NICK DRAKE - FIVE LEAVES LEFT - 1ST US PRESSING ANTILLES NEAR MINT LP

$

34

THIS RECORD COMES FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTION

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· NICK DRAKE – FIVE LEAVES LEFT – ORIGINAL 1976 ANTILLES RECORDS STEREO LP AN-7010 (NOTE: THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESSING OF THIS ALBUM DID NOT APPEAR UNTIL 1976, MAKING THIS THE VERY FIRST U.S. PRESSING OF THIS TITLE)

· ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING. ORIGINAL BLACK ANTILLES LABEL (ISLAND SUBSIDIARY) WITH THE RED “PALM TREE” LOGO

· THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

· ORIGINAL, THIN CARDBOARD COVER (NO THICK CARDBOARD COVERS WERE EVER PRODUCED FOR THIS TITLE)

· CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

· THE RECORD HAS A 'KENDUN' STAMP IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) AREA, WHICH IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED A PROOF OF AUTHENTICITY OF THE FIRST PRESSING.

(?PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from a previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get. GUARANTEED!)

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It's little wonder why Drake felt frustrated at the lack of commercial success his music initially gathered, considering the help he had on his debut record. Besides fine production from Joe Boyd and assistance from folks like Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson and his unrelated bass counterpart from Pentangle, Danny Thompson, Drake also recruited school friend Robert Kirby to create most of the just-right string and wind arrangements. His own performance itself steered a careful balance between too-easy accessibility and maudlin self-reflection, combining the best of both worlds while avoiding the pitfalls on either side. The result was a fantastic debut appearance, and if the cult of Drake consistently reads more into his work than is perhaps deserved, Five Leaves Left is still a most successful effort. Having grown out of the amiable but derivative styles captured on the long-circulating series of bootleg home recordings, Drake assays his tunes with just enough drama -- world-weariness in the vocals, carefully paced playing, and more -- to make it all work. His lyrics capture a subtle poetry of emotion, as on the pastoral semi-fantasia of "The Thoughts of Mary Jane," which his soft, articulate singing brings even more to the full. Sometimes he projects a little more clearly, as on the astonishing voice-and-strings combination "Way to Blue," while elsewhere he's not so clear, suggesting rather than outlining the mood. Understatement is the key to his songs and performances' general success, which makes the combination of his vocals and Rocky Dzidzornu's congas on "Three Hours" and the lovely "'Cello Song," to name two instances, so effective. Danny Thompson is the most regular side performer on the album, his bass work providing subtle heft while never standing in the way of the song -- kudos well deserved for Boyd's production as well.

(EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY NED RAGGETT, ALL MUSIC GUIDE /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

A great debut by the troubadour of love, grace, loneliness and infinite sadness, “Five Leaves Left” was released originally in 1969. The selections include some of the best and gentlest tracks ever penned by Nick Drake, including "River man" (our favorite Nick Drake ballad: we still don’t know what the song is all about, but who cares – it is a piece of beautiful – almost metaphysical – sadness…and beauty) . Tracks are: Time has told me - River man - Three Hours - A Day is done - Way to blue - Cello song - The thoughts of Mary Jane - Man in a shed - Fruit tree - Saturday Sun. Caution: missing out on this great album may cause suicidal depression.  A must for any serious Nick Drake collector.

Five Leaves Left, oddly, was not issued in its original form in the United States until 1976, on the Antilles label (you are looking at it!); Yes, the album was, in fact (partially) issued in 1971 on Capitol-distributed Island label but with a considerably different cover, track listing (the first version was a “hybrid” of the first two British albums), and to such miserable marketing effort, that not even some of the most hardcore Nick Drake collectors have seen one).

THIS IS A NO-RESERVE AUCTION!

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· CONDITION: · RECORD (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a) I GRADE THE VINYL AS NEAR MINT. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b) The record is pressed on a RELATIVELY thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type), vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl, either.

(c) The record comes in a poly-lined inner sleeve, which has - apparently with success - shielded the vinyl from the harmful impact of elements over many years!

(d) Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

· COVER: THE COVER IS VERY GOOD/VERY GOOD PLUS!

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover: