"Nick Drake" by NICK DRAKE [August 1971 USA-Only LP Compilation on Island Records SMAS-9307 - Compiled From Inside 2013's 5CD "Tuck Box" on Universal) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 347 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

GET IT ON - 1971

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

50th Anniversary Issue for 2021

Over 2,600 E-Pages 

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

Just Click Below To Purchase

August 1971 US-Only 8-Track LP "Nick Drake" on Island SMAS-9307

"...You're A Very Rare Find..."

A bloody rare find indeed!

The first mention of this staggeringly hard-to-find album is the 31 July 1971 publication of Billboard in the USA – amazingly given a whole page heralding the immanent coming of Nick Drake's debut American LP "Nick Drake" on Island Records SMAS-9307 (Island was then distributed Stateside by Capitol Records hence the SMAS prefix on the catalogue number). Even now in 2017 – this expensive full-page confidence seems amazing - nestled amongst sizeable adverts for Humble Pie's "Rock On", AMPEX Tape Machines and how many Rock Bands had used SHURE microphones to get down their shtick – there it sits - a stark full-page advert for Island SMAS-9307. But who outside of industry insiders noticed?

Using the rear cover photo of September 1969's "Five Leaves Left" as its front aspect (the blurred man running past Nick who is stood up against a wall) – that snap is centred on a gatefold cover that bears no title on the front. The advert advises that he's had two albums in Blighty and that this is a compilation of songs from both. It also tells us that American punters have called in after hearing DJs play UK imports of his first two records – asking for such a release on their turf (oh yeah).

The cold commercial truth was probably a lot less generous and not so grass roots. In the same 31 July 1971 Billboard publication is another full-page advert without any words at all – just a photo of a beaming James Taylor standing beside an equally elated Carole King. Carole’s magisterial "Tapestry" had been released in February on Ode 70 Records and Taylor's second LP "Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon" on Warner Brothers in June of 1971. With both albums slaughtering all in their Grammy-winning singer-songwriter path (LPs and 45s) – someone at Island USA was more likely trying to tap into that same burgeoning market when they compiled the 8-song "Nick Drake".

They even went as far as giving the LP a rather lovely inner gatefold with a smiling carefree Nick reclining in green English grass - the track credits printed tastefully over to the right of the double-spread photo. Technically - the 1971 American LP "Nick Drake" featured 3 tracks from "Five Leaves Left" (1 on Side 1 and 1 and 2 on Side 2) with the five remaining being from "Bryter Layter". It can be sequenced as follows:

Side 1:

1. 'Cello Song

2. Poor Boy

3. At The Chime Of A City Clock

4. Northern Star

Side 2:

1. River Man

2. Three Hours

3. One Of These Things First

4. Fly

The following week – 8 August 1971 – it gets a single line entry in the New Releases section and is never heard of again. In a final act of superstar cult recognition – it was repressed using the year 2000 John Wood Remasters onto a vinyl LP with a poster for Record Store Day 2013. No longer a Poor Boy thank God. On to the music...

You can digitally sequence this 8-track LP by buying the two stand-alone CD Remasters from June 2000 – his September 1969 debut "Five Leaves Left" and his second LP – November 1970’s "Bryter Layter". But you can absolutely never have enough of ND – so I’d advise taking the immersive plunge and plum for the 5CD "Tuck Box" from December 2013 - a treasure trove of beautiful music presented in a really lovely way.

"Tuck Box" by NICK DRAKE is a 5CD Box Set on Universal/Island 0602537538546 (Barcode 602537538546) that consists of 5CDs in repro card digipaks with 5 accompanying foldout colour posters - the press-released full-page adverts for each album. As you can see from the photo – Universal have used his N. R. Drake '69 schoolroom Tuck Box as the Box set’s artwork.

The first 3 CDs in this Box Set are his officially released catalogue before his tragic loss in 1974 – the 28 June 2000 CD remasters done by SIMON HEYWORTH and JOHN WOOD (the albums original engineer). The sound quality on all three sets is absolutely exceptional - carefully and beautifully transferred. And of course his music is magical Singer-Songwriter Folk-Rock of the highest quality – songs imbibed with joy, sadness and a rare pathos that reaches out across the decades even now.

To sequence the American LP - the two CDs you'll need are...

Disc 1 "Five Leaves Left" (41:45 minutes):

1. Time Has Told Me [Side 1]

2. River Man

3. Three Hours

4. Way To Blue

5. Day Is Done

6. ‘Cello Song [Side 2]

7. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane

8. Man In A Shed

9. Fruit Tree

10. Saturday Sun

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut UK album "Five Leaves Left" - released 1 November 1969 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9105 - reissued on Remaster CD in June 2000.

