Five Leaves Left

Five Leaves Left was recorded between July 1968 and June 1969 at Sound Techniques in London, England. Engineer John Wood recalled that "[Drake] would track live, singing and playing along with the string section" without the use of any overdubbing. For the song "River Man", producer Joe Boyd described Drake playing on a stool in the centre of the studio while surrounded by a semi-circle of instruments. The studio's environment was also an important factor as it had multiple levels to it which enabled the creation of interesting sounds and atmospheres.[1][3]

Among his various backing musicians, Drake was accompanied by Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention and Danny Thompson of Pentangle. Robert Kirby, a friend of Drake's from his youth, arranged the string instruments for several tracks while Harry Robinson arranged the strings for "River Man".[4] The title of the album is a reference to the old Rizla cigarette papers packet, which used to contain a printed note near the end saying "Only five leaves left".[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A[8]
Pitchfork	9.5/10[9]
Q	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]
Uncut	[12]

Reviews of the album in the months following its release were mixed. The brief review in Melody Maker discussed the origins of the album's title and added simply, "It sounds poetic and so does composer, singer and guitarist Nick Drake. His debut album for Island is interesting."[13] Gordon Coxhill of the NME expressed his disappointment with the record, saying, "I'm sorry I can't be more enthusiastic because he obviously has a not inconsiderable amount of talent, but there is not nearly enough variety on this debut LP to make it entertaining. His voice reminds me very much of Peter Sarstedt, but his songs lack Sarstedt's penetration and arresting quality."[14] A review the same month by Maurice Rosenbaum in The Daily Telegraph was more positive, describing the record as an "excellent LP of [Drake's] own songs", and observing, "His voice is slow, reflective and warm, and although the verse structure tends to melodic monotony, there is no mistaking the quality and the promise of 'River Man', 'The Thoughts of Mary Jane', 'Man in a Shed' and other items on this disc".[15]

Until the 1990s Drake's albums had been critically and popularly ignored.[3][4] By the 1990s, though, Drake and Five Leaves Left began to be reassessed more closely. The release of the remastered version in 2000 resulted in positive retrospective reviews from the UK music magazines. John Harris wrote in Q that "the record's abiding impression" was of "a hesitant, slightly troubled soul peering at the straight world and wondering what will become of both him and the people he beholds".[10] In Uncut Ian MacDonald said, "A fine debut, Five Leaves Left would have been stronger still had 'I Was Made to Love Magic' and 'Time of No Reply' been used instead of 'Thoughts of Mary Jane' and 'Man in a Shed' ... This aside, the album remains singular – cool and shady amid the celebratory sunshine of the late Sixties."[12]

An earlier review in Q cited it as "The pinnacle of a melancholy canon of work so distinctive that admirers can only speculate miserably on what might have been."[16] Alternative Press called it "[one] of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever recorded."[17] A 2007 review by Chris Jones said "it's hard not to be still floored by the beauty of [Drake's] first album" and lauded its "unique vision" mixing elements of English folk music and jazz.[18]

All tracks are written by Nick Drake.

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

• "Time Has Told Me"

  Paul Harris – piano

  Richard Thompson – electric guitar

  Danny Thompson – double bass

• "River Man"

  Danny Thompson – double bass

  Harry Robinson – string arrangement

• "Three Hours"

  Danny Thompson – double bass

  Rocky Dzidzornu – congas

• "Way to Blue"

  Nick Drake – vocals

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

• "Day is Done"

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

• "'Cello Song"

  Danny Thompson – double bass

  Rocky Dzidzornu – congas, shaker

  Clare Lowther – cello

• "Thoughts of Mary Jane"

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

  uncredited – flute

• "Man in a Shed"

  Paul Harris – piano

  Danny Thompson – double bass

• "Fruit Tree"

  Robert Kirby – string arrangement

  uncredited – oboe, bass oboe and English horn

• "Saturday Sun"

  Nick Drake – vocals, piano

  Danny Thompson – double bass

  Tristan Fry – drums and vibraphone

Technical

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

• A radio special about Five Leaves Left with Nick Drake biographers Trevor Dann, Patrick Humphries and Peter Hogan on The Marketplace of Ideas.