An Upcoming Box Set Will Offer a Deep Dive into the Making of the Late Nick Drake’s Debut Album, ‘Five Leaves Left’

A new box set focusing on the creation of late influential British singer/songwriter Nick Drake’s 1969 debut album, Five Leaves Left, is due out this summer.

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The Making of Five Leaves Left will be released on July 25. It will be available as a four-CD set, four-LP vinyl package, and digitally. The collection, which is authorized by Drake’s estate, features rare demo recordings, studio outtakes, and previously unheard songs. It also includes a new mix of the original album.

[RELATED: Essential Nick Drake: 4 Songs All Fans Should Know]

The box set comes with a 60-page book written by Neil Storey in collaboration with Richard Morton-Jack, author of the in-depth 2023 biography Nick Drake: The Life. The companion book features full details about the tracks and the history of the making of the album.

The box set was mastered by John Wood, who served as engineer during the Five Leaves Left sessions.

More than 30 unheard demos, outtakes, and other rarities are featured in the box set. According to uDiscoverMusic, the collection includes Drake’s first-ever recording session at Sound Techniques studio in London, which took place in March 1968. The tracks were taken from a mono tape reel that was in the possession of Drake’s friend, singer Beverley Martin, for more than 50 years.

Also featured in the box set are tracks from a tape recorded in early 1968 at Caius College in Cambridge, U.K. The reel was recorded by Cambridge acquaintance of Nick’s named Paul de Rivaz, who had stored it away in the bottom of a drawer for decades.

More About the Box Set

One track from the March 1968 Sound Techniques session a version of the Five Leaves Left tune “’Cello Song” initially titled “Strange Face,” has been made available via digital formats in advance of the box set.

At least one alternate version of each of Five Leaves Left’s 10 songs also is included in the box set.

In addition, the collection features versions of such non-album rarities as “Mayfair,” “Blossom,” “Made to Love Magic” and “Time of No Reply.”

The Making of Five Leaves Left can be pre-ordered now in physical and digital formats.

About Five Leaves Left

Five Leaves Left was produced by Joe Boyd, who was known for his work with Fairport Convention and on Pink Floyd’s debut single, “Arnold Layne.”

The album featured contributions from Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson, Pentangle double-bass player Danny Thompson, and African percussionist Rocky Dzidzornu. Dzidzornu had previously played on several noteworthy Rolling Stones songs.

Five Leaves Left had little success following its release on July 3, 1969. It eventually was certified gold in 2013 by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 100,000 equivalent units in the U.K.

More About Nick Drake

Drake was a poetic and introspective singer/songwriter, and a talented acoustic guitarist who was extremely adept at fingerpicking. His beautiful, melancholy tunes featured the influence of folk, classical, and jazz.

Drake only released three studio albums and enjoyed little commercial success during his short life. Sadly, he died by suicide in 1974 at age 26. Drake’s music began being introduced to a much wider audience after his 1972 song “Pink Moon” was featured in a popular 1999 Volkswagen car commercial.

The Making of Five Leaves Left Box Set Track List:

CD 1: 1st Sound Techniques Session, aka The Beverley Martyn Demo & Alternate Takes from February 1968 to April 1969

1. “Mayfair” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
2. “Time Has Told Me” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
3. “Man in a Shed” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
4. “Fruit Tree” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
5. “Saturday Sun” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
6. “Strange Face” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968)
7. “Strange Face” (Rough Mix with Guide Vocal, September 1968)
8. “Day Is Done” (Take 5, April 1968)
9. “Day Is Done” (Take 2, November 1968)
10. “Day Is Done” (Take 7, April 1969)
11. “Man in a Shed” (Take 1, May 1968)
12. “My Love Left with the Rain” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)

CD 2: Paul de Rivas Reel, October 1968/Out-Takes, November 1968

1. “Blossom” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
2. “Instrumental” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
3. “Made to Love Magic” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
4. “Mickey’s Tune” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
5. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
6. “Day Is Done” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
7. “Time Has Told Me” (Cambridge, Lent Term, 1968)
8. “Three Hours” (Take 2, November 1968)
9. “Time Has Told Me” (Take 4, November 1968)
10. “Strange Face” (Take 1, November 1968)
11. “Saturday Sun” (Take 1, November 1968)
12. “Fruit Tree” (Take 4, November 1968)

CD 3: Out-Takes from December 1968 to April 1969

1. “Time of No Reply” (Take 3 into Take 4, December 1968)
2. “’Cello Song” (Take 4, January 1969)
3. “Mayfair” (Take 5, January 1969)
4. “River Man” (Take 1, January 1969)
5. “Way to Blue” (Cambridge, Winter 1968)
6. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane” (Take 2, April 1969)
7. “Saturday Sun” (Take 1 into Take 2, April 1969)
8. “River Man” (Take 2, April 1969)

CD 4: Five Leaves Left – The Original Album

1. “Time Has Told Me”
2. “River Man”
3. “Three Hours”
4. “Way to Blue”
5. “Day Is Done”
6. “’Cello Song”
7. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane”
8. “Man in a Shed”
9. “Fruit Tree”
10. “Saturday Sun”

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