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Five Leaves Left
 
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Five Leaves Left [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Nick Drake | Format: Audio CD
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
Price: £5.82 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Five Leaves Left + Bryter Layter + Pink Moon
Price For All Three: £15.70

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  • In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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  • Bryter Layter ~ Nick Drake Audio CD £5.39

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  • Pink Moon ~ Nick Drake Audio CD £4.49

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Product details

  • Audio CD (26 Jun 2000)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
  • Label: Universal / Island
  • ASIN: B000026FOA
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,257 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Time Has Told Me 4:26£0.89
Listen  2. River Man 4:18£0.89
Listen  3. Three Hours 6:12£0.89
Listen  4. Way To Blue 3:07£0.89
Listen  5. Day Is Done 2:25£0.89
Listen  6. ' Cello Song 4:44£0.89
Listen  7. Thoughts Of Mary Jane 3:17£0.89
Listen  8. Man In A Shed 3:47£0.89
Listen  9. Fruit Tree 4:44£0.89
Listen10. Saturday Sun 4:02£0.89

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

There's not a single dud in the trilogy of albums that singer/songwriter Nick Drake released during his all-too-short career. And 1968's Five Leaves Left--his first album--is certainly no exception. Drake's sensitive guitar work and sensitive vocals are backed by the baroque sounds of a chamber string group and the platter's lyrics show maturity well beyond the age of their 20-year-old creator. More sparse than its follow-up, the jazzy Bryter Later , but less tortured than Drake's dark final chapter, Pink Moon, Five Leaves Left is a classic folk disc. Songs like "River Man", "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" and "Day Is Done" are among Drake's finest moments. Newcomers be forewarned: this music is as infectious as it is bleak. --Jason Verlinde

BBC Review

Twenty years ago Nick Drake was a distinctly word-of-mouth proposition whose slim back catalogue was shared by a select few. Nowadays, thanks to championing by the likes of Paul Weller, as well as a series of books and TV and radio documentaries (cf: Radio 2's effort hosted by Brad Pitt!), Nick's a household name. This may account for the recent avalanche of 'sensitive' singer songwriters but it's hard not to be still floored by the beauty of his first album.

Discovered by Fairport Convention's Ashley Hutchings and signed to Joe Boyd's Witchseason production company Drake was pigeonholed as a 'folk' artist. Five Leaves Left, recorded on a shoestring in 1969, boasted a cast of players who had paid their dues forging the new genre of folk rock (ie: Fairport's Richard Thompson and Pentangle's Danny Thompson); but this was a whole different kettle of

Englishness, with more than a hint of jazz about it. Sung in the semi-whispered tones that betrayed no hint of ersatz rurality, these cryptic songs of reflection and emotional 'otherness' were propelled by the one thing that had attracted Boyd to Drake: His idiosyncratic open-tuned picking style "Cello Song".

Drake is often painted as a retiring man, yet he was often extremely vocal over his muse. He and Boyd initially fought over Drake's wish for a stripped back approach (which he eventually found on his last masterpiece, Pink Moon). In the end old college friend, Robert Kirby, provided orchestration that beautifully captured the yearning 'autumnal' element in the songs "Way To Blue" and "Day Is Done".

What's more, the string arrangement by Harry Robinson on "River Man" - possibly Drake's finest song - succinctly turned his Delius-meets-folk-jazz opus into something that no one had ever heard before. It's a key text for Drake fans, containing the return to nature matched against the infidelities of city life: A theme he would return to again and again, while the album title's sly reference to smoker's delights (as well as "Thoughts Of Mary Jane") showed that Drake was no stranger to the standard musician's indulgences.

Widely ignored upon its release, with hindsight it's easy to see how such ignorance conspired to make Drake a bitter man. Yet ultimately all we can do is bask in the unique vision captured here and be grateful that, for a short period, Nick Drake was able to share it with us all. --Chris Jones

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My introduction to Nick Drake was around the early 90s through a friend who had been introduced to him by his father - a guitarist. It's strange how Nick Drake's music often spreads like that. I so adore this album, it has one of my favourite tracks of all time "River Man" on it but I also love his other two albums as well. I've re-written what I wanted to say about Five Leaves Left and Nick Drake so many times, but I can't review / explain him. You simply have to take the plunge and experience Nick. I would say one word though - Genius - a much paraded word and I hate using it, but Nick was a very great and rare natural ability. He produced music with a deceptively simple sound but constructed with much complexity in composition, playing and emotion. Nick Drake's music can bring a tear to my eye, and no-one else's music does that. Just buy his three albums, after buying one you will probably buy them all eventually anyway, and it it'll be your life's best purchase. Like me you'll fall in love with his gentle musical genius, and everyone you play the albums to will do too.
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78 of 79 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Having sampled Nick Drake's genius on "Way to Blue - An introduction to Nick Drake", I went out and bought all three of his main albums. They are all worthy of five stars, but while the stark "Pink Moon" perhaps has a couple of weak links and "Bryter Later" relies on some instrumental passages, I would say that "Five Leaves Left" stands as the ultimate monument to Nick Drake's brilliance.

