Pitchfork reports that six previously unheard tapes recorded by late folk singer Nick Drake will be going up for auction on July 31st. The tapes were recorded in 1968, a year prior to Drake's debut album Five Leaves Left, and are expected to sell for at least £250,000, or $428,000, at London's Ted Owen & Company auction house.
In an interview with The Independent, English folk singer Beverley Martyn (who was once married to another British singer-songwriter, the late John Martyn) revealed that she had been given the tapes personally by Drake himself, but has only decided to give up the tapes now due to her failing health. "I'm not well: I've loads of things wrong with me," she said, "I don't want this tape to get lost or get into the wrong hands if anything happens to me. I've cared for this [tape], I've loved it and I've had my time with it."
During his brief career, Nick Drake released three studio albums, Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon, to little acclaim or commecial success. Though he passed away in 1974 at age 26 of an antidepressant overdose, his music gradually rose in popularity and found a wide audience, with all three of his albums being included on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
These previously unheard tapes feature Drake singing stripped-down versions of songs that would eventually end up on his debut album, including "Fruit Tree," "Saturday Son," and "Cello Song." Beverley Martyn said of the tapes, "He was young, he sounds full of fun, he sounds light and his guitar playing is absolutely excellent. It really shows that he didn't need to have this whole layer cake of strings." Let's hope that whoever buys these tapes chooses to share them with the world.
Listen to Nick Drake's "Cello Song" below:
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