New Nick Drake Box Set Unearths Dozens of Unheard Outtakes

The estate of Nick Drake will release a new box set this summer titled The Making of Five Leaves Left.

Due on July 25, the collection includes 30 previously unheard outtakes from the sessions that resulted in the singer-songwriter’s debut album, 1969’s Five Leaves Left.

According to a press release, “the choice of tracks was made in order to tell the story as faithfully as possible, and not simply to release all the takes on all of the tapes.” It includes Drake’s first ever session at Sound Techniques studio in London, a tape recording from when he was still a student at the University of Cambridge, plus recording charts and more.

The set, mastered by John Wood and Simon Heywood, will be available in both 4CD and 4LP versions. Both include the original Joe Boyd-produced album.

A complete track listing is available below, as well as a song from the box set, an early version of “‘Cello Song” titled “Strange Face” (1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968).

A Bit About Nick Drake’s First Album

Drake, a famously shy and asocial figure in the world of music, landed his first record deal at age 20 when he was still a student. Sessions for Five Leaves Left were sometimes tense and unorganized, and the album was not well-promoted when it was released in July of 1969.

“He was very secretive,” Drake’s sister, Gabrielle, told The Guardian in 2004. “I knew he was making an album but I didn’t know what stage of completion it was at until he walked into my room and said, ‘There you are.’ He threw it on to the bed and walked out!”

Reviews of Five Leaves Left in 1969 were mostly positive, though not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and most of its accolades and praise have been given in the years since Drake’s death by suicide in 1974.

The Making of Five Leaves Left is now available for pre-ordering.

‘The Making of Five Leaves Left,’ Track Listing
LP1 – 1st Sound Techniques Session aka The Beverley Martyn demo & Alt Takes from February 1968 to April 1969
Side A
1. “Mayfair” — 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968
2. “Time Has Told Me” — 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968
3. “Man In A Shed” – 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968
4. “Fruit Tree” — 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968
5. “Saturday Sun” — 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968
6. “Strange Face” — 1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968

Side B
1. “Strange Face” – Rough Mix with Guide Vocal – September 1968
2. “Day Is Done” – Take 5 – April 1968
3. “Day Is Done” – Take 2 – November 1968
4. “Day Is Done” – Take 7 – April 1969
5. “Man In A Shed” – Take 1 – May 1968
6. “My Love Left With The Rain” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968

LP2 – Paul de Rivaz Reel – October 1968 / Out-Takes November 1968
Side A
1. “Blossom” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
2. “Instrumental” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
3. “Made To Love Magic” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
4. “Mickey’s Tune “– Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
5. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
6. “Day Is Done” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968
7. “Time Has Told Me” – Cambridge, Lent Term 1968

Side B
1. “Three Hours” – Take 2 – November 1968
2. “Time Has Told Me” – Take 4 – November 1968
3. “Strange Face” – Take 1 – November 1968
4. “Saturday Sun” – Take 1 – November 1968
5. “Fruit Tree” – Take 4 – November 1968

LP3 – Out-Takes from December 1968 to April 1969
Side A
1. “Time of No Reply” – Take 3 into Take 4 – December 1968
2. “‘Cello Song” – Take 4 – January 1969
3. “Mayfair” – Take 5 – January 1969
4. “River Man” – Take 1 – January 1969

Side B
1. “Way To Blue” – Cambridge – Winter 1968
2. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane” – Take 2 – April 1969
3. “Saturday Sun” – Take 1 into Take 2 – April 1969
4. “River Man” – Take 2 – April 1969

LP4 – The Original Album – Released 3rd July 1969
Side A
1. “Time Has Told Me”
2. “River Man”
3. “Three Hours”
4. “Way To Blue”
5. “Day Is Done”

Side B
1. “‘Cello Song”
2. “The Thoughts of Mary Jane”
3. “Man In A Shed”
4. “Fruit Tree”
5. “Saturday Sun”