Five Leaves Left

Mellow, folky, acoustic singer/songwriter stuff. Runs moody to upbeat. Solid playing including some intricate fingerpicking. Lusher arrangements as well including strings (and given the year of production, I'm sure it's real instruments). There's a song "Thoughts of Mary Jane" ... 1969. Come on, man.

chill

leuk voor één liedje of zo... maar dit is echt te veel... ieder nummer is perfekt inwisselbaar met het vorige en het volgende...

J'ai bien aimé, l'album a un aspect mélancolique très attrayant avec des parties de guitare très intéressantes. Néanmoins, l'album est assez répétitif et peu inventif

It was pleasant. Just nothing to write home about. I think I prefer Alexi Murdoch more

It was good, but definitely not as good as Pink Moon

00:05am Još jutros sam poslušala album ali to je tako bilo površno slušanje. Nije mi uopšte prijao njegov glas i način na koji izvodi pjesmu. Probala sam iz više puta da slušam neke pjesme prateći tekst, ali me i tekst deprimirao. Pročitala sam posle da je Nick Drake umro u 26-oj godini života i da je imao depresiju. To se baš odražava na njegov stil pjevanja i muziku generalno, tako da opet ja jesam fan folk muzike, sporijih pjesama, balada, ali previše mi je ovaj album deprimirajući. Vidjela sam, takoðe, da je glumac koji glumi Stevea u Stranger things seriji rekao da mu je Pink moon album od Nick Drakea jedan od omiljenih, pa sam onda i njega poslušala ali džaba. Sve isto, monotono.

This album is pure poetry. It’s so minimalistic yet so powerful, sticking to the tried and true methods of impactful music through chords and simple orchestration. It feels very personal, yet has such strong emotion being invoked. On the flip side, this minimalism prevents some songs from having proper progression, leaving it like an incomplete thought. Favorite song: River Man

Knew the big ones from this LP but had never listened in full. Some nice songs but a little too twee and heavy and orchestral accompaniment.

so pleasantly surprised! this was jack johnson in the 70s

not my type of music, too slow and calm

Heard Before? I'm a music snob in my 40s, what do you think? Notes: - the arrangements are glorious. I much prefer this to his skeletal sounding other albums. - everything is mixed just right. - the songs all have strong individual character. - his voice is the epitome of artsy melancholy. I've heard that the lyrics are good, but I've never paid any attention. Verdict: The Nick Drake cult is as easy as ever to get sucked into, with or without all the backstory. Gorgeous. Listen Again? Of course.

I don’t think I can take another one of these albums

nice listen

just no

Wow, I loved this album so much. The instrumentals are amazing, especially the strings and guitar throughout the album. The vocals were great as well. It was so peaceful and enjoyable to listen to, made me feel like I was in a peaceful cabin in the woods. That was one of the most enjoyable 41 minutes I’ve had in a while. My favorite tracks were River Man and Saturday Sun. 5/5 album for me!

Wanted to get on a bike in Texas and also just stay put at the same time

Listenable but i liked his other album better, kinda depressing, fav song is “Fruit tree”

Sounded like a lot of albums this week. Slow

The highlight of Nick Drake's debut album is the evocative "River Man", a 5/4-time signature marvel with lush-yet-haunting strings. The rest of the album has decent but relatively unadventurous songwriting, relying a little too hard on established folk forms (and with some tracks like "Thoughts Of Mary Jane" practically medieval-sounding). Still, Nick Drake's voice has a lot of personality and the acoustic guitar-and-strings arrangements are often beautiful.

42. alright

Five Leaves Left is an absolutely great album. Nick Drake was never an artist i was really aware of prior to doing both this and Pink Moon but those two albums have taught me that the music he makes is hauntingly beautiful. A lot of this music really invokes some of Leonard Cohen's stuff with a lot of the stylings you would expect from an album by him. Of course, the music here is great like i said, each instrument from the violin, the guitars and the cello among many others were executed brilliantly here. Drake's voice, which is the main reason why i brought the Leonard Cohen comparison here is also great. The production here is also great, better than Pink Moon. This album certainly is a really good one. Best Song: Cello Song Worst Song: Time Has Told Me

It can be a little one note. It is, however, a very pretty one note and one I will be revisiting.

3.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/nick-drake/five-leaves-left/ It's good, but just that, I guess? Listened to it twice today and still nothing really sticks. Not sure I like the lush instrumentals too much. It's no Pink Moon, that's for sure.

It's very similar to Pink Moon. Nick's amazing voice, acoustic instrumentation and absolutely magical songwriting. The major difference is that there is actually more instruments here than just a guitar. It's all very beautiful, his playing is immaculate and his voice just sooo soothing. I guess it doesn't have that vibe of Pink Moon, idk why but just something about that album is so special and touches my soul in a very unique way. This is absolutely stellar tho, not really much worse.

ah i recognize this tradition of english folk--belle & sebastian followed it. they took more license, i think, but definitely there very nice cadence to time has told me loving the strings in river man fruit tree--so good love the album will need to listen more to fully absorb it. 5/5

I have never listened to a whole Nick Drake album. I kinda liked the laid back vibe. The lyrics were great and as an aspiring producer how this record was made is rarely done anymore. Sounds cool.

Maybe high 3s (3.5-3.8?), liked parts but overall slower than I usually go for. Chill though

I listened to this one a few times because I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t love it on first listen, but it grew on me. You can really hear his British accent come through, and it feels a little like he could’ve been a Beatle in their slower songs. It’s chill and a little melancholy/bittersweet. Good for that vibe

Bad orchestra!

Beautifully written songs

Very Calm and a Bit too sad for me

Just not for me. I’m sure it’s for someone, but not met. It felt uninteresting and flat. The instrumentation was fine.

Very cool. Reminded me of John Martyn.

Nick Drake is always a breath of fresh air. I prefer his other albums, but his voice singing to me on my.mornimg commute is always welcome.

No lo terminé de escuchar, de verdad NO PUDE Muy aburrido, muy repetitivo No es mi estilo, no lo odio pero no lo disfrute 🤷‍♀️

Enjoayble, smooth and safe for work support in the background.

A good headphone listen, enjoyed it, a refreshing change of pace from much of the stuff we've had on this list.

Really prettty

Meh, it was ok. Too much flute.

