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Nick Drake The Making Of Five Leaves Left [Box Set]
Released Jul 25, 2025 UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
Established consensus 5 professional reviews Updated Aug 27, 2026
Strong critical consensus
Nick Drake's The Making Of Five Leaves Left [Box Set] reframes the singer-songwriter's early craft through patient archival care, offering listeners a close look at artistic evolution and the fragile intimacy that defined his work.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Fruit Tree - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
1 critic mention
“this collection unearths a chilling version without the string arrangement” — PopMatters
River Man
1 critic mention
“this set contains the entire original debut in its best remaster” — PopMatters
Time Has Told Me
1 critic mention
“The booklet also charts all known recordings of the songs from Five Leaves Left, noting the session dates” — PopMatters
Full critic consensus
Nick Drake's The Making Of Five Leaves Left [Box Set] reframes the singer-songwriter's early craft through patient archival care, offering listeners a close look at artistic evolution and the fragile intimacy that defined his work. Across professional reviews the set earned a 96/100 consensus score from 5 reviews, and critics consistently praise how alternate takes, demos and session fragments illuminate the record's chamber-folk arrangements and Drake's understated guitar technique.
Reviewers single out the haunting early take of “Fruit Tree - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968” as a centerpiece, while archival versions of “River Man”, “Time Has Told Me” and “Three Hours” surface as revealing highlights that trace how songs matured into their canonical forms. Critics note the box set's curatorial restraint - remasters and session notes that prioritize clarity over excess - so the emotional intimacy of performances remains intact and the folk chamber arrangements breathe with new nuance.
While the set is clearly aimed at devoted fans and collectors, professional reviews argue it also serves as an essential document for anyone interested in how a seminal album takes shape. The consensus celebrates archival preservation done with reverence, positioning the collection as both a deep dive into Five Leaves Left and a masterclass in the quieter mechanics of songwriting and arrangement.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Mayfair - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Time Has Told Me - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Man In A Shed - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Fruit Tree - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Saturday Sun - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Strange Face - 1st Sound Techniques Session, March / 1968
Strange Face - Rough Mix With Guide Vocal, 11th September 1968
Day Is Done - Take 5, 11th April 1968
Day Is Done - Take 2, 12th November 1968
Day Is Done - Take 7, 3rd April 1969
Man In A Shed - Take 1, 10th May 1968
My Love Left With The Rain - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Blossom - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Instrumental - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Made To Love Magic - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Mickey’s Tune - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
The Thoughts Of Mary Jane - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Day Is Done - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Time Has Told Me - Cambridge, Lent Term / 1968
Three Hours - Take 2, 11th November 1968
Time Has Told Me - Take 4, 11th November 1968
Strange Face - Take 1, 12th November 1968
Saturday Sun - Take 1, 12th November 1968
Fruit Tree - Take 4, 12th November 1968
Time Of No Reply - Take 3 Into 4, 20th December 1968
'cello Song - Take 4, January 4th 1969
Mayfair - Take 5, 4th January 1969
River Man - Take 1, 4th January 1969
Way To Blue - Cambridge, Winter / 1968
The Thoughts Of Mary Jane - Take 2, 3rd April 1969
Saturday Sun - Take 1 Into Take 2, 22nd April 1969
River Man - Take 2, April 1969
Time Has Told Me
River Man
Three Hours
Way To Blue
Day Is Done
' Cello Song
The Thoughts Of Mary Jane
Man In A Shed
Fruit Tree
Saturday Sun
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Nick Drake is given patient, reverent treatment on The Making Of Five Leaves Left [Box Set], and the review makes clear why the best songs on the set remain timeless. The writer singles out “Fruit Tree” as a hauntingly beautiful standout, noting the chilling version without strings, and repeatedly praises alternate takes and demos that highlight Drake's guitar work and intimate performances. This narrative presents the best tracks on The Making Of Five Leaves Left [Box Set]
Key Points
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The box set showcases “Fruit Tree” as the clearest standout, offering a chilling stringless version that reveals the song's core beauty.
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The set's core strength is its intimate documentation of Drake's evolution, from home demos to orchestrated arrangements, with superb remastering and booklet scholarship.
Themes
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