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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: Steady on.

It must be spring! There's a mockingbird about every 25 feet pouring out his entire repertoire, hoping to lure Ms. Right to the nest and have a few eggs with her. The scent of flowers is everywhere and my dark red car is covered with a fine yellow powder of pollen, turning it a sort of orange color.

The release of the new Nick Drake compilation CD Family Tree was officially announced at SXSW last week. It should be available in early June (for real) and will consist of tracks from Nick's home recordings and work tapes, some recorded in Aix-en-Provence when I knew him. I've been writing the sleeve notes over the last few weeks, spending a lot of time in my mind going back to those days in Aix when everything was at the beginning. The quality of memory is a strange thing. It's not like a movie, more like snapshots. Each single image is vivid but, like the tip of an iceberg, most of the context is hidden from view; I have little recollection of what's beneath it, what led up to or beyond it.

Of course, I wish I'd had a camera with me in Aix but, the truth is, I wouldn't have used it. All through my teens and early twenties, I hated cameras. Both taking pictures and having pictures taken of me. It was probably a rebellion against the parental units' obsession with snapping my sisters and me, usually in our Sunday best with mechanical smiles. I'm glad I have those pictures now but I wish I had photos of our lives instead of poses. Although I have few visual reminders from those years, what I do have are dozens of songs. I realize now that's how I 'fixed' my memories of those times. I have songs about friends (by name), songs about France, (even one called "All About France"), songs about what I was thinking and feeling at different times. These are my home movies, the images may be out of focus but the emotions are sharp and clear.

Most people who give any thought to a flood or fire have a box of family photos they plan to take with them. I have always kept a box of tapes packed and ready to go in case of an emergency. When my house actually did burn down that box of tapes was the first thing to go into the car. I didn't have everything in it but, fortunately, with the help of friends, I was able to put most of my collection back together afterwards. Instead of the movie, I have the soundtrack. As I tell my songwriting clients, it's the soundtrack that communicates the emotion, not the images. If I have to choose, I'll take the emotions every time.

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Read A Brief History Of Love Songs by Robin Frederick at the Sound Experience Music web site.

Copyright 2007 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.