Enjoyed the album Favourite song either three hours or Saturday sun

A lovely, peaceful listen.

Not my cup of tea, was literally listening it as a background music, sorry :/

I just dont enjoy it as much as i should

Mesmerizing listen. Fingers dance over the strings. I feel like I'm on a train watching the world pass by (Three Hours) during the journey Nick takes us on with his gentle, measured voice. Some sad songs that feel almost operatic... I can see myself in a Shakespearean theater as he laments, in front of an orchestra, about lost love. Day is Done is a brief, cryptic, clairvoyant song given Drake's young death. So, the album sits with me as both upsetting while oddly peaceful. The pace of this music and its softness offers an opportunity out of the sadness and depression at the heart of the lyrics.

Not my type, but clearly a talented guy

Tää oli aika mitään sanomaton levy. Liian rauhallista mun makuuni.

A little somber and slow for me. Not something I'd generally listen to, but it's not bad by any means.

I give this a Yawn out of 10.

Nice album, loved the orchestral aspects. Not exactly my jam and probably won’t revisit but can appreciate it

I can appreciate the vibe and appeal and definite talent. If I was in a pub and he was playing in the corner it probably be just lovely. As it is, winter weather has me inside and with 3 songs still to go, it feels like I have been listening for a day and a night already. Apart from some tempo shifts, it sounds quite the same through.

absolutely insane song making, beautiful lyrics and vocals, amazing debut, makes u wanna think about life

Pink Moon is an amazing album and I think this one just doesn't stand up. It's a little fuller, which I think works against it. The piano, for instance, doesn't add, it's a negative. But still a great album. The guy was born into it, it's natural to him.

Need to listen!

I'm grateful to live in a world where I can listen to Nick Drake, and I wish he was still here to share this world with me.

Folk That's all

I can't believe some of these songs were written by someone was 20 at the oldest. So much heart-break in these songs. A lot of the melodies are also beautiful and haunting, and the guitar work is mesmerizing. My second Nick Drake album and I've enjoyed both of them a lot.

It was alright

Please refer to previous Nick Drake review.

So much better than Bryter Layter. Much more restrained on the strings - and they actually compliment the songs instead of strangling them. No baking vocal chorus. Seems they had a good thing, then screwed it up with the second album (maybe because the first one didn't move enough copies). The only negative for me was the flute on "Thoughts of Mary Jane". Could have done without that, but that's just a minor criticism. I'd put this one way above Bryter Layter, and just a bit below Pink Moon.

We had Nick Drake earlier in the list, and I had already forgotten about him, so my thoughts remain the same. He will be easily forgotten after this one!

Haunting and beautiful. The atmosphere created on this album is deeply sad but inescapable in a way where you don’t wanna stop listening. There’s a beautiful somberness to each song, even the more upbeat ones, and it’s hard to forget the ultimate history of Nick Drake in listening to this. The words of someone deeply pained and very relatable. A wonderful experience

Very good

No me gustó para nada, lo siento:(

Made ma anxious even tho it’s supposed to be relaxing

The songs kinda just washed over me. Like it wasn’t bad, just very vibey. I could see every song being like a transition/montage song in a movie.

I thought it was nice for background music but when I actually listened to it I didn’t love his voice. But also kind of reminded me of Bob Dylan? But idk

The background music is impresive, but the vocal sounds the same in all songs. I’m a little bit tired after listening the whole album at once

Fab not fav tho

Great album. Relaxed and chilled. Sunday Afternoon vibes

I prefer pink moon but I liked it

I was looking forward to this as I know a few people who highly rate Nick Drake but I had never listened to him before. I was a bit disappointed with the first playthrough, but I think that was probably because of my expectations. I certainly enjoyed the second listen a lot more and also checked out another of his albums. Overall I think he’s ok but not someone I’ll be adding to my rotation.

This was a pleasant surprise - enjoyed it a lot

I loved "The Thoughts Of Mary Jane", but it loses a star because I didn't enjoy the melody on "Three Hours" that much.

i don't hate it but i don't love it either

I like this album and the way his voice sounds, it gave me such a calming vibe.

hehe it’s okay i really liked the whole vibe of it

Slow and imo a little boring. Would listen while working but not as a dominant note.

Nick Drake is one of my favourite songwriters of all time, as well as someone whom I greatly admire as a guitarist. To call him extraordinary would be an understatement. Not only was his guitar playing virtuosic and singular in style, but he also had a talent for writing melodies and harmonies that are both unique and emotionally evocative. Just to name one example from this album, I know much has been written about 'River Man' and both its 5/4 time signature and chord progression. I don't feel that I know enough about music theory or analysis to go into detail about Nick's songwriting, but suffice it to say he was very talented as a musician and a songwriter, and a great lyricist also. To release something of this quality as your debut album at twenty-one-years of age just feels unfathomable to me. It doesn't have a single bad or even mediocre song on it, and in particular, the songs 'Time Has Told Me' with its simple yet beautiful chord progression and gentle lyrics, 'Three Hours' with its stunning guitar playing, and 'Fruit Tree' with its depressingly accurate observations about fame considering Nick's legacy feel like particular standouts, alongside 'Day Is Done', and of course the aforementioned 'River Man', which are both just gorgeous and among the best songs Nick ever wrote. And to think he's still at the beginning of his artistic journey on this album. While his songwriting, lyricism and guitar-playing are all excellent here, he would only continue to improve on his later two albums. I have been thinking about Nick Drake a lot lately. I feel like I should note that I relate to Nick Drake strongly. For most of my life I've dealt with a fair share of mental health issues, which have at times been very severe, but not quite as bad as what Nick went through. I'm the same age now as he was when he passed away. A couple months older now, actually. I cannot help but think of how short of a life he lived. How much life he still would've had ahead of him. All the things he could've seen and done, not only as an artist, but just as a person. All the different things he still could've experienced, ranging from all kinds of big moments in life to the small and ordinary. How much more he could've still achieved, both in his art and life outside his career. I wish he could've lived long enough to see people come to respect his work for what it was. I wish he could've seen how much his music mattered to people, and how much it has moved them. How much his art has influenced generations of artists that have come after him. Mostly, I just wish he could've found the help he needed. I don't want to play into the myth around him and reduce him to some 'tortured artist' whose life was fated to end the way it did the way some people do. There is far more to him and his art. His life didn't have to end like it did. Still, I cannot even imagine how difficult just living must've been for him. Just thinking about it makes my eyes tear up. I just wish he could've found some way to push on and not lose hope. I know this review of sorts has veered off course from being just about 'Five Leaves Left' and being more about Nick Drake in general. I just felt like I needed to put these thoughts into writing, and hey, why not use this opportunity? Rest In Peace, Nick Drake. "Fruit tree, fruit tree Open your eyes to another year They'll all know that you were here when you're gone" 5/5

After reading a little about this album I was interested in how this would play out unfortunately, there weren’t really any stand out moments and it was pretty boring. Sad story about the artist, though.

