With even more of the
Fairport Convention
crew helping him out -- including bassist
Dave Pegg
and drummer
Dave Mattacks
along with, again, a bit of help from
Richard Thompson
-- as well as
John Cale
and a variety of others,
Drake
tackled another excellent selection of songs on his second album. Demonstrating the abilities shown on
Five Leaves Left
didn't consist of a fluke,
Bryter Layter
featured another set of exquisitely arranged and performed tunes, with producer
Joe Boyd
and orchestrator
Robert Kirby
reprising their roles from the earlier release. Starting with the elegant instrumental
"Introduction,"
as lovely a mood-setting piece as one would want,
indulges in a more playful sound at many points, showing that
was far from being a constant king of depression. While his performances remain generally low-key and his voice quietly passionate, the arrangements and surrounding musicians add a considerable amount of pep, as on the jazzy groove of the lengthy
"Poor Boy."
The argument could be made that this contravenes the spirit of
's work, but it feels more like a calmer equivalent to the genre-sliding experiments of
Van Morrison
at around the same time. Numbers that retain a softer approach, like
"At the Chime of a City Clock,"
still possess a gentle drive to them.
Cale
's additions unsurprisingly favor the classically trained side of his personality, with particularly brilliant results on
"Northern Sky."
As his performances on keyboards and celeste help set the atmosphere,
reaches for a perfectly artful reflection on loss and loneliness and succeeds wonderfully. ~ Ned Raggett