It contains arguably his greatest songs, the lilting, yearning "River Man" and the harrowing, prophetic "Fruit Tree". There is playfulness too in "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" and "Man in a Shed" but all tinged with his trademark "wistfulness" Other classics are "Day is Done", "Saturday Sun" and the beautiful "Cello Song", which shows off his almost inimitable guitar technique. The whole album boasts an incredible range of interesting rhythms and melodies. If you liked Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" you'll certainly like this

Drake on this record was whimsical yet poignant, hopeful yet hurt. He sang in a whisper that spoke a whole encyclopaedia of volumes. He was one of this country's greatest songwriters and a great musician too. A lot of stuff I used to like now sounds clumsy after listening to this.

Phew! But that's enough. Don't take my word for it. Buy this - and the other two albums too.

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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
For anyone who hasn't listened to Nick Drake's music before, this is probably the best place to start. Listen to this and I guarantee that you will buy 'Pink Moon' and 'Bryter Later' within weeks - if you do you won't be disappointed. Both in their own way are as good as this and that's saying something! 'Five Leaves Left' is simply a masterpiece. There isn't a bad or even a mediocre track on this album. Every single note is imbued with a beauty that few artists ever attain, yet this was Drake's debut! From the wonderful opener "Time Has Told Me" to the bluesy "Saturday Sun" the album maintains excellent quality. All Drake's guitar playing and singing is fantastic but what really makes this album one of the greatest albums ever made are the collection of melancholic string-laden songs that make up the meat of the album. "Way To Blue", "Day Is Done" and "Cello Song" are masterpieces, simply stunning. Listen to them and be beguiled. Once you've heard these tracks you will forever compare them to anything you listen to and mostly find everything else wanting. Yet THE standout track on the album rises above even this. "Fruit Tree" just has to be one of the saddest songs ever recorded especially in view of what eventually became of Nick Drake - utterly prescient. 'Five Leaves Left' is truly one of the best albums I've ever heard. If you haven't heard it yet, get it. It'll be the best thing you ever do! Couldn't be anything but 10/10
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Five Leaves Left
I found this cd as a surprise present for my sisiter, who had heard a couple of the tracks over the years and always meant to source them, so I was very pleased to find what I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by hazelb
nick drake
heard the CELLO SONG on vintage music channel so looked up album . really good listening , bargain product ,would recommend to all who like easy listening
Published 1 month ago by davynobait
wind down to this
I had heard of Nick Drake but not really listened to much of his stuff. Finally bit the bullet after being reminded how good Riverman is by Radio 2 (thanks Sir Terry). Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. K. O'Haire
Masterpiece
Having discovered Nick Drake a month or so ago, I purchased this album after buying a compilation, expecting this to just have a few filler tracks. Wrong. Read more
Published 10 months ago by S J Buck
Five leaves left, one brilliant musician
I found out about Nick Drake after listening to his CDs which my dad owns, and then noticed his music is often used in programmes we no longer see anymore like "Heartbeat" and "The... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Emily
The Best of His Three
This has to be the starting point for any new comer to Drakes music. From start to finish this album captures your imagination and transports you to Cambridge amongst the dreaming... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Dixa
Simply superb
Down the years I've only ever heard brief snippets of Nick Drake's music, so I thought I would introduce myself properly by starting with this album after seeing the incredible... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Alan James
everyone should have one
Five leaves left is one of the most outstanding albums of all time. There is not a sub-standard millisecond throughout. Read more
Published 20 months ago by stilly
Timeless
Up until about 2 years ago (I'm a 60's man), I was not aware of Nick Drake. Then a new friend of mine - Jedd Holden - who sings in a band called Holden (brothers), sung some of his... Read more
Published 21 months ago by L. C. Timewell
Time for you to discover Nick Drake!
Nick Drake: introvert, made albums which didn't sell, died young, was rediscovered and became a cult figure after his death. Read more
Published 21 months ago by MR K J DOWNING
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