Hi Bret I love this series that you do every Friday. I was only the other day mentioning to Fred (Bigstar1000) that I actually met Nicole back in the early 80's when she was living here in Manchester. I was present at the recording of Nico and The Invisible Girls lp showed recorded with Martin Hannet whom I knew back then. Great post, I'm half German too, on my mum's side, she's from Munich. Cheers James, Manchester, UK
I was obsessed with Desertshore as a teenager. And yes I turned out relatively OK haha. A seriously under-rated artist but then I don't think Nico was ever going for the X Factor popular vote. The Falconer, My Only Child, Afraid and Mutterlein favourite tracks although they are all brutally stark and stunningly fragile at the same time . A timeless artwork and I think it's her masterpiece.
A little late on this one. But you know I had to watch. Desert Shore is one of my faves. I have this deep-rooted love for female vocalists and I've been fortunate to work w/ a few of them. Anyway, excellent insight here. Cheers-hd
Your description of Chelsea Girl gives the impression it's a great rainy, Autumn day album. I could never get into Nico's singing. That's, obviously, a problem with appreciating an artist's music. She was definitely an original though. Cheers Bret!
One more connection, I couldn't help but notice your shirt. Robert Smith of The Cure credited the origin of his band's name to a lyric from Drake's song "Time Has Told Me" ("a troubled cure for a troubled mind") Next Sunday (November 25th), marks the anniversary of Nick Drakes passing in 1974. It's all connected! A timely video. I think 4 Men with Beards do a nice job with their reissues.
A timely video as I have been listening to Nick Drake all day today, and it was interesting hearing about the Joe Boyd connections (s). Desert Shore was recorded at Sound Techniques, same place as the Nick Drake records, I wonder if they ever bumped into each other. Pink Moon is only a little over 30 minutes too. John Cale is worked on Nick's albums. Joe Boyd was instrumental in bringing all these fragile artists together and getting them to record.
Hi Bret, thanks for the reply, always great chatting with you. I have and have read the book you showed in your post and you're absolutely correct it's a fantastic but harrowing description of that timmonsjim e in her tragically short life. Unfortunately I never got to see Joy Division live, I was fortunate to see most of the other early well known Manchester bands live though, Section 25 (do you know them?), Crispy Ambulance, James, The Fall (one of my all time fave bands), The Smiths (several
I triple synchronicity, I was just listening to Nico about four hours ago. I put on the Banana because I was thinking of them after looking at teh RSD releases for this coming Black Friday. Chelsea Girl should be in everyone's collection. I do not have 'Desertshore' and I really never got into it either. You have got me so curious now I feel as though I have to look it up on Amazon and do a one day ship to get it hear before tomorrow at noon. Thanks Bret, outstanding review~ Rob/Boston
Kris, have you seen his solo performance of 'Frozen Warnings'? It was in the Nico Icon film I mentioned in the video. I believe you can find it on YT - emotional performance.
Really interesting Bret , i didnt know anything about Nico's solo work , i only know the contribution to The Velvet Underground album which i have on cd and i dont recall ever seeing htese albums at fairs etc! I guess i could look on ebay but like you i prefer to avoid this type of record buying = John
Thanks Shannon! Nico is one of my favorites - a friend of mine made a huge art piece featuring her - it hangs above my fireplace. :) I actually got my degree in English, and used to write a lot of short stories, but my mine focus in writing has been on songs - well, and my music blog. :) - Bret
He performs just himself often.. when I saw him live a few times, he just had a pedal steel guitarist with him. The "Fragments of Rainy Season" album or live DVD just shows how great those songs are on their own...
