five leaves left poll

river man duh

Cello Song! I worked in a bookstore where I tried to play this album and my co-workers accused me of trying to turn the place into a morgue.

"Fruit Tree". Like "Bryter Layter" better, more great tracks to choose from on that one. "Fruit Tree" may be the best thing he ever did though.

album fails because it is not rhythmic enough, places too much emphasis on melody

No worries. Jay-Z is remixing it. Or as I like to think of it, "correcting" it. Rumor has it he will also "rap" on top of it, in memory of dead homies. Touching, really.

it's funny because you said "homies"!!!

'Man In A Shed' by a cat's flange.

Sage F is totes gonna sample the Cello song intro when he drops his next single, watch f'it

River Man

Three Hours vs. Cello Song: FITE!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i think i'm going to go with time has told me.

I took the easy way out and voted 'Cello Song

"Three Hours" is pretty dazzling.

RIVER MAN

But I actually regret not voting for "Man In a Shed."

river man, but cello song is close. the first nick drake album i ever got was the "way to blue" best of comp, so to me, cello song is an album starter. but river man is one of my favorite songs by him, period.

well, it's very difficult because this is an extremely even record

and i could have gone with any number of tracks

but i went with 'fruit tree' in the end because it pretty much encapsulates what the record is about, complete with the pretty acoustic intro

But I actually regret not voting for "Man In a Shed."

I voted for the track that impresses me most over the one that affects me most immediately. I'm a little troubled.

which is the one in 5, is that river man?

yeah, that one's good. i played on that song for someone's trombone recital in college.

ambiguous and dazzling meter in that song, the way the melody floats along freely

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

usually "River Man", but right now, it's "Way to Blue".

the haunting string arrangement, lyrics, that melody, oof.

idk that there's a note out of place on this fuckin' album tbh. I like Bryter Layter and PInk Moon but this is his opus as far as I'm concerned.

i adore this album. i always had all the drake stuff on CD. i bought the fruit tree box set when it came out, which helped me secure a cd store gig. i was an 18-year-old weirdo who used to buy CD's using plasma donation money, with the gauze and bandaid still on my arm at the cash register. i guess they thought it was a sign of dedication and decided to hire me. but then after i met my partner, i sold all my cds, and all i've had left of drake since then is her re-issue of Five Leaves Left. i used to listen to it at a moderate frequency, no more or less than bryter later, and definitely no more than pink moon. but now Five Leaves Left Five Leaves Left is always on hand, and the only one, i listen to it all the goddamn time. what a blessing!

album fails because it is not rhythmic enough, places too much emphasis on melody

Impossible to choose a fave here. I am particularly attached to "Man in a Shed" and that line "please stop my world from raining through my head" which somehow encapsulates Nick Drake's life.

And that brilliant title. To read that line again I would start smoking roll-ups again... ;-)

Anyways this is my favourite album from 1969, it is of one piece.

I like the intimacy of Pink Moon more— his guitar playing is revelatory on that album.... I can’t think of a nicer sound than “From The Morning”

Missed this thread, would have voted "Time Has Told Me".

I always say this is my favourite Nick Drake album but I haven't actually heard it in 10 or 15 years.

I was definitely a Pink Moon partisan when I was younger and wasn’t feeling the accompaniment on either of the first two albums. I’ve completely come around on this one, though, and now it’s probably tied with PM for me. “way to blue” <3

I heard a Nick Drake tune on college radio in the early 80s. Completely entrancing & different from the post-punk etc of the era. Had to call the station to find out who it was (because old). Bought FLL and have loved having his voice with me through the years.

xpost, thanks Alex in Mainhattan for the link to your reflections about FLL. Beautifully done & captures a lot of what I love about the album.

It'd have to be River Man, with Fruit Tree and Cello Song close behind. I don't get on with Man In A Shed - like tripping over a Ringo outtake.

By the by, this cover of River Man by Andy Bey is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SlN_hP3kYc

^ wow

it's nice to see people talking about nick drake in the summertime since i always find my way to pink moon at some point when the weather turns cold but really it feels like a nick drake summer this year doesn't it?

sorry, hemisphereism

Saturday Sun is the standout for me.

When I first hear it, I was dealing with the imminent death of a parent - and was really struck by the section:

Think about stories with reason and rhyme
Circling through your brain
And think about people in their season and time
Returning again and again

well this looks nice: https://nickdrake.islandrecords.co.uk/products/the-making-of-five-leaves-left-4lp-boxset

weird that there is a mere $5 difference between the LP and CD sets! Surely the price of the CD box will come down before July