Nick Drake
Way To Blue (1994)

Review by: Mike Webb
Date: 8/5/00

Here's a challenging dilemma we've all faced at one time or another. "Hmmmm," we say, "should we spend our hard earned money on Groovy Band's greatest hits album, or should we buy the one critics say is the classic, essential Groovy Band record?" It's a tough choice that requires seconds and seconds of thoughtful deliberation, swift action, and a close look at which one cost more.

The cause of the dilemma this time is the late Nick Drake, who has a light, little acoustic number about a "Pink Moon" in a new Volkswagon Cabrio commercial. Chills run up my spine when I hear the chords, and he's obviously an influence on Jeff Buckley, so I gotta check it out.

Luckily, a friend of mine has the album Pink Moon. He plays it for me, and I love it. It's all folky, solo acoustic stuff - delicate, melancholy and brooding. Just the way I like it. So on my way home I cruise into the mega record store, and figure it's a good bet, let's go ahead and try the greatest hits collection because I want to be exposed to a wider variety of his music.

But I broke rule number one when you're exploring an unknown artist. DO NOT BUY THE GREATEST HITS album. Why? Because it's not a work at a moment in time, the artist never intended the songs to be grouped together like this, they're incoherent, and they're usually put together by the record company to maximize profit, not expose you to an artist's best work. And of course Way To Blue - An Introduction To Nick Drake sucks. It downright blows. Way too overwrought, with string arrangements and just downright awful songs. And guess what? The best songs are the ones from Pink Moon.

So let the rule of thumb be this: Don't play it safe when you're pursuing great music.