Nick Drake - Fruit Tree (4CD Box Set) (1986)

Three albums. That's all singer/songwriter Nick Drake left the world before he passed away in 1974 at the age of 26. But what a three albums they were. This four-CD box set contains all of it, including some stuff Drake didn't intend for public consumption. Of course, everything he touched--even the demos and alternate takes--is gorgeous, melancholy folk at its finest. From the haunting, baroque beauty of his debut, Five Leaves Left, through to his pop masterpiece Bryter Layter, to his last public offering, the dark and lonely Pink Moon, Drake shines. The outtake album Time of No Reply features Drake rarities and demos, including a version of "Thoughts of Mary Jane" with Richard Thompson on electric guitar. In an age when more singer/songwriters and folk artists get compared to Drake--Elliott Smith, Belle & Sebastian and Mark Eitzel, to name but three--it's enlightening to look back and hear the original. Here's your best chance. --Jason Verlinde