Island Records are set to release a deluxe reissue of Nick Drake’s debut album ‘Five Leaves Left’, releasing this summer. Renamed ‘The Making of Five Leaves Left’, the album will be released as both a 4CD and 4LP box set, and will offer fans an incredible behind-the-scenes look at Drake’s early work and will include over 30 previously unheard demo recordings, studio outtakes, and early versions of songs. Much of the material included has never been officially released.
Released just after Drake’s 21st birthday, his solo effort was produced by Joe Boyd, who had already worked with Pink Floyd, and would go on to produce work by Toots & The Maytals, R.E.M., and Billy Bragg. ‘Five Leaves Left’ went largely unnoticed by the masses during Drake’s lifetime, though is now recognised for its emotional honesty, as well as its delicate string arrangements.
The collection is split across four discs. The first disc includes Drake’s first Sound Techniques sessions, also known as the Beverley Martyn demo, and was at the centre of a legal row in 2014 over ownership rights. The auction guide at the time said that Drake’s “guitar playing is stronger, more baroque, with the voice smoother and more resonant than the highly produced released versions”. The second disc includes what is being called the “Paul de Rivaz Reel”, featuring recordings from Drake’s time at university, and was only discovered during the 9-year ‘Making of…’ project.
The original album’s engineer, John Wood, has been involved in the remastering process, and the sequence of the album has been deliberate. Where one Reddit user bemoaned two or three versions of songs being placed one after another, another defended the order, arguing that it allows for listeners to hear the creative process and the evolution of songs.
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Included in the box set is a 60-page book written by Neil Storey and Richard Morton-Jack which details the story behind Drake’s debut, and the efforts involved in this collection. Storey has defended the release against accusations of recycled material and price gouging, taking to the comments section of Super Deluxe Edition to tell detractors: “I began researching this project over nine years ago and to be tarred with a brush which suggests rip-off shows utter disrespect for Nick, his music and those of us who’ve worked as hard as we have to bring this out into the open.”
At the time of its release in 1969, ‘Five Leaves Left’ received a mixed reception. Drake’s talent was clear for all to see, but reviewers said that his lyrics lacked urgency and directness. The album’s reputation has grown significantly in the five decades since its release, and modern critics have been far more generous in their reviews, with Ian MacDonald calling it “cool and shady amid the celebratory sunshine in the late Sixties”.
Drake would release two more albums in his short career before passing away in 1974 aged 26. Sadly, he would never see how influential his work would become, having been cited as an inspiration by Kate Bush, Robert Smith, George Michael, and many more across a range of musical styles.
‘The Making of Five Leaves Left’ is retailing at £94.99 for the 4LP version, and £89.99 for the 4CD version, if bought through the Island Records site. It is the most comprehensive collection of Drake’s earliest works, and will prove to be a treasure trove of one of music’s most enigmatic characters. The album will be released on 25 July.
