One of British folk's most enigmatic debuts, Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left, will be the subject of a box set yielding newly-discovered outtakes and unreleased material. The Making of Five Leaves Left, hitting stores on July 25, offers a new chronological look at Drake's first album through more than 30 unreleased outtakes and a new pressing of the original album, available either on four CDs or four LPs and remastered by original album engineer John Wood. An illustrated 60-page book, printed
"For two-and-a-half years, I had the Friday night show at Bunjies Coffee Bar, and it became a residency for me," Al Stewart remembered in an interview with this author for the recent collection of his U.S. singles. "After a while, I got another residency right around the corner at a club called Les Cousins." The Greek Street venue was a focal point of the London folk scene. Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Alexis Korner, John Renbourn, and a young American named Paul Simon all passed through its
The subject of a new collection from Ace Records isn't exactly a household name. But if you didn't know the name of Robert Kirby before, you certainly will after a listen to When the Day is Done: The Orchestrations of Robert Kirby. The titular orchestrator is best known for his lush adornment of Nick Drake's records, conjuring up a pastoral England that couldn't be more removed from the swingin' era that preceded it. A brief track from Drake opens this collection before it cedes to an
Fall apparently wasn’t arriving early enough for the folks at Starbucks, so the international coffee giant moved it up – to this past August 25 – with the early arrival of its familiar fall drinks. But when ordering up that pumpkin spice latte, you might want to check out two recent musical offerings, both curated with the Starbucks Entertainment label’s customary care. The simply-titled British Folk emphasizes the current crop of troubadours who currently follow in the footsteps of Nick