Disc 2 "Bryter Layter" (39:26 minutes):

1. Introduction [Side 1]

2. Hazey Jane II

3. At The Chime Of A City Clock

4. One Of These Things First

5. Hazey Jane I

6. Bryter Layter [Side 2]

7. Fly

8. Poor Boy

9. Northern Sky

10. Sunday

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 2nd UK studio album "Bryter Layter" - released 1 November 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9134 - reissued on Remaster CD in June 2000.

The compilers of the 8-track American LP clearly saw the pattern across his first two British albums - acoustic based tunes with the double-bass acting as a rhythm section - providing each with that lovely shuffle his best music has.

The irrepressible "'Cello Song" opens proceedings – a stunner that gets me every time. The hiss levels increase a tad unfortunately on "At The Chime Of A City Clock" but not enough to detract - while "Northern Sky" still exudes romantic 'magic' every time I hear it and has been used in movies for just such a purpose (that ice-rink scene with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack at the end of "Serendipity"). Another huge favourite is the gorgeous "One Of These Things First" and the jazzy "Poor Boy" – both sounding like a male-fronted Fairground Attraction decades before their time.

In a 'starry, starry night' kind of way - you just can't help thinking that someone as beautiful as Nick Drake deserved glory – but received so little of it on either side of the pond. And when you sequence these eight songs together – you wonder how so many simply didn’t get it back then.

A gorgeous reminder and perhaps the coolest vinyl rarity you can now have in your digital home for a CD pittance.

"...Please give me a second grace..." – he sang on the "Bryter Layter" ballad "Fly". 

I couldn’t agree more... 

"Tuck Box" by NICK DRAKE (2013 Universal/Island Records 5CD Box Set (Mostly 2000 Remasters)) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1960s MUSIC On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...You're A Very Rare Find..."

There are two ways of looking at this 5CD release - for longtime NICK DRAKE fans it's a pain (buying what you already own) - but for newcomers or just the curious - "Tuck Box" is a treasure trove of beautiful music presented in a really rather lovely way.

Released Monday 9 December 2013 - "Tuck Box" by NICK DRAKE on Universal/Island 0602537538546 (Barcode 602537538546) consists of 5CDs in repro card digipaks with 5 accompanying fold-out colour posters - the press-released full-page adverts for each album. The box sticker and rear details clearly state that this is previously released material.

The first 3 CDs are his officially released catalogue before his tragic loss in 1974. These CDs are NOT DIFFERENT to the 28 June 2000 CD remasters done by Simon Heyworth and John Wood (the album's original engineer). Disappointingly the altered album artwork on those reissues has also been copied here and the booklets are exactly the same too (filled with lyrics and some photographs). The sound quality on all three sets is exceptional - carefully remastered - and the music is magical - in fact listening to "Cello Song" even now reduces me to shivers. Here are the breakdowns…

Disc 1 “Five Leaves Left” (Debut Studio LP - 41:45 minutes):

1. Time Has Told Me

2. River Man

3. Three Hours

4. Way To Blue

5. Day Is done

6. ‘Cello Song [Side 2]

7. The Thoughts Of Mary Jane

8. Man In A Shed

9. Fruit Tree

10. Saturday Sun

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Five Leaves Left" - his debut vinyl album was released 1 September 1969 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9105 - reissued on Remaster CD in June 2000.

Disc 2 “Bryter Layter” (2nd studio album - 39:26 minutes):

1. Introduction

2. Hazey Jane II

3. At The Chime Of A City Clock

4. One Of These Things First

5. Hazey Jane I

6. Bryter Layter [Side 2]

7. Fly

8. Poor Boy

9. Northern Sky

10. Sunday

Tracks 1 to 2 are "Bryter Layter" - released 1 November 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9134

Disc 3 “Pink Moon” (3rd and final studio album - 28:30 minutes):

1. Pink Moon

2. Place To Be

3. Road

4. Which Will

5. Horn

6. Things Behind The Sun [Side 2]

7. Know

8. Parasite

9. Free Ride

10. Harvest Breed

11. From The Moring

Tracks 1 to 11 are his 3rd and final album "Pink Moon" - released 25 February 1972 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9184

Disc 4 "Made To Love Magic" (Compilation - 41:52 minutes):

1. Rider On The Wheel

2. Magic

3. River Man

4. Joey

5. Thoughts Of Mary Jane

6. Mayfair

7. Hanging On A Star

8. Three Hours

9. Clothes Of sand

10. Voices

11. Time Of No Reply

12. Black Eyed Dog

13. Tow The Line

“Made To Love Magic” is a posthumous 13-track CD/LP compilation of unreleased outtakes and alternate versions (including 5 tracks from his never-finished 4th album). It was issued 24 March 2004 and features John Wood and Simon Heyworth Remasters/Remixes with additional help from Jeremy Gill.

