Music snobs, crate diggers, rock critics, and music geeks and nerds are obsessed with cult figures in music. For example, artists like Captain Beefheart, Syd Barrett, Skip Spence and select others sold very few records in their careers, are virtually unknown by the causal music fan, but are lionized by the aforementioned. An artist who would fit into this category, but also transcends it, is the late Brit Nick Drake. Drake only released three albums in his lifetime, beginning with his starling debut Five Leaves Left in 1969, and died when he was 26.
Drake was part of a stable of artists managed, produced and/or championed by American concert promoter and producer-turned expatriate musical tastemaker in England in the latter ’60s, Joe Boyd. After launching and producing the first two singles for Pink Floyd and then producing albums for the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention (just before Sandy Denny joined the latter), Boyd signed Drake to his Witchseason production company.
Drake was a shy Cambridge student with a remarkable musical talent that mixed breathy Donovan-like vocals, that were more modestly precocious than pretentious, with an ability to write evocative and impressionistic songs, while drawing from folk, classical, and jazz in brand new ways for a solo artist. His brilliant debut, for a variety of reasons, including Drake’s lack of much in the way of touring and promoting the album in print and radio interviews, was not a hit during that explosive year of 1969. Neither were his next two, Bryter Layter (1971) and Pink Moon (1972). Pink Moon was the only one of his three albums released in full in his lifetime in the US.
After his death, Drake seemingly faded into obscurity while in England heavy rock, prog, glam, punk, new wave, and any number of trends came and went in the 1970s and 1980s. Although often receiving praise in laudatory posthumous books and articles, along with major rock artists citing him as a huge influence, it was, oddly enough, a Volkswagen car commercial in 1999 that used that title track from his album Pink Moon that kicked open a seismic interest in his music.
There have been some wonderful reissues of Drake’s music over the years, with Boyd being a respectful steward over his legacy, along with Drake’s sister Gabrielle and others. This new The Making Of Five Leaves Left is the third major box set of Drake’s music. Unlike the previous two, this one does not cover his entire career and instead focuses on his debut album, over four vinyl albums or four CDs. This review will cover the vinyl box. Fruit Tree (1979) and Family Tree (2007) along with this new box, are the only reissues of Drake’s to include multiple discs and only this one and Fruit Tree are available on vinyl.
The new box includes three “making of” albums of studio sessions, a rough mix, Cambridge University tapes, various takes, and between and during takes talking, which unfold chronologically from February 1969 through April of 1969. These kinds of extras are not unusual for a box like this. What’s different is the way they are laid out and can be used with the companion book to act as an audio, visual, and textual documentary of how Five Leaves Left came about and was made, as well as its reception and aftermath. Not every single session take or sound was used from the existing tapes, but just the right amount of material from the recordings of the period and what went into writing, conceiving, and workshopping is included. An exact replica of the original album, which was released on July 3rd, 1969, is the fourth album, to be listened to after the first three albums.
The first disc contains the initial sessions for the album at Sound Techniques in London from March 1968, which represent Drake’s first time in a recording studio with the intention of making an album. None of these sessions contain some of the original pre-production direction ideas for the album that included using Richard Hewson as an arranger. That task went to Robert Kirby, who Drake met at Cambridge and who was working with Drake before the official album recordings began. These initial sessions are from a mono tape that was in the possession of Beverly Martyn (Beverly Kutner). She was a budding English singer-songwriter who in 1969 met John Martyn, who she subsequently married. Side one begins with “Mayfair,” which did not appear on Five Leaves Left. “Strange Face” eventually became “The Cello Song.” These recordings sound quite fully realized and confident in most cases, especially given how young Drake was and how these are his first forays into recording.
Side two is comprised of three different takes of “Day Is Done,” along with a rough mix of “Strange Face,” the first take of the very jazzy “Man In A Shed” and a rough Cambridge recording at that key historical moment of the 1960s (May, 1968) of “My Love Left With the Rain,” another song that didn’t make the original album. It’s fascinating listening to Drake explaining what he’s looking to do with the song and how sure he is of what he wants.