Boring

yay

such a good album love this guy going to get a tattoo of him no joke

I'm coming to the realization that I really enjoy folk music. This was really nice to listen to. 7/10.

1969 of course of course -time has told me is lowkey byler coded and i like it actually -the albums that sound like this aren’t bad necessarily i just get a little bored with them which makes sense cause i love the 80s and current pop -i just wouldn’t necessarily ever listen to this organically -just not for me but not technically bad

Heel erg mooi. Rustgevend. Prettige stem. Blij verrast

Boring

Love this so much but it’s so sad I can’t listen often

My misconception of what I thought Nick Drake was and the reality is a more than pleasant surprise. Like the other album I heard on hear I am just mesmerised. It’s beautiful, it’s calming, it’s sad, it’s brooding, yet I find it uplifting. Think I gave his other album a 5 which I don’t tend to do for albums I didn’t know for along long time, but

Not his best album in my opinion but still good.

Bryter layter was one of the first albums I got through this and I didn’t know what I was doing here so I didn’t give a written rating and I gave it a 4 - my big regret in this project ! Would go back and give 5 stars That said - I really like this album and his entire musical output - somehow this doesn’t sound dated to me maybe because his voice is timeless ?? Loved the guitar - Five stars - re listened multiple times today

Such a beautiful sound that is as at home today as it was on release. I will be listening again

This is great English folk of the quiet and reflective variety. The chords are lovely and melancholy; the lyrics are sweet and intelligent, but occasionally slip by unnoticed due to Drake's understated delivery. The album features fantastic string arrangements ("Day is Done", "Fruit Tree") that enrich the whole sound without overcoming the voice and guitar that are at the heart of the music. A fantastic album for certain moods, and a crucial record of another talent gone too soon. Favorite tracks: "Three Hours", "'Cello Song"

i loooove nick drake

Zero stand out songs

Very enjoyable. Like a rainy day spent looking out the window

I can't remember anything from this album. Not offensively bad

3.5 (41:43, 10 tracks, debut, 1969) Folk This is the soundtrack to listen to when you are going to take a long one way walk into the woods with a gun. Nick died young, 26, of an apparent overdose of antidepressants. A high level of sadness is prevalent in his recordings. It does beg the question had he lived would he a.) have been largely forgotten as another unsuccessful but talented struggling artist b.) taken his music to commercial success? Sometimes dying young is good for your reputation. The music is undeniable sad. One music critic (professional) said he detected that Nick was a virgin in his singing. I wondered to myself what the hell does that sound like??!? I suppose sad and depressed may apply? Overall, I liked his guitar playing the most; a lot of strings and piano for "folk". Don't plan to revisit it often but I did listen to it 4 times in a day and it's mid-range long (41 minutes). Thought about rating a 4 but I music is just too depressing. Favorite track - Man in a Shed

Appropriate background music.

i found it too depressing

The counter-melodies! In intricate guitarwork! Feels like a calm, rainy day. Doesn't burst... IT SETTLES. At first I was like, "GIVE ME SIMON & GARFUNKLE", but I could get into this! Will circle back

Nick Drake might be my favourite discovery from this whole journey. It's not at all my typical genre but it's the best version of it.

Not bad.

Well, I suppose there are worse musicians named Drake, that’s for sure.

Enjoyable, I’d listen again

Short album of all guitar and vocals. It has a relaxing tempo and feel to it. I listened to this album while Sarah was in Seattle with Breanna and I had an eye appointment. I heard this 1,001 list features several Nick Drake records and this was the first one I've ever heard.

While I do feel sad that he was ignored, sometimes it was for good reason. 3/5

A really nice minimalistic and sad album. Beautiful voice and some great melodies

Nao curti mt

Braaaa bilmusik!!

O homem sabe muito, amo esse cara

A very pretty album, this is my 2nd favorite Nick Drake album behind Pink Moon. I really enjoy the strings and his guitar playing. High 4.

Just can’t get to Nick Drake. I try, but can’t get there.

Dull

So mellow

I’m getting down to the last fifty or so albums on this list, and today I’ll finally review my final Nick Drake album, which happens to be his first album. I’d never heard of Nick Drake before starting this project, but I was immediately blown away when I first reviewed Pink Moon, all the way back at album 36. It’s been almost two and a half years since I reviewed Bryter Layter (which I also really enjoyed), so I’ve been looking forward to this album for quite some time. Like his other albums, I really enjoyed Five Leaves Left. Nick Drake has such an incredibly unique way of arranging his music, and his lyrics are incredibly beautiful and haunting. It’s a treat to listen to someone with a talent like this, and Nick Drake’s music stands out so much compared to other music that was coming out at the same time. I truly can’t think of anyone to compare him to, because he was able to put his mark on everything he did. I really love the way he blends his guitar playing with these beautiful string arrangements. Every element of his music feels perfectly placed, but it all sounds so natural and instinctive. Nick Drake’s lyrics can be a tad too figurative for me at times, but when his lyrics succeed with me, they’re a rousing success. Some notes on the individual songs on this album: I loved how each element on “Time Has Told Me” kicks in at separate times. I think it makes the overall sound that much more beautiful, because it made me appreciate each element on its own. I really loved how “Three Hours” was arranged. The percussion was excellent, the guitar was haunting, and I found myself hanging on to each note as I waited for the next line of vocals. A really great song. Those strings on “Way To Blue” pack such a punch. It sounded like the melody wanted to get brighter and lighter, as it shifted away from the darker sound, but was always sitting right at the edge before going back to the darker sound. I thought it was a really effective way to construct this song’s sound. “Man in a Shed” was excellent, and probably my favorite song on the album if I had to chose one. The guitar playing was beautiful, but I really loved the lyrics here. I interpreted this song as being about a man who sees himself as broken emotionally and mentally, but he sees a girl that he loves who he thinks has it all together, and he knows he can’t abandon all these dark thoughts he has, but he still wants to be with her. “Fruit Tree” was really beautiful, but also incredibly haunting, especially given what we know about Nick Drake’s death. The sharp strings created a really great atmosphere that made the lyrics that much more impactful. I’ve really enjoyed listening to all three of Nick Drake’s albums, and it’s a shame that I never discovered his music until starting this project. Not only is his music fantastic, but he had such a tremendous impact on so many other artists as well.

