Considering the uniformly high quality of the three official studio albums Nick Drake released during his lifetime, and considering the lofi and casual nature of his home recordings—mostly tunes from the likes of Jackson C. Frank, Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, among a slew of traditionals—it’s a tough call deciding where the legacy ends and the carcass picking begins. Family Tree is the latest posthumous Nick Drake collection and the first since 1987’s Time of No Reply to contain a sizable amount of previously unreleased recordings. (2004’s Made to Love Magic added one unreleased tune, “Tow the Line,” to yet another compilation of Drake’s best work). Most of these recordings have been circulating in poorer quality for years amongst collectors. To finally hear these home demos with much of the generational distortion removed and with the EQ finally working in Drake’s favor is cause for a national holiday alone. Drake estate manager “Cally,” who compiled this collection, has done a respectful and worthy job that allows us to hear Drake laugh to himself as he fumbles through some personal faves. No one will confuse these tapes with the majesty of “Northern Sky,” “Fly” or “Cello Song,” but the emotional pathos that accompanies Drake through originals such as
“Blossom,” “Bird Flew By” and “Rain” make for worthy bedside companions to “Clothes of Sand,” “Joey” and much of what appeared on Time of No Reply. Drake, it seems, was incapable of a poor performance whether it’s the inviting warmth of his natural singing voice or the dexterous finger-picking of his guitar playing. Drake retains a haunting authority over the material. “Black Mountain Blues,” “Cocaine Blues,”
Blind Boy Fuller’s “My Baby’s So Sweet” never match the inventive Englishside melancholy of Drake’s best work—though a duet with sister Gabrielle for the traditional “All My Trials” snaps into place. But it isn’t fair to expect the early work tapes of a young prodigy to present any more than a vague map to the genius that would eventually manifest. That we can hear where his early talents will take him only make his death at 26 that much more painful.
