Nick Drake
Bryter Layter (1970)
Label:   
Length:  39:38
    Track Listing:
      1.  
      		 Introduction    1:33
      2.  
      		 Hazey Jane II    3:46
      3.  
      		 At The Chime of a City Clock    4:47
      4.  
      		 One of These Things First    4:52
      5.  
      		 Hazey Jane I    4:31
      6.  
      		 Bryter Layter    3:24
      7.  
      		 Fly    3:00
      8.  
      		 Poor Boy    6:09
      9.  
      		 Northern Sky    3:47
      10.  
      		 Sunday    3:42
    Additional info: | top
      Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970) {Original CD Mastering}


      Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

      {HNCD 4435}

      01. Introduction
      02. Hazey Jane II
      03. At The Chime Of A City Clock
      04. One Of These Things First
      05. Hazey Jane I
      06. Bryter Layter
      07. Fly
      08. Poor Boy
      09. Northern Sky
      10. Sunday

      Label: Hannibal/Rykodisc
      Audio Format: Stereo



      Lorry Fleming wrote:

      The second album from Nick Drake came in 1970, and while not quite as melancholy as his debut, Five Leaves Left, there are certain brooding qualities that continued to propagate the Nick Drake mystique. Horns, flute, and strings arrangements lift such songs as "At the Chime of a City Clock" and "Hazy Jane I" and "II" out of the realm of sad, folk-guitar music into something jazzier and lighter, while the beautiful piano and simple guitar of "One of These Things First" laments what could have been without sounding like a song of despair. But two tracks featuring John Cale on various instruments (such as viola and harpsichord) have the dark fragility of "Pink Moon": the lovely "Fly" is a fragile apparition, and "Northern Sky" is a dreamy, brooding plea for long-lasting love. Definitely not the same mood music as his starker work, but still a fine showcase for Nick Drake.




      Original vs Remastered Info:


      Mal/SH Forums wrote:

      I've been reading this thead with interest......

      I've always assumed the original UK Island CDs were different from the Hannibal/Rykodisc ones in the original (12"x12") Fruit Tree CD box.


      I also thought the remasters sounded OK - maybe even better.

      However, I hadn't sat down and played any of them side by side until today........

      The original Island discs are indeed identical to the Hannibal/Rykodisc ones!

      As for the Heyworth remasters......

      Well, on first listen I certainly found them to be slightly more detailed and thought maybe they were possibly better. That was just listening to the first couple of tracks on Bryter Layter.

      Then I thought Pink Moon was probably a better place to hear the difference being just Nick and the guitar (and a few Piano notes....).

      This is where the difference stuck out like a sore thumb. The Heyworth remasters were boosted in the treble to the point where the guitar sounded scratchy and the vocals were thin and aggressive sounding.

      Back to the original mastering and the guitar was back to normal and the vocal, while still having that papery thin sound Nick's vocals tend towards, had the right ammount of warmth to be very pleasing to the ear. The album still has a stark quality to it but the Heyworth remaster turns that into a slightly unpleasasnt sound whereas the original mastering presents the album beautifully.

      Then I went back to Bryter Layter - now I knew what to listen for I instantly heard the same qualities. The Heyworth remaster sounded too edgy, scratchy or aggressive in the treble. It's a subtle effect if you don't know what you are listening for but once you've heard it you can't live with it for long (at least I can't).

      Same thing on Five Leaves Left.

      So, for me the original CDs (Island or Hannibal/Rykodisc) are the keepers - no question.

      As for Cally's comments here - h**p://www.robinfrederick.com/cally.html - it's clear to me that it is just the same old BS we get from those who know nothing about mastering:

      Cally: "Record Companies are notorious for losing master tapes, I'm not sure what tapes they used to manufacture the [original] CDs from, but they were really poor. The sleeves were no better. 3 sides of poorly reproduced album artwork reduced to the size of a packet of cigarettes, and a whole page telling you how to clean a CD in 4 different languages, ptchah."

      This is totally ridiculous - by the sound of it I reckon the original CDs were mastered from the exact same tapes as the remasters - but thankfully without the aggressive treble boost.

      As for the commment about the artwork having "a whole page telling you how to clean a CD in 4 different languages" - my "IMCD" island CDs don't have that. In fact, nor do any of the original ("CID" or "IMCD") Island CDs I've ever seen. Indeed, Island are probably one of the better labels for using original artwork on their original 80s CD re-issues. I've a feeling Cally never even saw an original Nick Drake CD let alone listened to one.......

      If you love Nick Drake's recordings do yourself a favour and seek out an original CD mastering - you may be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.
    Links/Resources | top