"Darkness can give the brightest light"
Well, I'd better not go directly into the album, I think that it's quite necessary to get into the person Nick Drake before we get into his music. He was born in Burma, but moved to England when he was 4, where he grew up as a pretty ordinary boy with a good sense of how to handle the guitar. He had no kind of bad childhood, yet he was quite introverted, and when he had grown up, he often had problems with depression, and after the release of his first two LPs, he hid himself in Spain for a year. He got back to the musical scene in 1972 and released Pink Moon, one of the most bare naked albums in rock history, but then some little time after, he died in his parent's home by an overdose anti-depressive medicines, only 26 years old. Worth to mention is that he didn't start playing the guitar until he was 16. Wee, there’s still hope for me! Anyway and anyhow, Drake created his songs around melodies he created and recorded alone with his guitar, which might be one reason to why he sounds so close to you through all the record. A singer alone with his or her guitar is the best way to resonate with the listener, just take a listen to an artist with a fate in some places similar to Drake’s – Eva Cassidy. This guy, using his very peculiar, dim vocals in order to tell his stories about his reflections on world, is probably the closest an artist can come to my heart without doing a live performance, perhaps even then! Nick Drake is indeed a VERY unique artist, and anybody should get touched by his music, and the philosophical, mellow and thoughtful way of both writing lyrics and composing music, has indeed influenced many a later coming band. And, I believe that he makes his music not in order to suit the listener, but to get rid of his own mental ghosts. It’s not like he tried to get those ghosts moving over into the listener, as the case sometimes is with bands like Nirvana and a whole bunch of goth/synth pop of the 80’s.
Now, did you think that Nick is alone through all the record? Not so! The VERY competent arranger Robert Kirby is probably more participant than Nick himself, concerning the musical part of the album. In fact, without Kirby’s string arrangements, this record would’ve lost a huge part of its mood – and the mood makes up one whole third of the album, Nick’s resonance and lyrics being the other two. And then it would’ve been similar to Pink Moon, which probably would’ve been a bad thing. Still concerning the string arrangements, they really do provide the album with a most vital part; brooding and beautiful, they make the perfect background to Nick’s vocals and eminent guitar playing, making the album just as autumnal as the most autumnal days of the fall. The stuff altogether sounds, like, a grey and damp sky, a cool northern wind, an alley with trees with their last few brown and dry leaves, it captures the mood you’re in on early October mornings, and, well, just awfully beautiful.
Anyhow, as a small but not unimportant line before I keep on rambling even more about the album, I should mention that the guy also got help from Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson on electric guitar, Danny Thompson on bass and pianist Paul Harris. More musical talking now; There’s not really any strong hooks in the album, not the way Dylan cries “Sara, Saaara...”, and not the way The Beatles do “Blackbird”, but almost. The hooks are quite abstract, but they’re there. It’s just, like, the songs aren’t built around any hooks the “normal” way. In some way. I can’t describe it. Anyway, the album not having the obvious hooks or not, there’s lots and lots of interesting guitar melodies to enjoy, as well as there’s always something happening other than that – either within Nick’s vocal melodies, or within the brooding string arrangements or some piano line, or whatever. This album might be the right one for dull autumn days, but that doesn’t mean that the songs themselves, or the album, are dull in any way. Let’s say that the album captures the good sides of autumn, allright? “
Time Has Told Me” is a pretty sing-along-friendly tune anyway, and is just lovely the way it opens the album, while the other “hooky” song is the slightly misplaced “Cello Song”. In that one, there’s both some humming from Nick, a cello melody and some bongo drums or something to get hung up on. It’s not a bad song, in any way, it just seems slightly misplaced with its quite upbeat melody. It would’ve fit better on the next album, perhaps in exchange of “Nothern Sky”, or something. Now that we’re on the song subject, there’s the ultimately moody “Way To Blue” and “River Man”, which are so beautiful that I rarely pass through them with dry eyes; there’s the apocalyptic but yet silent “Three Hours”, there’s the mellow, oh-so-beautiful “Saturday Sun”, “Day Is Done” and “Fruit Tree”, and the little diamonds called “The Thoughts Of Mary Jane” and “Man In A Shed”...Consider yourself warned when I say that this album will become a part of your life once you get hold of it, and, you really should. It’s that kind of record which makes you a better human.
Add your thoughts about Five Leaves Left!
The previous album wasn’t really commercially successful,
so this time around, Nick took some time writing more easy-listened song, with
more obvious and catchier hooks. You who think that you have quite a good knowledge
about my musical tastes might raise an eyebrow there, I gave the album a rating
of 9,5, didn’t I? If we suppose that you haven’t heard Nick Drake, it might
seem weird, but an accessible Nick Drake song isn’t really the same thing as
an accessible Klaatu song, AT ALL. Examples on accessible Nick Drake songs are
“Hazey Jane II” and “Poor Boy”, jazzy tunes with a touch of self-irony and with
a moderate beat. The same way as “Kicking Horse On Brokenhill” is an accessible
Godspeed You Black Emperor! tune. Everything’s relative.
