Neha Patil (Editor)

Five Leaves Left

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Released
  
3 July 1969

Five Leaves Left (1969)
  
Bryter Layter (1970)

Release date
  
1 September 1969

Label
  
Island Records

Length
  
41:43

Artist
  
Nick Drake

Producer
  
Joe Boyd

Five Leaves Left httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen550Fiv

Recorded
  
July 1968 – June 1969 at Sound Techniques, London, England

Genres
  
Folk music, Folk rock, Baroque pop

Similar
  
Nick Drake albums, Folk rock albums

Nick drake five leaves left full album 1969


Five Leaves Left is the debut studio album by English folk musician Nick Drake. Recorded between 1968 and 1969, it was released the latter year by record label Island.

Contents

Recording

Five Leaves Left was recorded between July 1968 and June 1969 at Sound Techniques in London, England.

Content

Like Bryter Layter but unlike Pink Moon, this album contains no unaccompanied songs. Drake was accompanied by members of the British folk rock groups Fairport Convention and Pentangle.

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". The album title could also be a reference to an O. Henry short story entitled "The Last Leaf". Drake died five years after recording the album.

Reception

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." Alternative Press called it "[one] of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever recorded."

Legacy

Five Leaves Left was ranked 85th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. NME ranked it at number 74 in their list. Q magazine included the album in its list "Best Folk Albums of All Time".

Track listing

All tracks written by Nick Drake.

Personnel

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

  • "Time Has Told Me"
  • "River Man"
  • "Three Hours"
  • "Way to Blue"
  • "Day is Done"
  • "'Cello Song" Danny Thompson - double bass Rocky Dzidzornu - congas, shaker Clare Lowther – cello
  • "Thoughts of Mary Jane"
  • "Man in a Shed"
  • "Fruit Tree"
  • "Saturday Sun"
  • Technical

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

    1Time Has Told Me4:26
    2River Man4:22
    3Three Hours6:16

    References

    Five Leaves Left Wikipedia