Down To The Roots

Newly discovered outtake reels give wonderfully intriguing insight into the making of singer-songwriter's classic debut.

- By Rob Chapman

With the Nick Drake story now all but consumed by its dominant narratives of cultdom, tragedy and myth it's nice to be occasionally reminded that in the late 60s he was just another talented young hopeful in a long line of talented young hopefuls trying to make a name for himself. If Bryter Layter was the lusciously arranged summation of an artist in the fullness of his talent and Pink Moon was the stark unadorned masterpiece, Drake's '69 debut, Five Leaves Left reveals the promise and potential in its first display.

This expansive and sensitively assembled 4CD/4LP box set fully justifies its title by including a plethora of try-outs, cast-offs and demo versions which showcase those early songs in their various stages of evolution. An abundance of never previously heard material casts fresh light on these initial efforts, revealing ideas and arrangements in gestation as Drake experiments with tempo shifts and subtle melodic variations. There's the added bonus of hearing him speak before or during several of the tracks, offering confident and assured instructions in those impeccably enunciated tones of his. From an early stage he clearly has strong ideas about how these songs will develop, whether it's outlining where flute and bass might come in on the previously unreleased My Love Left With The Rain or explaining that Day Is Done is going to be “a string quartet song”.