тухло

Listened Before? N Kinda sleepy stuff. Like Simon and Garfunkel but not as talented. It was okay. Some songs way too long. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: River Man

It's sounds so sad, so moody and dark. I don't know if this is for me. Can be really pleasant to listen if you're in a that mood I guess. Dark folk, like I'm in a movie where I have to make some kind of very important decision. Also the melody, the strings are amazing, but the voice a bit too monotone

This is a completely new to me album. I've never heard any of the songs and I'm really not familiar with Nick Drake. When reading about him and the album, he's referred to as a folk musician, and I would definitely not consider this music folk music. I found the songs to be beautiful. The strings and his voice add almost a haunting quality to a lot of the songs. Definitely something I would listen to as background music, but not as a primary listen.

perfect or just about

Absolutely gorgeous by its simpleness, in contention for best debut albums. Jealous of him having that voice at 19. 4.25/5

Goated

Brilliant. Love. This is his first. Don’t know if it’s better/worse than the next one, which was first to reach my ear holes. It will take another 2 dozen spins of each before I can begin to get so granular. But here’s the thing: every single one of those listens will be an absolute pleasure. 4 Stars. Thank you for your attention to this matter

Sad boy music

I love this record

Тут місцями просто меджік відбувається

Ізі 5

Depressing. Singer songwriter with mostly acoustic guitar only. While listening, I thought of Cat Stevens and Paul Simon who have more hooks and their songs are more upbeat. Even Madcap Laughs by Syd Barrett is more upbeat. This album is just "down"... has Nick Drake ever laughed or felt happy? I might listen to this album a few more times for the lyrics and find out what he is being introspective about. I will look forward to "Pink Moon" when that surely is suggested as it might be the better album (hopefully.) I don't feel led astray by this suggestion as I have with several other of the 1001 selections so far.

It's ok, like the voice, a bit répétitif, some nice guitar, feels like hot chocolate near a chemney

I’m trying to be less conservative with my one’s. This just did nothing for me but fade into the background and then come to an end.

Dok sam ovo slušala osjećala sam konstantnu potrebu da uporedo radim nešto drugo kako ne bih zaspala. Onda sam usred svega toga shvatila da sam tako opuštena i da mi ovo leži skroz. Baš lijepa muzika, ne za mene ali jednom je bilo fino odslušati.

I love Nick Drake. River Man is an amazing song. This is THE album if you're feeling low. What an amazing talent gone too soon. It brightens up as it goes on. I prefer Pink Moon, but this is a great album.

i’ve never heard of him before, but it was a nice listen. favorite song: fruit tree.

Love Nick Drake, come on!!

i mean come on... its nick drake!

Not really sure what the fuss about Nick Drake is. Not that’s it’s bad but I don’t get the acclaim.

Absolute classic.

Classic late 60'

Musikk som forutsetter en viss stemning for å kunne nytes. Forestiller meg at dette er flott i tiden når sola titter frem og snøen smelter. Dessverre en rimelig kjedelig opplevelse.

Great, somber tracks, much like Pink Moon. Just a touch too homogeneous for a 5

a beautiful debut album by a beautiful man and may his legacy live on forever. nick was my introduction into sufjan stevens and adrianne lenker, and without this album and the rest of his discography we would not have the music we have today

All Nick Drake to revisit later 3

Really just unlike anything else. Like a dream captured in a bottle. Nick Drake does not get talked about enough. Favorite Tracks: River Man, Cello Song, Time Has Told Me, Day is Done, Fruit Tree

Never heard of him, but was pleasantly surprised. It is very mellow though.

I am a firm believer that the opening song of any album sets the tone of the album. It dictates whether or not the album would be like a rollercoaster, giving its listeners thrill and taking them through ups and downs with the contrasts of the songs complementing each other, or like a cradle, serenading them with how smooth the songs flow as one end and another starts. This album is the latter, akin to the stillness of a lake in a cold night. Calm but mysterious, having a somber feel to it that requires caution. The songs don't necessarily have anything that traditionally screams "climax", but the storytelling that the rhythm of the songs when they are played made my eyebrow raise. The first two song was calm and the melody can be compare to a lullaby, but that vibe changed when the third song played. Three Hours (put explanation here). I have to give the musicality off this album its flowers. The usage of string instruments is phenomenal, the spectrum of the way they are played portrayed different feels. Thoughts of Mary Jane used it to give it air and the feeling of light love. Way too Blue was a heavy song, the cello(?) and every drag of the fiddle adding to the sombreness of the song. The piano in Man in a shed gave this bouncy beat that made the lyrics feel lighter. Imagine if it was treated with sad ballad-like melody? It would've sent a whole different message. The album is almost a no-skip album (I skipped Fruit Tree). I'm pleasantly surprised that I liked the whole album. This is a great album to play when you're just looking to sit around and watch your surroundings. Or stare at a wall. Or people-watch. Song(s) I liked the Most: The Thoughts of Mary Jane, Saturday Sun, 'Cello Song Song(s) I liked the Least: Fruit Tree

Didn’t like this nearly as much as Pink Moon. Seemed a little monotonous, which was sometimes cool and meditative but often just a little boring.

