[.ca] Fruit Tree

From Amazon.com:
Three albums. That's all singer-songwriter Nick Drake left the world before he passed away in 1974 at the age of 26. But what albums they were. This four-CD box set contains all three records, plus some stuff Drake didn't intend for public consumption. Of course, everything he touched--even the demos and alternate takes--is gorgeous, melancholy folk at its finest. From the haunting, baroque beauty of his debut, Five Leaves Left, through to his pop masterpiece Bryter Layter, to his last public offering, the dark and lonely Pink Moon, Drake shines. The outtake album Time of No Reply features Drake rarities and demos, including a version of "Thoughts of Mary Jane" with Richard Thompson on electric guitar. In an age when more singer-songwriters and folk artists get compared to Drake--Elliott Smith, Belle & Sebastian, and Mark Eitzel, to name but three--it's enlightening to look back and hear the original. Here's your best chance. --Jason Verlinde

Fruitful:
Nick Drake was one of those rare artists who had great talents, but too little time on this earth. When he died in his mid-twenties in 1974, Drake left behind only three albums of poignant folk pop. Three albums, and a demo/B-side collection -- sadly, that was all he created. "Fruit Tree" collects all four albums together, in the order they were released: The first is his enchanting debut "Five Leaves Left," a wistful and startlingly polished first album. "Five Leaves First" is followed by the masterful, brooding "Bryter Layter," which many consider to be his best work of all. His swan song was the beautiful, tormented "Pink Moon," which hints at Drake's inner turmoil, but not in a raw or obvious way. Coming after that was "Time of No Reply," a solid collection of non-album tracks. Admittedly, it's a bit of an anticlimax after the veiled emotion of "Pink Moon," but still extremely good. It's a rare thing when am artist's entire discography is made up of beautiful songwriting and equally exquisite music. There is literally not a single bad song on the entire collection -- the worst songs on it can simply be said to be pretty good, but never bad. That in itself is a rarity. Drake's music is of a nearly-uniform mood -- wistful, brooding, soft and melodic. Normally a repeating theme is a bad thing, but Drake managed to keep it always interesting. He has a few catchier songs, a few bland-ish ones, and a few hopeful ones. But the overall sound is of a young man with romantic sensibilities, who was also sad and fragile. But despite his loneliness, Drake had immense writing ability. His songwriting has a simple eloquence, with poetic overtones. He also was a pioneer of the "folk pop" sound, mixing his finger-picking guitar style with viola, strings, piano, and other such instruments. It adds extra beauty -- and often ethereality -- to the grounded guitar. Nick Drake left behind only a few albums, but "Fruit Tree" allows you to hear them all together. Exquisite, understated, and truly timeless.

FRUIT TREE: MUSIC PICKED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN:
a CLIFFORD HODGE review When you look at the group of the immensely-talented who died young - Nick Drake, Buddy Holly, Tim Buckley, Phil Ochs, Bobby Fuller - to mention a few, you must lament the music we have are missing. Here is another example of the fact that the post-rock era has produced artists. Nick Drake, a sort of British Tim Buckley, with a dash of the later, apartment tapes-era Buddy Holly thrown in, had a genius for dark, introspective melody, recording with polished studio arrangements, often employing strings, piano, or sax to produce a highly sophisti- cated sound. You know this is a product of its time when you look at some of the titles: "The Thoughts of Mary Jane", "Hazey Jane", "Been Smoking Too Long". But you don't find stupid drug anthems, just tight well-crafted songs which belie Drake's youth, sung in the smooth voice that was distinctive without seeming odd; interesting without drawing undue attention to itself. The vinyl box was like the CD set, containing the a 4th disc, "Time Of No Reply," consisting of the usual box set tease: new tracks. I had to have it. You do too. Yes, this is a large compilation, but "Heaven In A Wild Flower", the superb single disc collection, is not going to be easy to find, and for all I know may not have been made available as a CD. This music is beautiful. Buy it and listen during those reflective times when you need a spiritual salve. NOTE:If you can't afford this but want a best-of Nick Drake, look for a used "Heaven In A Wild Flower" single disc compilation. All 14 tracks are good.

As Good As It Gets:
This boxed set is as good as it gets. There is really nothing more to say because there is no way to truly describe this music. This music is haunting, it is beautiful, it is autumnal, it is sad, it is melodic. It is also the best secret in music. If you think you know what's good and you haven't heard this, then listen up. This is not played on the radio and his cult following is not broad enough. If you like Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul, REM, Belle and Sebastian, Forever Changes, you'll like this. Nearly every song will stay in your head for weeks, and you will not stop playing this. Drake is English and he played beautiful folk guitar. His voice compliments the guitar playing, some of the most intricate I have ever heard. Unfortunately, Drake died in 1974 at the age of 26, and the music reflects his depressed state. But this music should be celebrated. If you are looking to save money, you can get Way to Blue, a "best of" album. But, really, that's just a waste of money, because in no time you will just pay out the cash for this boxed set.