Thanks for pointing out all of those other connections! I forgot all about it that The Cure were named after that Nick Drake line. I actually listened to 'Bryter Layter' the other night after listening to 'Desertshore.' Good times. ;) - Bret
2 of 2: You stated that 'Desertshore' is not a radio friendly album at all and I am curious to know if you knew this about it before you bought it? I did not like her version of The End but only because I felt like no one should have covered that song. I am going to look for 'Drama Of Exile'. I also dig the song 60/40 but my all time favorite is 'Femme Fatale', Love that Cure jersey. It is my favorite photo of Robert Smith ever. Rob The Nico documentary sounds fantastic. I got to see it~
Hi Gary. Ah yeah, 'It Was A Pleasure Then' - love the textures that the random guitar nuances provide. Thanks for watching. Looking forward to your next video. - Bret
Hi Rob, VC synchronicity is always at work. :) Love that first VU record - that will definitely get a spin this weekend. Nico's solo LPs - post-Chelsea Girl - are definitely not for everyone, but whenever I choose one Nico song to play for people - it is 'Afraid' from Desertshore.... so beautiful. - Bret
Thank you so much, Robert. As I mentioned in the video, there are a lot of compilations/live releases - sometimes there the same exact thing but with a different cover/title - try to steer clear of those. The essentials would be: Chelsea Girl, Desertshore, The Marble Index, The End... then the two 80s LPs: Drama Of Exile, Camera Obscura. I like them all, but would recommend starting at the beginning. - Bret
Hi James. Yes, I dig all of those bands - James is one of my favorite bands of all time, and The Smiths, incredible. I've gotten to see James four times, but that must've been killer seeing them in your/their hometown. I need to get some Section 25, Crispy Ambulance and The Fall on vinyl - I never find them out here in the shops - other than on CD. Thanks for all of the positive feedback on the videos, James. Looking forward to you making some & telling some stories! :) - Bret
Hi James. I caught those comments on the FB the other day - love hearing about those times. Sounds like you have lots of cool stories - the drummer in my band is a huge Durutti Column fan, and I already told him that you were there for some of their album sessions. Very cool. That book I showed in the video focuses on Nico's time in Manchester - starting in '82, I believe - and then out on the road shortly after. Not sure if I asked before, but - ever see Joy Division live? - Bret
I saw him when he toured with The Creatures back in 97 - I think. If I remember correctly... they may have done 'Venus In Furs' together that night - gonna have to seek out the set list here online.
Now I do love those Nico albums (Chelsea and Desertshore), but they really should be labeled "Nico and Cale", because he had just as much to do with them as her. Really, anything Cale produced is great - too bad he didn't take that sparse approach to his albums, as there is often too much "straight" ahead rock on those first albums and they suffer as a result.
![3000 Best Albums [2667] Nico - Desertshore (1970) Dan's Mini Album Review](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/01vbUEbl72Y/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi Bret I love this series that you do every Friday. I was only the other day mentioning to Fred (Bigstar1000) that I actually met Nicole back in the early 80's when she was living here in Manchester. I was present at the recording of Nico and The Invisible Girls lp showed recorded with Martin Hannet whom I knew back then. Great post, I'm half German too, on my mum's side, she's from Munich. Cheers James, Manchester, UK
I was obsessed with Desertshore as a teenager. And yes I turned out relatively OK haha. A seriously under-rated artist but then I don't think Nico was ever going for the X Factor popular vote. The Falconer, My Only Child, Afraid and Mutterlein favourite tracks although they are all brutally stark and stunningly fragile at the same time . A timeless artwork and I think it's her masterpiece.
A little late on this one. But you know I had to watch. Desert Shore is one of my faves. I have this deep-rooted love for female vocalists and I've been fortunate to work w/ a few of them. Anyway, excellent insight here. Cheers-hd
Love Chelsea Girl. The last song on the first side is tremendous!
Your description of Chelsea Girl gives the impression it's a great rainy, Autumn day album. I could never get into Nico's singing. That's, obviously, a problem with appreciating an artist's music. She was definitely an original though. Cheers Bret!
One more connection, I couldn't help but notice your shirt. Robert Smith of The Cure credited the origin of his band's name to a lyric from Drake's song "Time Has Told Me" ("a troubled cure for a troubled mind") Next Sunday (November 25th), marks the anniversary of Nick Drakes passing in 1974. It's all connected! A timely video. I think 4 Men with Beards do a nice job with their reissues.
Real nice synchronicity here. I was just listening to her today. I love the song "These Days". Nice thorough presentation.
A timely video as I have been listening to Nick Drake all day today, and it was interesting hearing about the Joe Boyd connections (s). Desert Shore was recorded at Sound Techniques, same place as the Nick Drake records, I wonder if they ever bumped into each other. Pink Moon is only a little over 30 minutes too. John Cale is worked on Nick's albums. Joe Boyd was instrumental in bringing all these fragile artists together and getting them to record.
