Editing Nick Drake (section)

===''Pink Moon'' (1972)===
Although Island had not expected a third album,<ref>Dann (2006), pp. 168–170, 172.</ref> Drake approached Wood in October 1971 to begin work on what would be his final release. Sessions took place over two nights, with only Drake and Wood in the studio.<ref name="Macdonald"/> The bleak songs of ''[[Pink Moon]]'' are short, and the eleven-track album lasts only 28 minutes, a length described by Wood as "just about right. You really wouldn't want it to be any longer."<ref name="Paphides"/> Drake had expressed dissatisfaction with the sound of ''Bryter Layter'', and believed that the string, brass, and saxophone arrangements resulted in a sound that was "too full, too elaborate".<ref>Cooper, Colin. [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/nick-drake-bryter-layter.htm "Nick Drake&nbsp;— Bryter Layter"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128014507/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/nick-drake-bryter-layter.htm |date=28 November 2007 }}, stylusmagazine.com, 2 March 2004; retrieved 3 February 2007.</ref> Drake appears on ''Pink Moon'' accompanied only by his own carefully recorded guitar save for a piano [[overdub]] on the title track. Wood later said: "He was very determined to make this very stark, bare record. He definitely wanted it to be him more than anything. And I think, in some ways, ''Pink Moon'' is probably more like Nick is than the other two records."<ref>Wood, John. Interview conducted by ''Walhalla Radio Station'', 1979.</ref>{{listen
| filename     =
| title        = "Pink Moon"
| description  = The piano overdub on "Pink Moon" displays a musicality absent from some of the barer tracks on Drake's final album.<ref>Dann (2006), p. 245.</ref>
}}

Drake delivered the tapes of ''Pink Moon'' to [[Chris Blackwell]] at Island Records, contrary to a popular legend which claims that he dropped them off at the receptionist's desk without saying a word.<ref>Dann (2006), p. 170.</ref> An advertisement for the album in ''Melody Maker'' in February opened with "''Pink Moon''—Nick Drake's latest album: the first we heard of it was when it was finished."<ref>Sandison, Dave. [http://www.tannforsen.com/nickdrake/media.asp?intId=46&intCatId=44 "Pink Moon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130526/http://www.tannforsen.com/nickdrake/media.asp?intId=46&intCatId=44 |date=29 September 2007 }}, UK Press Release (1971); retrieved 14 November 2006.</ref> ''Pink Moon'' sold fewer copies than its predecessors, although it received some favourable reviews. In ''Zigzag'', Connor McKnight wrote: "Nick Drake is an artist who never fakes. The album makes no concession to the theory that music should be escapist. It's simply one musician's view of life at the time, and you can't ask for more than that."<ref>McKnight, Connor, "In search of Nick Drake", ''Zigzag Magazine'', #42, 1974.</ref>

Blackwell felt ''Pink Moon'' had the potential to bring Drake to a mainstream audience; however, his staff were disappointed by Drake's unwillingness to promote it. [[A&R]] manager [[Muff Winwood]] recalled "tearing his hair out" in frustration and said that without Blackwell's enthusiastic support "the rest of us would have given him the boot".<ref>Dann (2006), p. 162</ref> At Boyd's insistence, Drake agreed to an interview with Jerry Gilbert of ''Sounds Magazine''.<ref>Gilbert, Jerry. "Something else for Nick? An interview with Nick Drake". ''Sounds Magazine'', 13 March 1971.</ref> The "shy and introverted" Drake spoke of his dislike of live appearances and little else.<ref name="d163&4">Dann (2006), pp. 163–64.</ref> "There wasn't any connection whatsoever," Gilbert said. "I don't think he made eye contact with me once."<ref name="d163&4"/> Disheartened and convinced he would be unable to write again, Drake retired from music. He toyed with the idea of a different career and considered the army.<ref name="barnes">{{cite magazine|last=Barnes|first=Anthony|date=22 February 2004|title=The forgotten tapes of Nick Drake|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/revealed-the-forgotten-tapes-of-nick-drake-lost-genius-of-british-rock-70490.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/revealed-the-forgotten-tapes-of-nick-drake-lost-genius-of-british-rock-70490.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|magazine= [[The Independent]]|location=UK|access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref> His three albums had together sold fewer than 4,000 copies.<ref name="Sandall"/>