Thirty years on, Nick Drake's music has achieved more and more prominence and acclaim; the fact that he didn't live to see this success is as sad a story as the feeling encountered whilst listening to this fine body of music. Rarely for a debut album, 'Five Leaves Left' is, if anything, his big budget album. Released in 1970, both 'River Man' and 'Way To Blue' employ melancholic sounding strings which neither interfere or overcrowd the sheer simplicity of Drake's songwriting. It's not all perfect though, 'Man In A Shed' contains the hardly thought-provoking lyric, "You'll find sheds are nicer than you thought". The first track, 'Time Has Told Me' features country guitar but this is mainly folk music that has aged extremely well ending on a surprisingly high-note with the almost happy-sounding 'Saturday Sun'.