how did I miss this?!?

Okay, so I can't say I'm a Nick Drake fanatic, but there are few musicians that I would say I know better (both musically and biographically) than this British songwriter/guitarist who died only three albums into his career. But I missed an album (Made to Love Magic) of new material coming out?!?

I am still making my way through his biography by Nick Humphries, and I own all three of his studio releases. There is a fourth album, Way to Blue, which is an introduction to his music, that is worth skipping except for the 2 songs not found on other albums ("Time of No Reply" and "Black Eyed Dog", which you can just download at iTunes). Pink Moon is by far my favorite album, most likely becuase this was my first complete exposure to his music (you probably would recognize the title track from a Volkswagen commercial).

Somehow today, I stumbled across the fact that another album has been released of mostly previously unreleased material! How can it be?!? So now I have to save up my pennies to go and purchase another album to once again "complete my collection" of this brilliant artist. If you haven't checked Nick Drake out, be sure to start with Pink Moon, and follow it with Five Leaves Left and Bryter Later (which has "One of These Things First" on the Garden State Soundtrack). You will quickly hear how his style (vocally, instrumentally, and lyrically) has influenced Elliott Smith and R.E.M.

* For an article detailing the making of the new album, Made to Love Magic, read the press release at Robyn Frederick's site.