5 stars, or a sky full of them..?..:
Fruit Tree tells the sonic tale of a hugely talented, sensitive musician, from his days as a wide-eyed hopeful/student making his way into the folk club circuit, to the fallen son who fell prey to that most common of artistic predators, depression. From the country to the city, from hope to despair and dreams and days, to shadows and light, you will find it all here. And all in his own words. The box set includes all three albums released during Nick Drake's lifetime, and the fourth, a posthumous effort, Time of No Reply. All four cds are excellent, with their own nuances and flavor, and luckily, if you buy the box set, you won't have to face the difficult task of choosing a favorite. This music is beyond beautiful. As others have said, it is ethereal, haunting, touching, priceless. Art on the scale of Van Gogh or William Blake. Timeless and comfortable, modern and jarring. A handful of contradictions, a million grains of sand. In short, genius. Nick Drake's first album, Five Leaves Left, was released in 1969. In a chilling coincidence, in November 1974, five years after this album was released, he would, at age 26, leave this earth. 5LL is a classically-infused album, with a sleepy and melodic feel. It includes the classic "Time Has Told Me," the brilliant and wispy "Cello Song," the playful "Thoughts of Mary Jane," the incredible/heavy and foreboding "Fruit Tree" (surely this song has at least some part to play in the growing cult following of Drake.. it is eerie to hear him sing so clearly about post-humous fame), and the gorgeous, piano-infused "Saturday Sun." Bryter Layter (released in 1970), was composed and recorded in London. During the making of this album, Drake was living alone in an old Georgian apartment in Hampstead. In true artist style, the lonely, cold flat came complete with sweeping ceilings, but little creature comforts to speak of, and only one stark and lonely light, hanging from the rafters. This album was titled after a common weather forecast in England at that time, "Cloudy now, brighter later." Bryter Layter was meant to carry Drake forward onto fame. It was extravagantly arranged, with many sonic layers. When it failed to sell, a depression began seeping into Nick. From 'Poor Boy,' a deceptively jazzy number: "Nobody knows/ How cold it grows/ And nobody sees/ How shaky my knees/ Nobody cares/ How steep my stairs/ And nobody smiles/If I cross their stiles." Standouts include the beautiful 'Northern Sky' (Serendipity Soundtrack), the playful and meandering 'Hazey Jane (I & II)', the gorgeous 'Fly' (Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack) and the revealing and poetic 'At the Chime of A City Clock.' Pink Moon (1972) was recorded alone (with only the sound engineer) in two midnight sessions on consecutive nights, with only one overdub (Nick's own piano playing on the title track). This album, with only Nick's voice and incredible guitar playing, is Nick "distilled" and its purity and immediacy is breathtaking. (Many prefer this album to all others, if I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably agree. But Bryter Layter? Hmm, never mind, I can't pick a favorite. They are all amazing, in their way.) The songs here range from the numbness & lack of emotion of 'Know', to the beautiful and lulling, "Place to Be," to the mesmerizing guitar-driven 'Things Behind the Sun,' to uncanny prophecy (the haunting, ethereal and incredibly beautiful 'Pink Moon,' brought to long-lost fame by the 2000 VW commercial.) (The commercial gains poignancy when one realizes that one of Nick's passions, besides music, was driving, especially at night. He also loved nature, the seasons, the sun and moon. He would spend hours looking up at the stars at night, according to his father. Ironically perhaps, the commercial is somehow a fitting reflection of Nick's essence, and perhaps explains in part why it's 1-2 punch of music and image fit together so well and caused so many to be so stirred by a mere 30 seconds of exposure to this haunting musician.) The last album in the set, Time of No Reply, (compiled after Drake's death), includes four songs from Nick's final recording session in 1974. (The haunting Black Eyed Dog and the sad Hanging on A Star are standouts here. Contrary to the recording of Pink Moon two years earlier, Drake was unable to play guitar and sing at the same time at this session, as he was too depressed). Also included on this last album are studio outtakes from the '69 (5LL) sessions, and several home recordings, which had been saved by Nick's father Rodney on a whim. (Thank you Rodney!) (Included are 'Mayfair,' 'Strange Meeting II,' and alternate takes of 'Man in a Shed,' and 'Fly.') And so Nick's legacy was complete, with these four works of brilliant, haunting art. But Drake fans will be cheered to know that the music is not quite over, yet. His sister Gabrielle is planning to release an album tentatively called "Family Tree" sometime in the next year, with recently acquired outtakes from Nick's (sunny/happy) time in Aix (France, in 1967) and other unreleased material, as well as a couple of songs from Nick's talented mother, who was also a songwriter, Molly. As others have said, it is definitely worth getting the box set, as the minute you sit down and listen, really listen, to this young man's art, you will be transfixed, and want to hear all you can. Fruit Tree includes complete lyrics to all songs on the set, and a nice little booklet with a mini-biography by Arthur Lubow (from 1978), and some nice photos. Recent box sets should also be the re-mastered ones as well. (5LL, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon were re-mastered in the last couple of years. Time of No Reply has yet to be re-mastered, since it is more difficult to do this with a non-studio/half home-recorded album.) Pop in these cds and let Nick brighten your (northern?) sky... Amazing!

Amazing...:
a crime that it is not in print, bring it back!!!

• Time Has Told Me
• River Man
• Three Hours
• Way to Blue
• Day Is Done
• Cello Song
• Thoughts of Mary Jane
• Man in a Shed
• Fruit Tree
• Saturday Sun
• Introduction
• Hazey Jane II
• At the Chime of a City Clock
• One of These Things First
• Hazey Jane I
• Bryter Layter
• Fly
• Poor Boy
• Northern Sky
• Sunday
• Pink Moon
• Place to Be
• Road
• Which Will
• Horn
• Things Behind the Sun
• Know
• Free Ride
• Parasite
• Harvest Breed
• From the Morning
• Time of No Reply
• I Was Made to Love Magic
• Joey
• Clothes of Sand
• Man in a Shed \oDemo Version\c
• Mayfair
• Fly \oDemo Version\c
• Thoughts of Mary Jane \oDemo Version\c
• Been Smoking Too Long
• Strange Meeting II
• Rider on the Wheel
• Black Eyed Dog \oDemo Version\c
• Hanging on a Star
• Voice From the Mountain