Anyway, as a result of this new musical direction, this album hasn’t got the
lovely, depressing, autumnish mood of the first album, and, that’s why the ten
is half a point away. Otherwise, the songs are EVEN more consistent and well-worked
than before, AND! There’s no song which, like “Cello Song”, disturb the flow
and the mood of the album (”Cello Song” would’ve fitted this album perfectly
well, by the way). Nick Drake seems to have been free to imaginate this time
around, ending up in songs like the beautiful and pretty little ballad of “Fly”,
the title track with some of the cutest flute lines I’ve ever heard, or the
moody, brooding “Nothern Sky”, with its organs building up an impressive, gorgeous
atmosphere. That track could’ve fit the earlier record. On the most upbeat song,
the mentioned “Hazey Jane II”, Richard Thompson comes in, adding his proficiency
with the slide guitar to the track. The neat instrumental “Introduction” opens
the album in a magnificient way, and Robert Kirby once again proves that he’s
a master at composing arrangements, while the equally instrumental “Sunday”
closes the album in a more gloomy way. Obviously, the fellow wasn’t very eager
to keep inside any given frames, as seems to be the case with the other two
studio albums, but rather very full of lust to try new things, which in Nick
Drake’s case doen’t mean the same thing as overusing his guitar skill, try out
the electric guitar, make a funk or reggae song, or something like that. He
just varies himself.
I know I should write more about the album, but I don’t feel like that right
now, as a live Dave Matthews and Phish tune is calling on my mind, so I better
drift of to it. But, the album is really an awfully fine one, and probably the
way to start with Nick Drake, if you don’t have the money to buy all the records
at once. See ya ‘round.
Send your comments and reviews of anything!
After the release of Bryter Layter, Nick Drake chose to - periodically - live without contact with the world around. He spent two years living like this, and when he finally decided to come back, he didn't make it with any great hullabaloo, really. Instead of making an overwhelming follow-up to the preceding albums, he caught up with engineer John Wood and recorded some songs in some obscure studio, only he and his six-string. The legend then has that he went to meet some bigwigs from the record company and said; "Here's my next album". The bigwigs then said, "Fine, let's make some orchestrations and we'll have another good album!". "No - it's already finished", Drake then replied. He did some overdubbing, though - a piano was added on a couple of tracks.
It's been argued, to and fro, whether this was a good movement or not. Many, including me, miss the beautiful orchestrations which were such an important element on the earlier albums. But now, without those orchestrations, Drake becomes the destitute poe many people associates with him. The album might be a way to set his poems to music, what do I know? The fellow died two years later, by an overdose of anti-depressive pills, so he's not available for an interview at the moment. Some of the songs, though, seems to be, um, real songs, though. This album is also supposed to be an anti-commercial movement, containing only what he was able to record by himself, and only what he had to record at the moment. His answer to the ones who asked him about the shortness of the album usually got the answer that "This is all I've got at the moment".
Anyways, many a person has this album as his or hers special little favorite. It seems, though, as if it's on the emotional plan this album strikes them, and they, generally speaking, agrees that the other two studio albums are musically better. What they most often point at, when talking about why they like the album so much, is that it's "so dang depressive". I only wonder, though, if there might have been some sort of confusion between "depressing" and "intimate"? Myself I don't see where this album is depressing, I rather think that his first album is the darkest album of his whole career. What strikes ME about the album is the way he just... gives himself to me, the way he manages to touch my heart with his music. Some points down because of the pretty weak songs, though - I rarely notice when a song moves over into another, or what's the difference between them. George Starostin says that he's got problems figuring out the difference between the songs on Five Leaves Left, but I don't see where that album is more monotonous than this. After about a dozen listens to this album, I still get surprised when looking at the back of the CD, finding out that there's actually some songs called "Harvest Breed", "Road", "Ride" and "Place To Be" - not to mention "Which Will". Those songs are for me really hard to identify and remember. The title track, though, is a gentle tune with some piano overdubs besides the voice and the guitar. Of all the songs on here, this is the one which reminds me most about the past, it has the atmosphere and the twinkling piano.
"Place to Be", though, might also sound like a demo from the past, but just as any of the songs on here, it's in desperate need of an orchestration to add some diversity to it. Same goes for "Road" and "Which Will".
"Horn" is a short, stupid little instrumental, featuring some
slow, boring guitarpicking which even I could easily learn to play. Inadequate,
Nick!
"Things Behind the Sun" was originally thought for Bryter Layter.
It's a shame it didn't show up on that album, where it was certain to get the
so badly needed orchestration and jazzy accompaniment. It's still a very fine
little acoustic tune about loneliness, and it's the first really good song since
the opener.