Very easy listening, may be one of the first folk albums I've listened to. I actually appreciate the almost 'under produced' feel this album has (maybe that's what all folk albums sound like, I have no experience). I'm a sucker for instrumentals, just letting them ebb and flow, and I get that satisfaction from this album. Maybe I'm sympathetic to the short life he lived, but I can honestly say that Nick Drake could have been so successful in his career- while he lived. His lyricism is raw, and so provoking. He was so sad. And now, I am sad too. Fruit Tree wrecked me. This is an incredible debut album, and I am so glad it has graced my ears.

beautiful album. the first half was kinda boring but the second half was really amazing i loved it favs: cello song and everything past that

Everything kinda just sounds the same I’m sleepy

Pocas veces en la historia de la música se han dado la mano la ternura y la sensibilidad a flor de piel con la sensación de tristeza y desesperanza. Nick Drake es todo eso. Sus composiciones, de base acústica, a menudo con sutiles arreglos de cuerda, son pequeñas joyas preñadas de emoción, de serenidad y también de misterio. Nick es la belleza de la fatalidad. Nick es un 10.

This album gives off the type of vibe you feel when you're in a coffee shop on a rainy day; simply existing, watching the world go by.

Another debut album. (And Richard Thompson in the backing band!) I have an affinity for this kind of folksy music. Already familiar with Cello Song from this album, which is still the standout track after a full listen. He sounds like an indie Beatle that left the band early and more successfully pulled off McCartney's solo album thing. Orchestral touches to some tracks, and a recognizable singing voice without affectation. His voice reminds me of Laura Marling and at moments, Nina Simone. Something about the vibrato. I did not know Drake lived such a depressingly short life. RIP.

8/10

Even though it’s my least favorite from Nick Drake, it’s still an incredible and very special album with few skips 4.4/5

rv

Cool blend of acoustic and more almost classical moments. I've listened to this twice now cause I just happened to listen like a couple weeks ago. I liked it more this time around. I feel like if I gave it a true proper listen I'd like it even more.

A smart album with fantastic arrangements. The music was more interesting to me than the lyrics and vocals. The guitar-picking was strong, the strings were real nice, and the piano work was really impressive and they all served the songs well. Like, the musicality was so good I want to give this 5 stars, but the vocals is where it let me down. The lyrics were fine enough, some interesting, some dull, but the vocal melodies were just kinda monotonous. They all hovered around the same notes throughout it felt, and it fell flat. Al Stewart does this sort of '60s British folk with strong musicality a bit better - his vocal lines actually have melodies.

i liked it but didn't leave much of an impact on me, 3.5

Very dreary. Not for me.

Drake's personal mythos tends to portray him as sui generis - the lonely genius composing tender ballads behind his locked bedroom door. But this collection reveals how much he, like Van Morrison and Page/Plant among others, was engaged in the common capital-R Romantic project of trying to recover a mythical, pre-industrial British Isles - from the hillbilly tones of the opener "Time Has Told Me" to tales about river men and light among the trees. And he comes as close as anyone to conjuring the dream of Albion here - the deep green of the album cover is apropos. All the pale (pun intended) imitators of this album are at least imitating the right masterpiece.

Snore fest

Very slow and boring. Decent and good guitar and music but just not my style.

Not my favorite Nick Drake album, but he was so good so this still gets a 4.

Music: beautiful Lyrics: good Vocals: ok Overall: beautiful but dreary and sad. Melancholic. Works as background music.

not my vibe :/

Very lightful beat with some kind of sadness.This album has deep lyrics of life and some romantic love stories. It made me feel a little emotional. I wanna to listen this album in a silence night not in a work day's morning.

Such a beautiful album - songwriting, playing and performance - and I still think Bryter Layter and Pink Moon are even better.

There are better Nick Drake albums

It's not bad, but again, like with the other Nick Drake's album, it's too soft for me. Ok, Folk is nice, but this album works for me only if you have it on the background. Maybe the lyrics are awesome and I didn't pay attention to them, but the music is just ok. 2,4/5.

Not exactly my favorite type of music, very Irish balladeer, but it was okay.

A really beautiful album. Perfect for early morning or chill, late night listening. Cello Song is a standout.

Oh hell no.

our sun roof blew up this was so good

I didn’t mind this, but it’s the third Nick Drake album on this list so far, and I am only about a third of the way through. I am convinced that 1,001 albums is too many. I would have rather seen a more concise list of say, 250-300 albums. Anyway, three stars.

Loved the instrumental. Intro to every song was great.

Perfect lazy Saturday morning music with a healthy dose of gloom attached to it. Nick Drake's despondent crooning, fused with mystical, emotionally poignant folk instrumentation, haunting string arrangements and the immersive production of the album owing to its recording whilst Drake was surrounded by a "semicircle of instruments" in a multilevel studio, all culminates in a great listen. This is getting purchased, and I will be exploring further.

Im curious

Really enjoyed this. All Nick Drakes stuff has a timeless indie kind of sound. For a long time I thought his stuff was from the late 90s, and then the early 2000s, and its from the 60s. Crazy. Timeless.

Nice acoustic tracks, very soothing

Really like the use of strings in this. It adds a lot of depth.

WOULD ESTROGEN HAVE SAVED NICK DRAKE!? as a professional in the field of transgendering, i'm inclined to say yes. a flamboyant depressed man with an album like this? yeah buddy. seen it a thousand times. drake has a nice soft voice and there's some decent instrumentation between the mellow guitar and the flute which offers decent lift to an otherwise depressing album that makes this at least listenable, but it's largely forgettable mumbling that bounced right off me. something i've said before with art is that i feel like a lot of dead artists (especially young ones) have their work boosted posthumously because people ascribe inherent meaning to the fact that they are dead which i find frustrating.

I dunno, feels kind of like a 1960s folk album where every song goes on about twice as long as it needs to. I enjoy the strings quite a bit but they can only do so much to hold up the album. Honestly just don't think its for me considering what other people seem to think of it has such a mismatch to my own listening experience.

I believe this is the second Nick Drake album on this list. The first time I didn't care for his vocal style, didn't much like his writing, and found the music uninteresting, otber than a couple spots that suddenly sounded like Bruce Cockburn.

It was good, liked the gutair, but decently won’t listen on regular basis.

Enjoyed this throughout. Just great sound, great music, loved it all.

Have always loved Drake's voice, and his songwriting strength really shows on this album.

Good chill music for my early drive to work

Makes me want to listen to more Nick Drake

good but pretty melancholic for me

Pleasant album. There are some musically elevated songs, such as River Man. It's a sort of evolution of old country, but a bit depressing

This is a wonderful album from an artist whose time was too short on earth.

