Nick Drake 3 LP Fruit Tree box set ACID FOLK PSYCH PROG

$

67

This is the original three disc edition of the box on the Island label. No booklet. The box is in excellent condition. The record and sleeves are in near mint to mint condition. The last record has the bonustracks that appeared later on the fourth LP of the second pressing of this box. With this box you have almost his complete oevre.

The Tapestry of Delights book reads the following about this legend:
Nick Drake was born in Burma in 1948 to a very upper-middle class British family. When his parents returned to England half a dozen years later, he spent his childhood at Tamworth-in-Arden (to the northwest of Stratford) initially and later at a Surrey preparatory school and later at Marlborough Public School. His sister Gabrielle was in the TV soap 'Crossroads'. In 1967 he won a scholarship to read English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, although he preferred to write songs and develop his guitar playing than study. He gave some public performances whilst he was at Cambridge and was eventually recommended by Ashley Hutchings (of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span fame) to Joe Boyd's Witchseason Productions, who were offering a comprehensive management package-agency, publishing and recording. On the basis of a demo tape Drake was rapidly offered a recording contract.
His debut album was in many respects stunning, full of haunting, dream-like melodies and unusual guitar work. The best known track is Time Has Told Me by virtue of its inclusion on Island's Nice Enough To Eat sampler. It was later included on a promo-only release in 1986, Island Life (Island ISLAND MP1). The sales from the album were sufficient to encourage Drake to leave Cambridge to concentrate on a music career, although it passed unnoticed by the majority of the record buyers. To promote the album he did a limited number of 'live' performances which seem to have been much appreciated by the small numbers of people who had the privilege to hear him. Generally, though, he had no enthusiasm for touring.
His second album, Bryter Layter, was largely comprised of songs written in his spartan bedsitter in Hampstead. It took over a year to complete because he was very fussy about the musicians who he wanted to work with him on the album. Richard Thompson and others connected with Fairport Convention were heavily involved and John Cale played on two tracks, Fly and the shimmering love song Northern Sky. Other highlights included At The Chime Of A City Clock and Hazey Jane I. The critics considered the album stunning but sadly it was too esoteric to achieve the widespread interest and mass sales that some predicted.
The fact that people didn't buy the album in great numbers was a major blow and may have been a contributory factor in his growing depression, which was exacerbated by his producer Joe Boyd's move to Los Angeles to work for Warner Brothers. However, Boyd sold Witchseason to Island and made them agree to release any album Drake made as part of the contract. As he became ill Drake quit London to return to his parents' home. He recovered enough to rent a flat in Muswell Hill to record his third album, Pink Moon. Recorded in just two sessions the album was short and very stark compared to his earlier efforts. It just consists of his vocals, guitar and a piano overdub on one cut. Far less accessible than his earlier two albums it inevitably sold in small quantities and is consequently the hardest of his three albums to find. The songs are full of impending doom and depression, but full of creativity and some of his finest guitar playing. Get to hear From The Morning and Place To Be. Another stunning track was the unnervingly delightful Thing Behind The Sun.
After recording Pink Moon Nick suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised on a voluntary basis for a few weeks. He had become withdrawn from society and was increasingly difficult to communicate with. He recovered sufficiently to record four tracks for a future album, which he later decided to scrap. He possibly intended to re-record them later, but after a short break in Paris he returned to try out new material but tragically died from an overdose of Tryptizol, which he may well have taken to try and get off to sleep.
Later in 1979 Island produced a box set, Fruit Tree - The Complete Recorded Works, compiling his three albums with the four tracks which had been laid down at his final session. It came with a lavish booklet and an extensive biography. (...)
Those of you who didn't get to hear Drake's stunning work the first time round and who have any appreciation of folk music should be sure to investigate his music now.

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