Nick Drake: Dreaming England
Nathan Wiseman-Trowse
Since his untimely death in 1974 at the age of 26, singer-songwriter Nick Drake has not only gained a huge international audience, which eluded him during his lifetime, but has come to represent the epitome of English romanticism. Drake’s small but much-loved body of work has evoked comparisons with Blake, Keats, Vaughan Williams and Delius, placing him within a long line of English mystical Romantics. Yet upon closer inspection Drake’s work betrays a myriad of international, cosmopolitan influences and approaches that seem to confound his status as archetypal English troubadour.
Nick Drake's music itself hints at a specific English landscape of the kind that he would have wandered through during his lifetime. Yet his interest in blues, jazz and Eastern mysticism imply a broader conception of English national identity in the late 1960s, one far removed from mere parochial nostalgia. Similarly, the framing of Drake’s music after his death has done much to situate him as a particular kind of English artist, integrating American counterculture, the English class system and a nostalgic re-imagining of the hippy era for contemporary audiences.
Nick Drake: Dreaming England explores how ideas of Englishness have come to be so intimately associated with the cult singer songwriter. Essential reading for any fan of Nick Drake, the book will also appeal to those interested in folk music or English national identity.
To hear Culture Club's podcast on Nick Drake with author Nathan Wiseman-Trowse please click here.
Product Details
About Nathan Wiseman-Trowse
Reviews for Nick Drake: Dreaming England
The Independent on Sunday
Contemporary music history stretches back far enough now for received wisdom to assume too great an importance. Information is much more easily accessed than before, but then irresponsibly sourced quotes on Wikipedia and other websites can, through repetition, become adopted as the truth. In complete contrast, in Nick Drake: Dreaming England, Nathan-Wiseman-Trowse starts from first principles in his thorough investigation of Drakes creative life and legacy . . . his approach to the story becomes a compelling mix of rigorous arguments and imaginative explorations.
The Wire
There have been so many biographies of the influential singer-songwriter Nick Drake that its refreshing to see a book on this beloved musician that attempts to explore his work from a different angle. Drake is often referred to as quintessentially English, and Nathan Wiseman-Trowse looks at place, national identity, and Drakes deeply melancholic writing, which often references the pastoral, to give a greater picture of why this is . . . a thought-provoking work which would be a welcome addition to any music lover or academics collection.
Songlines