Nick Drake may very well be my favorite songwriter of all time. In his tragically short career, he put out three albums all of which I consider perfect, with Five Leaves Left being his first. This album has a very interesting duality to it, with some darker and more ominous tracks like River Man being right next to bright and soothing tracks like Time Has Told Me. They almost sound like they should be on different projects, but the fact that they aren't honestly makes it better. Five Leaves Left is such an expansive world fit inside of a 40-minute disk. It's a beautifully-colored canvas using very simple paints. Nobody has captured a feeling like this album does, a deep, poetic loneliness that hides behind beautifully simplistic melodies and lush chamber instrumentation. What can I say? Nick Drake was a troubled genius.

No meh auti Musig ...

Shocked to see this is from 1969. Sounds like it could be from the early/mid 2010’s. I really enjoyed this. Very chill. I initially rated this a 4/5, but after reading about Nick and his tragic story, and dwelling with the album more, I’m bumping it up to a 5/5. RIP dude. 5/5 Highlights: Time Has Told Me Three Hours Day Is Done Thoughts Of Mary Jane Fruit Tree

I think I'm beginning to become a nick drake fan

Chill enough.

It was fine to listen to, but I didn"t connect to anything that much.

Don't love folk music and this is the second album in a row in this genre. I like his voice, it's very soothing. Just like with other folk music, it can be saved by lyrics for me and the lyrics in this album are pretty ok. I would likely never listen to this album myself still, this kind of folk music is just not my thing, too monotone.

Have listened to Drake (Nick Drake, that is) for several years but have never really "gotten" him the way many other seem to have. This time around I listened more deliberately and found a lot more to like. I think it's music you need to be in the right mood for. The day after Thanksgiving, it certainly clicked more. The opening and closing tracks in particular spoke to me ("Time Has Told Me" and "Saturday Sun", respectively).

mopey

"Pink Moon" was one of the first albums that came up for me to rate, and since I was very familiar with that album, I easily gave it 4/5. This album, although I have it in my collection, I never played it as much. But I was equally or maybe even more impressed by the beauty of the songs, particularly "River Man". The 5/4 time signature and the orchestral arrangement by Robert Kirby make it one of his most ambitious and haunting songs. Add to that the fact that this was his debut, and was completely recorded without any overdubs - Nick Drake in the studio with the string sections, and occasional other musicians, all playing live together - and it's another easily given 4/5!

A beautiful artist. I wasn't in the right mood at first, but it was pleasant to listen to on the road, all in all.

sad and dark

Good music to relax, very very good vocals, and a stunning guitar performance

At first I thought it was boring but I enjoyed it by the end

This album had a very pleasant sound, just didn’t blow me away with anything.

Nice background music

It’s great, what a debut album. My hot take is that this is better than pink moon, and I even think that Bryter Layter beats them both. But this just has that sort of same dreary sound to pink moon, with the added tone of the other instruments also feeding into that sound.

words of wisdom sung through a beautiful voice. Its folky, dark, moody, orchestral, and makes you think. He's constantly trying to show you this longing to only be better, but feel better. Sad we lost him at 26. What a debut. River Man is a beautiful song

This was a very chill record.

It was good but nothing really wowed me

7/10 Not a fan of his monotonous singing style. That said this is the first time a Nick Drake album really connects with me. The instrumentation is gorgeous. Strong songwriting as well. Highlights: Day is Done River Man Fruit Tree Time Has Told Me Man in a Shed

Este señor casi no puede parar de melancolinear, hay alguna cancion guapa (en las que no llora y le van a salvar del suspenso), me ha recordado a los tiempos de con arthur morgan cabalgando por el viejo oeste. En otras solo queria que se parase ya porque eran 4 min de la misma melodia que te tralla la cabeza como un despertador.

Very pretty. Worth listening to again to pick up the intricacies.

Love Nick Drake

I’ve enjoyed ‘discovering’ Nick Drake through this project but I think I slightly prefer the other albums we’ve had so far.

A great listen from a clearly talented songwriter. Reminds me of Richard Hawley in places.

There are very few albums I think one could describe as ‘beautiful’. This should be top of the pile. Side note: For those who in accordance with the above review, I’d thoroughly recommend reading ‘White Bicycles’ by Joe Boyd. It’s a really interesting take on Blues and Folk history in the late 60s/70s by someone who was in the midst of it. Includes Dylan, Fairport, other randoms you’ve never heard of, and Pink Floyd (work out that link!). Most relevantly he produced the Nick Drake albums, so there are some really interesting insights.

didn’t listen till end of the day .. amazing. 4.5/5

fist time hearing this artist and music music is a little slow and sad reminds me of songs from a musical good music for a rainy day

The album was ok. It was too slow for me.

Buen albúm para escuchar en días de lluvia, sofà y manta.

I was into it for the first couple of songs, then I forgot there was music playing. Relatively pleasant, but I have enough albums in my quiver to meet my needs when I want to listen to this type of music.

Meh. Too pretty, too depressing, too soft, too flowery, too quiet, too somnambulistic, too much noodly guitar, too much jaunty piano, too much non-jazz marimba, too much mumbling, too much making me want to claw at my ears, too much making me want to scream in boredom, too much making me want to throw my phone out the window, too fucking folky.

I like three of Nick Drake’s albums, but I’m not sure I would go so far as to call any one of them great. There isn’t a lot of range going on, that’s not what he does. My favorites from this one are Way To Blue, Saturday Sun, and especially Cello Song.

This all sounded about like I expected ND to sound based on the handful of songs I've heard before, and that's pretty good.

3/5 - I felt like I was listening to a troubadour at a ren faire for 40 minutes. If that's your thing, this is wonderful, and probably a top 10 album for you. I mostly found it beautiful, but unmemorable in any way. Still, it's a better album to listen to than many of the 2s I've handed out, so I'm going with a 3.

Finding this album entrancing to the point of making me fall asleep. I thought I was going to hate it, but it's strangely mesmerizing. Yet another tragic story of a talented musician's life cut short. Hard to describe why I like it so much. Simple melodies, his soft voice. It's monotonous and he tends to hold his notes for too long and too often, but something about it just kind of hits. The melancholy nature of it just makes me kind of sit here and.....feel....and then I drift off.

chill vibes

Nick Drake has all the qualities I appreciate in a singer songwriter, yet I find it hard to truly connect to his music. It might click someday, as I seem to feel closer to it with each listen. Five Leaves seems to be my favorite album of his at the moment and I'll most definitely revisit it soon.