Disc 5 “Family Tree” (64:34 minutes):

1. Come In To The Garden (Introduction)

2. They’re Leaving Me Behind

3. Time Piece

4. Poor Mum (Performed by Molly Drake)

5. Winter Is Gone

6. All My Trials (Performed by Nick Drake and Gabrielle Drake)

7. Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio (Performed by The Family Trio)

8. Strolling Down The Highway

9. Paddling In Rushmere

10. Cocaine Blues

11. Blossom

12. Been Smoking Too Long

13. Black Mountain Blues

14. Tomorrow Is A Long Time

15. If You Leave Me

16. Here Come The Blues

17. Sketch 1

18. Blues Run The Game [Jackson C. Frank cover version]

19. Milk And Honey

20. Kimbie

21. Birdie Flew By

22. Rain

23. Strange Meeting II

24. Day Is Done

25. Come Into The Garden

26. Way To Blue

27. Do You Ever Remember? (Performed by Molly Drake)

Tracks 1 to 27 are "Family Tree" - another posthumous compilation on CD and LP released 9 July 2007 and featuring 27 tracks recorded between 1967 and 1969 (prior to his debut).

Each album is now in an oversized card digipak with a small booklet using the 2000 CD reissues artwork (shame they didn’t revert to the original album looks)  - the two posthumous compilations use their original art. The only discernible difference is that the "Five Leaves Left" CD label now sports an even more garish PINK label than its predecessor. The digipaks are all inset into the box in a hollow with Nick Drake’s lyrics typed around the edges of on the box on the inside. There's no stand-alone booklet unfortunately – nor it would seem any new remasters – these are the JOHN WOOD versions carried out in 2000 for the three studio albums. The sound is glorious it has to be said – especially as much of the music is acoustic based with the double-bass acting as a rhythm section. There’s clarity, warmth and presence – its all here.

The first album is astonishing – great tunes, cool trippy backing and those sad as a river string arrangements on stuff like “Fruit Tree” and “Way To Blue”. The irrepressible “’Cello Song” gets me every time and Alexis Korner became the first person I know of who covered a Nick Drake song – the album finisher “Saturday Sun” – he did it on his “Alexis Korner” album from July 1971 on RAK Records.

The hiss levels increase a tad on “At The Chime Of A City Clock” and on the lovely instrumental “Bryter Layter” while “Northern Sky” still exudes romantic ‘magic’ (and has been used in movies for just such a purpose). My favourite is the gorgeous “One Of These Things First” and the jazzy “Poor Boy” sounds like a male-fronted Fairground Attraction decades before their time.

The album that no one bought – the solo “Pink Moon” is probably every fan’s crave – beautiful and ethereal like John Martyn’s “Solid Air” which in itself would arrive a year later (February 1973) also on the mighty Island Records). Relistening to its stark and bare songs (just him and a guitar) - history would have us ask why Island never released “Pink Moon” or the lovely “Place To Be” as 7” singles – maybe capture the airwaves like Labi Siffre and Cat Stevens had?

The first compilation “Made To Love Magic” is a triumph - all the material receiving serious digital polishing from John Wood and Jeremy Gill. The orchestration they put on “Magic” is from his own notes – so we hear now the stunning song - as it would have been. The trio of - “Hanging On A Star”, “Joey” and “Clothes Of Sand” are simply stunning (complete with playing mistakes) – an indication as to how good his songwriting had become (“something has taken you so far from me…”)

Having said that - if you're new to Drake and his wonderful soft singer-songwriter beauty - then this is a lovely way to kindle a romance that will stay with you like Joni Mitchell lyrics work their way into your consciousness. But in a 'starry night' kind of way - you just can't help thinking that someone as beautiful as Nick Drake deserved just a little bit more effort than this... And the cool “Tow The Line” was his last recording. And as ‘interesting’ as much of “Family Tree” is (“Winter is Gone” and “Blues Run The Game”) – the huge hiss levels and poor quality of the recordings means that most of it is a curio at best.

So there you have it – 3 released albums of near perfection – one quality posthumous compilation and another after-the-fact set that I’d argue should have stayed in the can. But oh what a legacy his music is – I just wish it was ongoing – and not that horrible full stop in 1974…

-->