A
singer/songwriter prodigy from the British folk scene in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, Nick Drake failed to find a significant audience such as that of
his peers Sandy Denny and Bert Jansch. Drake’s reclusive persona and his
aversion to the stage certainly contributed to his commercial failure, which in
turn drove him through a downward spiral that may have been the cause of his
untimely death. Although Drake’s musical career was short and unsuccessful, he
managed to release three landmark records that aged remarkably well and
influenced many artists after his demise. Five
Leaves Left is the first record released by Drake, and sets the stage for
the dramatic and melancholy sound present throughout his scant discography.
“Way to Blue” is a song that deals with uncertainty and hope, where Robert
Kirby’s string arrangement renders Drake’s voice all the more poignant. In
“’Cello Song”, Claire Lowther’s cello and Rocki Dzidzornu’s congas provide a
laudatory atmosphere to Drake’s eulogy for a girl. “Fruit Tree” addresses the elusive nature of fame, a subject that would ironically concern
Drake’s own path until the end of his short career. “Man in a Shed” is perhaps
my favorite track in Five Leaves Left,
a bittersweet love song with fine piano and bass accompaniment:
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