fly," which features John Cale's moaning viola...It's a measure of his instinct for maintaining a sense of mystery that Bryter Layter's reflections are as ephemeral as a man's breath on a mirror." - Rolling Stone
Features: - Mastered from the near original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by original engineer/producer John Wood - Pressed on heavyweight audiophile vinyl - Gatefold sleeve, inner sleeve, paper labels - Original shop poster - Live mini-poster (full color both sides) - Reprint of Nick's handwritten set list