Hi Bret, thanks for the reply, always great chatting with you. I have and have read the book you showed in your post and you're absolutely correct it's a fantastic but harrowing description of that timmonsjim e in her tragically short life. Unfortunately I never got to see Joy Division live, I was fortunate to see most of the other early well known Manchester bands live though, Section 25 (do you know them?), Crispy Ambulance, James, The Fall (one of my all time fave bands), The Smiths (several
I triple synchronicity, I was just listening to Nico about four hours ago. I put on the Banana because I was thinking of them after looking at teh RSD releases for this coming Black Friday.
Chelsea Girl should be in everyone's collection. I do not have 'Desertshore' and I really never got into it either. You have got me so curious now I feel as though I have to look it up on Amazon and do a one day ship to get it hear before tomorrow at noon.
Thanks Bret, outstanding review~
Rob/Boston
Kris, have you seen his solo performance of 'Frozen Warnings'? It was in the Nico Icon film I mentioned in the video. I believe you can find it on YT - emotional performance.
Really interesting Bret , i didnt know anything about Nico's solo work , i only know the contribution to The Velvet Underground album which i have on cd and i dont recall ever seeing htese albums at fairs etc! I guess i could look on ebay but like you i prefer to avoid this type of record buying = John
you should review to the x-tg cover album (desertshore).
Thanks Shannon! Nico is one of my favorites - a friend of mine made a huge art piece featuring her - it hangs above my fireplace. :) I actually got my degree in English, and used to write a lot of short stories, but my mine focus in writing has been on songs - well, and my music blog. :) - Bret
He performs just himself often.. when I saw him live a few times, he just had a pedal steel guitarist with him. The "Fragments of Rainy Season" album or live DVD just shows how great those songs are on their own...
Thanks for pointing out all of those other connections! I forgot all about it that The Cure were named after that Nick Drake line. I actually listened to 'Bryter Layter' the other night after listening to 'Desertshore.' Good times. ;) - Bret
2 of 2:
You stated that 'Desertshore' is not a radio friendly album at all and I am curious to know if you knew this about it before you bought it?
I did not like her version of The End but only because I felt like no one should have covered that song. I am going to look for 'Drama Of Exile'. I also dig the song 60/40 but my all time favorite is 'Femme Fatale',
Love that Cure jersey. It is my favorite photo of Robert Smith ever.
Rob
The Nico documentary sounds fantastic. I got to see it~
Nico is perfect for this time of the year. Thanks for watching, Dereck.
Hi Gary. Ah yeah, 'It Was A Pleasure Then' - love the textures that the random guitar nuances provide. Thanks for watching. Looking forward to your next video. - Bret
Hi Rob, VC synchronicity is always at work. :) Love that first VU record - that will definitely get a spin this weekend. Nico's solo LPs - post-Chelsea Girl - are definitely not for everyone, but whenever I choose one Nico song to play for people - it is 'Afraid' from Desertshore.... so beautiful. - Bret
Thank you so much, Robert. As I mentioned in the video, there are a lot of compilations/live releases - sometimes there the same exact thing but with a different cover/title - try to steer clear of those. The essentials would be: Chelsea Girl, Desertshore, The Marble Index, The End... then the two 80s LPs: Drama Of Exile, Camera Obscura. I like them all, but would recommend starting at the beginning. - Bret
Hi James. Yes, I dig all of those bands - James is one of my favorite bands of all time, and The Smiths, incredible. I've gotten to see James four times, but that must've been killer seeing them in your/their hometown. I need to get some Section 25, Crispy Ambulance and The Fall on vinyl - I never find them out here in the shops - other than on CD. Thanks for all of the positive feedback on the videos, James. Looking forward to you making some & telling some stories! :) - Bret
Hi James. I caught those comments on the FB the other day - love hearing about those times. Sounds like you have lots of cool stories - the drummer in my band is a huge Durutti Column fan, and I already told him that you were there for some of their album sessions. Very cool. That book I showed in the video focuses on Nico's time in Manchester - starting in '82, I believe - and then out on the road shortly after. Not sure if I asked before, but - ever see Joy Division live? - Bret
I saw him when he toured with The Creatures back in 97 - I think. If I remember correctly... they may have done 'Venus In Furs' together that night - gonna have to seek out the set list here online.
Sorry Nico not Nicole damn predictive text
Now I do love those Nico albums (Chelsea and Desertshore), but they really should be labeled "Nico and Cale", because he had just as much to do with them as her. Really, anything Cale produced is great - too bad he didn't take that sparse approach to his albums, as there is often too much "straight" ahead rock on those first albums and they suffer as a result.