I love Nick Drake so much. Such beautiful interplay between the acoustic guitar, electric guitar off to the right and piano off to the left. I forgot how country rippin that electric is, mimicking a lot of pedal steel movement. Such pure beauty. River Man - Nick Drake has this unique way of blending super dark chords, dark harmonic movement but in a way that makes you feel like you're not alone, like it's going to be okay. The string arrangements around the acoustic guitar could move mountains. I think "hauntingly beautiful" applies pretty well here. His voice is so singular, warm, soft, inviting, yet can't help but give away how emotionally broken he is. Okay I feel like I sound like a blogger/critic. Time to just listen. His guitar playing is so interesting and has influenced me a lot even though I barely play anymore. String arrangements range from soft and textural to almost classical (Day Is Done) Man In A Shed - that bluesy/jazzy piano is sooo good Pink Moon is my fave ND record, but this is a very solid 2nd. Time Has Told Me, River Man, Way to Blue, Fruit Tree, Saturday Sun are all stand out songs to me. "So Sunday sat in the Saturday sun, and wept for a day gone by"

Beautiful front to back. Lovely recording and a space I want to stay in. Drake is that guy!! Favs: River Man, Saturday Sun

This record is already an all-timer for me, so listening in this context will be interesting. Time Has Told Me is an absolute classic. The piano and slide guitar are perfect accompaniments, never feel like they’re overstepping. Chord movement is elegant and interesting. River Man another perfect song IMO. String arrangements are breathtaking. Major/minor shifts flawless. Lydian tension. Incredible songwriting and late 60s folk production style at the highest level. Guitar playing on Three Hours is brilliant. Interesting triplet switch up at 3:15. Wondering about Nick Drake’s connection to John Fahey/William Ackerman/American primitive guitar vs. his British folk contemporaries. I wonder what it was like to be in the room for Way to Blue, when they either decided to mute the acoustic guitar and just roll with the strings and vocals, or they recorded it live that way? Either way, incredible Day Is Done is one of the few songs that I would ACTUALLY describe as hauntingly beautiful. Why didn’t they call it ‘Cello and Bongo Song’? In seriousness, I hear Opeth being influenced by this track. Thoughts of Mary Jane is so quaint. English countryside as fuck. Those tremolo strings Man In a Shed - Charlie Brown (that’s a good thing) Fruit Tree is another strange one, the chromatic descending progression, the orchestration. Saturday Sun is an interesting closer, piano-centric in an acoustic guitar world. It might be my least favourite track on the record and the vibraphone feels a little cheesy, but it’s still undeniably pleasant. This record is very special. Pink Moon edges it out for me in terms of Nick Drake records, but that still places it as a top-tier folk record and has some of the most beautiful string arrangements in folk music. I imagine I will be listening to this record until I expire.

Laid back. A bit monotone, but decent. Mono parts of some songs do not work well with headphones. 3,0/5

This one is hard to rate. I like it but the production takes quite a bit away from it. The string arrangements are overdone particularly in the second half of the album. Oftentimes vocals and Nick's guitar are drowned out. His later albums, Bryter Layter and Pink Moon, feel much more alive. His songwriting shines through better. I want to give it 4 stars. But I just can't see myself coming back to it repeatedly like I do his other work. It pains me, but 3 stars.

Yowzah! I loved this album so much, I listened to it on repeat like seven times in one day. It is so beautiful and haunting and gorgeously written - reminds me of Elliott Smith, but this one is from 1969, which is super impressive. My favorites are River Man, Way to Blue, Thoughts of Mary Jane, and Saturday Sun. Also, like all of my favorite things, it has an excellent name. Bellisimo!

So British

No ty

It's like listening to paint dry Best Song: 'Cello Song Rating: 4.5/10 Stars: 2

A timeless singer songwriter album

Beautiful and melancholy green, like sunshine in autumn

La toune River Man me fait penser à l’album Sea Change de Beck ! Une pièce mélancolique accompagnée de cordes. Nick Drake a réellement une belle voix. Bon, l’album est terminé, et c’était très beau. Je pense qu’il y a quelque chose chez Nick Drake qui me rejoint. Peut-être qu’il y a une partie de moi qui aime les albums mélancoliques ? Il me rappelait Elliott Smith avec son album Pink Moon et Beck (Sea Change) avec celui-ci, deux albums dont j’aime la mélancolie. En tous les cas, à réécouter. Les deux.

Better than Coldplay

Fine. It was fine rainy day music

Sonorous, mellow, reflective.

Very melancholy and not normally my thing but I listened twice

Just... beautiful. A 10* album if it was possible.

4.5 stars Maybe this is just a perfect rainy day album and I got lucky with the timing. I knew I would like Nick Drake. I even may have listened to some of these songs before. But this was my first time and it was a great experience. I went through it twice and it’s going on my rotation. Im sure I’ll get around to his other albums. But a good start.

Pretty bland

Cello Song <3 whole album is warm and dreamy. LOVE!

Another good album from Nick Drake.

He's an impressive song writer, and when you're in the right mood, the music is pretty good. Man in A Shed was my favorite - it's a livelier, swinging, jazzier song than the others.

Yes, this is umistakeably Nick Drake.

Not something I would ever listen to.

Great album

j'adore les instruments sauf la guitare

Discovering Nick Drake through this list makes up for all the lost time Mr. Dimery had me listening to crappy bands he included for fuck knows reasons.

Not my cup of tea, I'm not in the mood for a bloomy album today

I wonder if this is the same guy I saw at Lollapalooza in the early 90's with a band called the bad seeds? Wow, this is a lot more chill than I remember. Me to Chat GPT - "was Nick Drake the same guy in Nick Drake and the Bad Seeds?" Chat GPT to me - "No, dumbass, that was Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds." Ah- well that explains it.

The first half of this album is excellent, the second half gets a little tedious and slightly weird. I’m still on the fence with Nick Drake, but this album is decent.

Extremely mellow. So mellow it makes me sleepy but so lovely I want to stay awake for the whole thing. I will be napping afterward. An only-once-in-awhile kind of thing. For me. Certain others will listen every day.

I hadn't heard of nick drake. I was utterly blown away by cello song, riverman, Mary Jane and the last 2 songs in a way I rarely am.

