The Making of Five Leaves Left

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The Making of Five Leaves Left
The Making of Five Leaves Left.jpg
Box set by
Nick Drake
Released25 July 2025 (2025-07-25)
RecordedFebruary 1968 - April 1969
Studio Sound Techniques
Caius College, Cambridge
Genre Contemporary folk
Length2:39:26
Label Island
Producer Joe Boyd
Nick Drake chronology
The John Peel Session
(2014)		The Making of Five Leaves Left
(2025)

The Making of Five Leaves Left is a boxed set, released on 25 July 2025 via Island Records, which features studio outtakes and alternative versions of songs by the English singer-songwriter and musician Nick Drake recorded during his sessions for his debut 1969 LP, Five Leaves Left . [1] It was released in both 4LP and 4CD configurations. [2]

Contents

Discs 1-3 features a collection of demos, alternate studio takes, and Cambridge home reels covering sessions from early 1968 to April 1969 – including the earliest Sound Techniques session and a newly found Paul de Rivaz Cambridge reel. Paul de Rivaz came to see Michael Burdett when he was performing his show, Strange Face: Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording. On learning about, and having heard, the de Rivaz recording, Burdett, informed the Drake estate of its existence. [3] Disc 4/LP4 of the boxed set is the original album, fully remastered, sequenced as Joe Boyd prepared it in mid‑June 1969. The version included is the remaster, which was originally released in 2000, that contains the most superior sound quality, compared to earlier remasters. [4] [5]

A 60-page book authored by Neil Storey & Richard Morton Jack is included with the set. The book includes a detailed session history of all the tracks and recording notes. [6] [7]

Compiling and production

The project took nine years from conception, in 2016, to release. [8] The Nick Drake Estate originally avoided anniversary deluxe editions to maintain focus on the original album’s purity. The rediscovery of master reels and previously unknown tapes (including recordings held by Beverley Martyn [9] in 2014, and at Caius College) prompted the Estate to undertake the comprehensive release. [10]

Track listing

All songs written by Nick Drake. [11]

CD1: 1st Sound Techniques Session aka The Beverley Martyn demo & Alt Takes from February 1968 to April 1969

  1. "Mayfair" (1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968) – 2:17
  3. "Time Has Told Me" (1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968) – 3:37
  4. "Man In A Shed" (1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968) – 3:05
  5. "Fruit Tree" (1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968) – 3:31
  7. "Saturday Sun" (1st Sound Techniques Session – March 1968) – 2:43
  9. "Strange Face" (1st Sound Techniques Session, March 1968) – 3:42 [12]
  10. "Strange Face" (Rough Mix with Guide Vocal, September 11, 1968) – 4:24
  12. "Day Is Done (Take 5, April 11, 1968) – 3:17
  13. "Day Is Done" (Take 2, November 12, 1968) – 2:38
  14. "Day Is Done" (Take 7 – April 3, 1969) – 2:30
  16. "Man In A Shed" (Take 1, May 10, 1968) – 3:07
  17. "My Love Left With The Rain" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 3:51

CD2: Paul de Rivaz Reel – October 1968 / Out-Takes November 1968

  1. "Blossom" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 4:25
  2. "Instrumental" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 1:40
  3. "Made To Love Magic" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 5:28
  5. "Mickey’s Tune" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 3:23
  7. "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 4:24
  9. "Day Is Done" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 2:48
  10. "Time Has Told Me" (Cambridge, Lent Term, May 1968) – 2:39
  11. "Three Hours" (Take 2, November 11, 1968) – 4:23
  13. "Time Has Told Me" (Take 4, November 11, 1968) – 4:33 [13]
  14. "Strange Face" (Take 1, November 12, 1968) – 4:12
  15. "Saturday Sun" (Take 1, November 12, 1968) – 4:23
  16. "Fruit Tree" (Take 4, November 12, 1968) – 4:54 [14]

CD3: Out-Takes from December 1968 to April 1969

  1. "Time of No Reply" (Take 3 into Take 4, December 20, 1968) – 2:55
  2. "‘Cello Song" (Take 4, January 4, 1969) – 4:49
  3. "Mayfair" (Take 5, January 4, 1969) – 3:30
  5. "River Man" (Take 1, January 4, 1969) – 5:11 [15]
  6. "Way To Blue" (Cambridge, Winter 1968) – 2:50
  8. "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" (Take 2, April 3, 1969) – 3:29
  9. "Saturday Sun" (Take 1 into Take 2, April 22, 1969) – 4:56
  11. "River Man" (Take 2, April 2, 1969) – 4:43

CD4: The Original Five Leaves Left Album – Released 3rd July 1969 (2000 Remaster)

  1. "Time Has Told Me" – 4:24
  2. "River Man" – 4:18
  3. "Three Hours" – 6:12
  4. "Way To Blue" – 3:08
  5. "Day Is Done" – 2:25
  6. "‘Cello Song" – 4:44
  7. "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" – 3:18
  8. "Man In A Shed" – 3:51
  9. "Fruit Tree" – 4:46
  10. "Saturday Sun" – 4:03

Charts

Chart performance for The Making of Five Leaves Left
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [16] 156
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] 28

References

  1. ↑ UMe (2025-04-11). "Nick Drake Estate Announce 'The Making Of Five Leaves Left' Box Set". www.antimusic.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  2. ↑ Bonner, Michael (2025-04-10). "Nick Drake: a Five Leaves Left box set is coming". UNCUT. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  3. ↑ Word in Your Ear 790 https://shows.acast.com/word-in-your-ear-2/episodes/word-podcast-790-cally-colomon
  4. ↑ "Nick Drake: Unheard songs and recordings reveal the story behind Five Leaves Left". Mojo. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  5. ↑ "The Making of Five Leaves Left explained | HiddenMasters.net". 2025-04-11. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  6. ↑ "NEWS: NICK DRAKE 'THE MAKING OF FIVE LEAVES LEFT'". Gigslutz. 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  7. ↑ "The Making of Five Leaves Left explained | HiddenMasters.net". 2025-04-11. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  8. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (July 21, 2025). "A New Box Set Presents the Real Nick Drake". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ Drell, Cady (2014-07-03). "Unheard Nick Drake Tapes Going Up for Auction". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  10. ↑ "Nick Drake: Unheard songs and recordings reveal the story behind Five Leaves Left". Mojo. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  11. ↑ "The Making of Five Leaves Left: 4CD Boxset".
  12. ↑ "Strange Face (1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968)". YouTube . 10 April 2025.
  13. ↑ "Time Has Told Me (Take 4, 11th November 1968)". YouTube . 15 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "Fruit Tree (Take 4, 12th November 1968)". YouTube . 24 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "River Man (Take 1, 4th January 1969)". YouTube . 19 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
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