Five Leaves Left - Nick Drake

One song in that last review reminded me of Nick Drake, so I figured hey, may as well make this next one about one of his albums.

Nick Drake was basically a singer-songwriter based primarily in folk, and was active from the late 60s to the early 70s, until his untimely death in 1974 at the young age of 26. A real shame, because some of the music he wrote is possibly some of the most poignant and beautiful stuff I've ever heard.

His debut album, Five Leaves Left, was released in 1969, and contains some of his best material in his short career, in my opinion. I know some people see his last album, Pink Moon, as his masterpiece, and that's probably true, taking the lyrics into account. However, I'm not really the type to really listen to lyrics - the voice is just another instrument to me.

One thing that has to be said is that Robert Kirby is a genius. Well, and Harry Robinson, who helped on one track. We'll get to that one later. :P
Those two guys there, mainly Kirby, arranged the strings for the whole album. And they are incredible. Gushing over... for now. :P

If one was to try and identify a season with this album, autumn would be the one most people would commonly pick. The mood throughout is somber and wistful, and possibly unique. Understandably, some people don't like this album as much as other Drake albums because it's very similar throughout - no rest or respite, so to speak. However, peh, I don't care, this blog is about my tastes. :P
Onto the songs themselves, finally.

1. Time Has Told Me (4:27)
This is one of lesser listened tracks on the album for me, personally. It's a fine song, don't get me wrong, but yeah, just perhaps a little dull. Perfectly listenable, though, but I don't actively seek it out to listen to.
7.5/10

2. River Man (4:23)
And now already the best song on the album? Damn.
This song is AMAZING. I'm not kidding here when I'm saying that it's the best song I've looked at so far on this blog. One of the few songs in the world that can give me chills down my spine, thanks to the fantastic string arrangements. They don't make themselves the star of the show, they just quietly brood in the background, adding atmosphere. Just perfect.
But, there is one part in the middle of the song that is the spine-tingler for me - Drake stops singing, and an instrumental section takes over, and the strings finally cry. Just phenomenal. You have to hear the song at least once just to hear that. And I personally think it gets better and better the more you listen to it - when I first listened to the album, I didn't really give it a second thought, just noting the above average arrangements. However, it's now soared to the very top of my last.fm most listened songs list.
Drake himself always envisioned this song as the centrepiece of Five Leaves Left, and rightfully so. An interesting fact - arranger Robert Kirby was commissioned to do the whole album, but he felt he couldn't do this track justice. So, he called in fellow composer Harry Robinson, and instructed him to echo the tones of the classical composers Delius and Ravel. Certainly shows, that's for sure, even for those who don't know who the hell those guys are.
Okay, that's enough about this song - just listen to it on YouTube already, and my job should hopefully be done. :P

9.6/10

3. Three Hours (6:15)
This is a relatively straightforward folk affair. Pleasant, but a little too similar to the first track in terms of interestingness. I do like the fingerpicking towards the end of the song, though.
7.6/10

4. Way To Blue (3:11)
This is an unusual song for Drake in the fact that he doesn't play guitar on it for once. This is just him singing, plus some strings. Beautiful, but perhaps a tad dramatic for some people. Not on the same level as River Man, but definitely a good listen.
8.7/10

5. Day Is Done (2:29)
This was the first song I ever heard of Drake's - it was actually a cover, funnily enough. That spurred me to listen to the original, and from there, my liking for Drake's music grew.
What drew me to this song in the first place was the chord progression. Actually fairly simple, and not that rare, I guess it was just the combination of all the elements coming together that made it fresh. The arrangement, perhaps echoing slightly of the Beatles' hit Yesterday, is great, as per usual from Kirby. A good introduction to Drake's music, I think.
8.8/10

6. Cello Song (4:48)
I know this song feels ethnical to some degree, what with the use of the cello, but I can't put my finger on what feel it has. It's relatively typical folk music, but it's been done damn well here.
8.5/10

7. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane (3:22)
Some flute in this song - a change from the usual arrangements so far. For some reason, I always thought that Drake played the flute here, but I was mistaken. Some beautiful melodies in this one.
8.6/10

8. Man In A Shed (3:55)
More relatively standard folk here. However, (I'm getting tired of saying this now, but it's all I can say, really :P) it's done well.
8.3/10

9. Fruit Tree (4:49)
This reminds me of Day Is Done - similar tone to the chord progression. One thing I love in this is the instrumental interlude, with the oboe taking the lead. Another example of beauty in this album. Arrangements in this song are probably second-best to River Man.
9.0/10

10. Saturday Sun (4:05)
This is another song that definitely stands out from the rest. Drake finally takes up arms with a different instrument - it's piano for this song. Also, this is the only song on the album that actually has a drumkit - the rest either don't, or just have congos. A little use of vibraphone here and there works nicely. A nice, relatively happy way to end the album (considering the rest of it).
8.8/10

So, all in all, probably the best folk album I've heard, although to be fair, I haven't listened to THAT many. And it also depends on what you define as folk. But yeah, enough of my rambling.

If you enjoy River Man and Day Is Done, you should definitely check out the album. If there is satisfaction with those two songs alone, you won't be disappointed.

Overall album score: 8.5/10