Interesting and enjoyable!

I want to like Five Leaves Left more than I do. It is great in a folk singer-songwriter context. However, when considered against all genres, it may be around my fifteenth to twentieth favorite album of 1969. There is nothing distasteful in the slightest. In fact, the album is quite tasteful. There just are not any songs that draw me to them.

Sound very modern, acoustic, handmade folk and pop music.

This was great. Quite different from Pink Moon with more full band and strings. Think it might be better. Definitely inspired a lot of later singer-songwriters.

This was a lot more inspired than Pink Moon. Really enjoyed the style, even if it has been re-done many times since

I've become a big Nick Drake fan because of this list. This album is really good. Is it 5 star worthy? Nope, but it's definitely worth 4 stars because I like it.

So background you'd forget you were listening to it

For being the exact type of music I don't usually like, this isn't that bad.

Such a beautiful listen, rich and complex

Un disco que escuché por primera vez en unas condiciones muy particulares y me cautivó. No es un gran cantante, pero es un formidable compositor y tiene un gusto exquisito para la instrumentación.

Dad- NA Mom- 8 Mike- NA Lori- 7 Michael- 8.5 Miles- NA Cole- NA Avg- 7.83

70s mellow....

Five Leaves Left is impossibly beautiful, harrowing, bittersweet, and soulful. The musicality, the performances, the engineering and mixing, arrangements, and Nick's voice cutting through it all. I can't possibly think of more to say that hasn't already been said about this absolutely perfect album.

Nick Drake for me is the CLASSIC example of critics thinking they know music better than everyone else. Everyone who buys music is a critic and the REAL critics obviously say it is not that good since no one was buying his albums. Super boring. His voice lulls me to sleep. I can't understand his lyrics. The music sounds like improv in his basement. This was rough.

Don’t need to listen to this again in my remaining years

Best New Old alblum that I listen to for the first time in years

Each song sounded the same and only 2 songs stood out as listenable. On Wikipedia, he put out this album at 21 which is impressive and his guitar playing is outstanding. Died when he was 26. Not something I’d download or listen to again. However, there are worse albums out there to me, so it’ll receive a 2

Sounds like snake introspective river man me like

Smakt tannkrem som er mer spicy. Veldig a4, sikkert viktig for sin tid men gørr kjedelig nå. Er noe jeg kunn hatt som bakgrunnsmusikk

I enjoyed this one, very introspective and reflective. Well engineered and recorded as well for 1969, this is the best album I've heard out of this guy.

A little maudlin but I still liked it well enough.

Chill mais un peu trop peut-être, j'étais border de m'endormir mais bon ça s'écoute bien. Une vibe un peu plus piano jazz sur Saturday Sun qui ressortait peut-être un peu du lot des autres chansons à la guitare

Je ne connaissais pas…. C’est sympa mais un peu ennuyeux aussi ! Des fois la voix ne va pas avec l’instru (way to blue), c’est bizarre…

Je connaissais déjà River Man que j'adore, j'avais pas fait le lien avec le reste de l'album ! Très bonnes vibes, 4/5

Didn't have a clue what to expect with this one. For a release from 1969 this has aged real well. Easy voice to listen to, like a better version of Jack Johnson. The songwriting is nice, very chill, slower. For most popular music of the time, this is certainly a bit different imo. At least when it comes to radio hits across different genres. Wonder why this is something I'd never heard before as I enjoy a lot of music from this era.

It is nice for my first true introduction to Nick Drake to be his debut. The sounds are simple, serene, and beautiful. The lyrics are pure poetry. Really liked this one.

Pretty decent, the first half is just not my type of music but the last song was very good.

I didn't think it was possible to make folk music even more sleepy. I was wrong.

Two Nick Drake albums back to back. Pink Moon yesterday which I love, but today I was frustrated. Do we really need all three of his albums on this list, is what I was thinking. The answer is probably no, but if we were going to have two this is the other one that should be included. I was so pleasantly surprised. None of the second records over production, instead the exact right kind of guitar virtuosity (that is to say, the kind that serves the song without becoming just technique for its own sake), mixed with a killer real band and echos of Townes esque outlaw country. Will be returning to.

its that type of low energy that is ok ish

Love this. The blueprint for sad girl music I listen to on repeat.

Lowkey fragile.

Tres discos desse cara na lista, não é para tanto...como é bom ser ingles na hora certa e no lugar certo, "tudo q eu toco vira ouro" 2,5 no maximo

Enjoyed, good lyrics.

ännu ett album som är musik, inte så dåligt att man vill stänga av det direkt som många andra, men inte heller något jag någonsin skulle sätta på

Yep, can confirm, this is a Nick Drake album. Some people really like this kind of music, but I’m not one of them. It’s too mellow and relaxed. I struggle to derive much enjoyment from it. It’s definitely not bad, and the fact that it’s chamber music certainly helps it feel less sparse, but this is still just not for me. 5/10

A primeira review que escrevi neste site é, além de ruim e feia, sobre o fato de eu não gostar de folk. 200 álbuns depois, não digo que mudei de opinião, mas certamente fui exposto a um gameta bem mais amplo do que este complicado gênero têm a oferecer. Existe algo aqui que eu profundamente aprecio, por mais que o disco não seja mesmo “minha pira”. A voz de Nick Drake é discreta, passa despercebida. Nenhuma canção aqui é explosiva, chamativa, grudenta. São arranjos minimalistas, como é de costume com Folk. O foco está no conteúdo lírico, que eu temo dizer que não prestei tanta atenção assim. Sinto que é injusto avaliar o disco dessa forma, mas vou reiterar que a parte lírica é a que menos valorizo quando ouço música. De qualquer modo, Nick Drake, o qual estou conhecendo propriamente apenas agora, me agradou. A produção nas faixas deste álbum é ótima. É como se nenhum instrumento fosse sobreposto sobre outro, tudo parece estar em perfeito equilíbrio. É bem prazeroso de ouvir. Mas, pro meu gosto, nada é super memorável aqui. É um ótimo disco, é um prazer ouvi-lo, mas não me imagino o colocando com tanta frequência. Totalmente subjetivo, mas toda música é. Vai ficar na minha lista de artistas que eu aprecio apesar dos apesares. 4/5