The second album starts off with a full side of Cambridge recordings. These are basically just Drake singing and playing guitar and prepping for proper recordings, captured with a reel-to-reel tape recorder. They sound a little rough at first, but to listen to an artist like Drake play these songs, again explaining what he’s doing and in some cases what he would like to do, is to be privy to a singular artist being born in an intimate and private setting.
One of the highlights is an instrumental named “Blossom” that did not make it onto the first album. There’s an untitled instrumental filled with talking and false starts. Another song that didn’t make it onto the album is “Made to Love Magic,” with the feel of a quintessential English folk song and echoes of writing that subtly recalls the great American songbook. On “Mickey’s Tune,” Drake barely whispers the lyrics. The second side includes various takes of songs from the album that are not far from what would become the finished tracks.
The third disc eventually becomes the closest to what would become the proper album. There is “Time of No Reply” that wouldn’t make it onto the final album and another Cambridge recording (“Way to Blue”). The last three tracks are the most fully realized takes that prefigure what the final album would sound like, with the last track appropriately being “River Man.”
The final disc is a faithful reproduction of the original album. It’s in a gatefold package that features the glorious pink Island Records label of the time. The original paper insert is replicated with a photograph that includes creases and ring wear stains. The album is a confident affair and melds Drake’s poetic songs and quietly brooding vocals with folky playing and subtle orchestrations. His guests such as Richard Thompson, Danny Thompson (no relation), and Paul Harris in particular, while only showing up sporadically, certainly added greatly to this debut.
There’s no underestimating arranger Robert Kirby’s contribution and in many ways, he is Drake’s main collaborator. Of course, Joe Boyd’s production and management of Drake was key to this recording, but engineer John Wood is most responsible for capturing Drake’s mercurial sound in the studio. His engineering was also key for others in Boyd’s stable, including Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, The Incredible String Band, and John Martyn, as well as for others he worked with, such as Pink Floyd, Nico, and one person Boyd didn’t work with, Cat Stevens. As debut albums from the ’60s from solo artists go, it’s one of the best. Listening to it all these years later, it sounds vital and fresh. To list the artists that have been directly or indirectly influenced by this album and Drake in general, would take up too much space.
To be fully immersed in the experience of this box, one can read the detailed liner notes included in the 60-page booklet. They include a preface by Cally Callomon, who worked at the various labels that have held the rights to Drake’s music, including Polygram and Island, and has managed Drake’s estate with Gabrielle Drake. There’s also an introduction by Neil Storey on how the four discs were produced and what they contain. The expansive essay that is the backbone of the book was researched and written by Storey, Gabrielle Drake, and Richard Morton Jack, edited by Ros Hammond and compiled by Callomon.
There is also a detailed sessionography. Along with photos, there are the requisite color pictures of the period tape boxes are followed by original handwritten lyrics and typed lyrics of the songs from the original project. The music in this set was remastered in 2000 and sounds excellent. To listen on vinyl and read along with the liner notes is a transporting experience. The albums and booklet come in a sturdy slipcase box with a textured finish, a die cut on the front cover and an obi-strip. It’s truly a beautiful package.
This box, like much of the previous reissues on Drake, takes a sad song and makes it better, to borrow a phrase. Drake was not the only artist that Boyd worked with in those heady days who was troubled, had substance problems or either voluntarily or involuntarily had their time in the music scene of the day come to an abrupt end. There were those who died young (Sandy Denny), didn’t last very long in the music business due to being a troubled soul and taking too many drugs (Syd Barrett), one who left the music business to lead a normal life (Vashti Bunyan), met an early death because of a car accident (Martin Lamble of Fairport Convention), or had brushes with Scientology that began the decline of a group (The Incredible String Band). Boyd also produced the Soft Machine, Nico, Fotheringay, and John Martyn in that period, and would continue producing, later working with the likes of Maria Muldaur, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs, Billy Bragg and others.
Many of the big box sets and major reissues are starting to come out now in time for the holiday gift-buying season and to pick the best box set of the year at this time would be premature. However, this box is truly a treasure and one that will not only become cherished by Nick Drake fans, but also place Drake in his proper place in music and gain him a new legion of fans.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
