Nick Drake fans, music history buffs, and people who enjoy haunting and spare folk songs sung with winsome wit and heart will rejoice at this 2007 release, a compendium of 28 never-released recordings by the late folk hero. Recorded on reel-to-reel and cassette, these tracks are primitive but warm, and include not only the young songwriter's earliest original work, but also covers of songs by his influences, like Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Bert Jansch, and even Mozart. With only three albums as his legacy, FAMILY TREE is an important addition to the Nick Drake canon.
Professional Reviews
Spin (p.100) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "A polished release of oft-bootlegged home recordings....All fragile as pressed leaves..."
Uncut (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "FAMILY TREE is heavy on country- or folk-blues from the Warwickshire delta....Essential listening for anybody in thrall to the spell of Saint Nick."
CMJ (p.48) - "[T]he 11 original compositions on the album showcase his preternatural sense of melody and a comfort for the folk idiom..."
No Depression (p.84) - "A kind of aural home movie....The album is worth hearing for the window it opens on Drake's formative period."
