Five Leaves Left

Five Leaves Left
Studio album by Nick Drake
Released	1 September 1969 (1969-09-01)
Recorded	July 1968 – July 1969 at Sound Techniques, London
Genre	Folk
Length	41:43
Label	Island
Producer	Joe Boyd
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (A) Adrian Denning link
Nick Drake chronology
Five Leaves Left (1969) Bryter Layter (1970)

Five Leaves Left, recorded in 1969, was the first of three albums by British folk musician Nick Drake. Like Bryter Layter and unlike Pink Moon, this album contains no completely solo songs. Drake was accompanied by members of the British folk-rock group Fairport Convention.

Reception and influence

Five Leaves Left was ranked 85th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 283 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

NME (2 October 1993, p.29) - Ranked #74 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'

Q (November 1999, p.162) - Included in Q's Best Folk Albums of All Time - "The pinnacle of a melancholy canon of work so distinctive that admirers can only speculate miserably on what might have been."

Entertainment Weekly (12 May 2000, p.24) - "On his ageless debut, everything - Drake's lispy voice and delicate guitar fingerpicking, arranger Robert Kirby's stately strings - feels shrouded in mist....Drake's most glorious miniatures." - Rating: A

Alternative Press (March 2001, p.88) - "With a voice paradoxically feather-light and grave, [one] of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever recorded."

Mojo (July 2000, p.99) - "Represents the first flourish of promise....God, how damn confident it all sounds. He knew how good he was."

Track listing

All songs written by Nick Drake

1. "Time Has Told Me" – 4:27
2. "River Man" – 4:21
3. "Three Hours" – 6:16
4. "Way to Blue" – 3:11
5. "Day Is Done" – 2:29
6. "'Cello Song" – 4:49
7. "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" – 3:22
8. "Man in a Shed" – 3:55
9. "Fruit Tree" – 4:50
10. "Saturday Sun" – 4:03

Personnel

Performers

Nick Drake performs vocals and acoustic guitar on all songs, except where indicated otherwise.

• "Time Has Told Me"

  Paul Harris – piano

  Richard Thompson – electric guitar

  Danny Thompson – double bass

• "River Man"

  Harry Robinson – string arrangement

• "Three Hours"

  Danny Thompson – bass

  Rocki Dzidzornu – congas

• "Way to Blue"

  Nick Drake – vocal

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

• "Day Is Done"

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

• "'Cello Song"

  Clare Lowther – 'cello

  Danny Thompson – bass

  Rocki Dzidzornu – congas

• "The Thoughts of Mary Jane"

  Robert Kirby – arrangement

• "Man in a Shed"

  Paul Harris – piano

  Danny Thompson – bass

• "Fruit Tree"

  Robert Kirby – arrangement

• "Saturday Sun"

  Nick Drake – piano

  Danny Thompson – bass

  Tristram Fry – drums & vibraphone

Production

• Simon Heyworth – mastering
• Joe Boyd – production
• John Wood – engineering

Release history

External links

• Five Leaves Left at MusicBrainz