The tide's magnificence : Songs and poems of Molly Drake

"The Tide's Magnificence collects together the complete poems and songs of Molly Drake. The entire recorded creative life of a unique woman living in unusual circumstances, whose influence was to give rise to one of the most beloved musicians of the following generation. This alone makes it an important document. But Drake is of greater worth than that. She was a songwriter of vivid vision and an author of strange, calm, ambiguous poems which deserve to be remembered on their own terms. This release will go some way towards making sure that happens".

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"Molly Drake, mother of iconic "tragic troubadour" Nick, was no mean poet and songsmith in her own right, as was initially demonstrated by the limited release in 2013 of private, lo-fi 1950s and '60s home recordings ... That release instigated the advocacy of The Unthanks, who last year (...) reimagined and recorded a selection of Molly's works for the latest volume of their ʺDiversions" series ... Now Fledg'ling have taken up the baton by publishing this magnificent limited-edition volume (...) [with] texts for Molly's 79 (technically, 81) poems (...) together with 24 of Molly's songs. Neatly encased within the book you'll find a pair of CD's, together containing a total of 26 song recordings by Molly, Nineteen of these are digital transfers of the tracks forming the (...) 2013 release. The remaining seven [are] alle previously unreleased ... The musical idiom is less folk than parlour-lied or vernacular art-song, often deceptively light and charming, yet the tone ofthetextsis invariably darker and more profound. This publication transcends curiosity staus, being a fascinating and beautifully-presented artefact deserving pride of place on any bookshelf".