"Know" features a repeated riff and some vocals. Pretty cool, I admit, but great? Hmm... "Parasite" features, unlike the preceding song, clever lyrics, but the memorable melody isn't here this time.
"Ride" is quite like all the other songs, and so is "Harvest Breed". "From the morning", though, still only features a guitar and some vocals, but this time around Nick manages to get the guitar sounding interesting, and even though it lacks an orchestral arrangement, it seems to come right out of any of the earlier albums.
And so this was the toughest album to get through Nick ever released. It desperately lacks Kirby's orchestrations, but a lot of people seems to be attracted by the bareness of the album, and who knows - you might be one of them.
well, the emotional qualities here are everything. this is so emotional, sad & yearning that it should make you feel those same emotions. music this moving shouldn't be dismissed lightly - and needs listening to again and again. its a short album, so its an idea to do that. the genius of nick drake is all over this album, albeit in unadorned form. its pure, its wonderful and i can listen to this over and over again. his masterpiece. [Well, agreed that it's a short album, and that one should listen to it several times - I've actually done that, believe it or not. However, I don't think that this album is any more emotional that the earlier two, only emotional in another way. And then Time Of No Reply is better! - Joel]
Alright. This is an album of outtakes and alternative takes and stuff from all three studio albums, plus the last three songs he ever recorded before he passed away. The songs are mostly recorded by Nick alone, with only his guitar to accompany himself, with some exceptions. And who'd expect that I actually ended up WANTING to hear troubadeurish versions Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter after praising the orchestrations and the perfectness of those records? Where Pink Moon had the mood but not the melodies the earliest albums had, some of these tunes combines the two, and it sounds really quite great. Of course, Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter had their moods as well, but not THAT mood, they were rather mellow. Anyway, this album is certainly a lot better than Pink Moon, but then there's this Nick Drake problem - his music sounds best when some orchestrations are added, while he never managed to catch the mood he created on Pink Moon with his songs being orchestrated. Mood or music, you decide. Personally, I'd stick on the latter, and therefore I wouldn't feel good giving this album a rating as high as a 12.
Well, here goes the tracklisting: 1) Time Of No Reply, 2) I Was Made To Love Magic, 3) Joey, 4) Clothes Of Sand, 5) Man In A Shed, 6) Mayfair, 7) Fly, 8)The Thoughts Of Mary Jane, 9) Been Smoking Too Long, 10) Strange Meeting II, 11) Rider On The Wheel, 12) Black Eyed Dog, 13) Hanging On A Star, 14) Voice From The Mountain. Those last four songs are the last songs he ever recorded, and they go in the same style as Pink Moon. "Black Eyed Dog" is probably the best of them, with a scary howling from mr. Drake we never heard from him anywhere else, and, well, it's just dang scary. "Rider On The Wheel" has a nice little guitar melody, but the other two are your average Pink Moon-y songs, but Nick Drake is still Nick Drake, hey! "Time Of No Reply" is a very strong little ballad, which increases the feeling that this guy really was the lonely spirit he's said to be. Songs like this one grabs my ear like few else, I'm such a sentimental guy, and it IS a pretty fantastic tune!
"I Was Made To Love Magic" is a nice little outtake, with an orchestration and all. It has quite jazzy drums, and now and then there's some beautiful line in the wind-instruments. It sounds like an old American jazz ballad, well, cool. "Joey" has a gorgeous guitar tone, and Nick manages to play like two guitarists at the same time. It is a pretty mellow-to-dark tune, and, it's lovely! "Clothes Of Sand" has a certain folky touch, with a beautiful vocal and guitar melody...think if Pink Moon would have sounded like these three solo Nick tunes! What an awesome album THAT would have been! Dreams aside, that "Clothes Of Sand" is simply fabulous as well. Then there's an alternative take of "Man In A Shed", and after that comes something as unusual as a quite upbeat song, "Mayfair", which is gentle and nice, but not too memorable.
The alternative version of "Fly" only features only Nick and his guitar, and again he plays like two other guitarists at the same time. He DOES play the wrong note a couple of times, but I guess that's because it IS an alternative take. The guitar sounds just gorgeous now and then, showing that the song is great, not only the orchestration, and it still makes me feel happy! "The Thoughts Of Mary Jane" features some more electric guitar than the original version on Five Leaves Left does, and, not bad. "Been Smoking Too Long" is a cover of Robin Frederick's blues, and Nick must have recorded it with a tape recorder or something, 'cause this really sounds like some old Robert Johnson recording, not the least because the two have similar playing styles, and that song really sounds as some 30's-40's original. And, I like that!
"Strange Meeting" is a gentle little ballad, with some beautiful lines now and then, and that's that. And, if you're the least into Nick Drake, this album will be unvaluable for you! And check out that guitar on "Rider On The Wheel"!
Is it really the "time of no reply", or have you perhaps something on your mind?