Five Leaves Left

Five Leaves Left took a year to make at Sound Techniques with Joe Boyd producing and John Wood engineering. Boyd first brought in an arranger, Richard Hewson; Drake told him his university friend Robert Kirby could do better, and Kirby wrote most of the string arrangements. For River Man Drake wanted something Kirby felt beyond him, and the veteran Harry Robinson wrote the score. Wood recalled that Drake tracked live, singing and playing with the string section around him and no overdubs. Danny Thompson of Pentangle played double bass and Richard Thompson electric guitar.

The title comes from the warning printed near the end of a packet of cigarette papers. Reviews were polite: Melody Maker found it interesting. It is now on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums, and in 2025, after a four-disc box of its sessions, it entered the British album chart for the first time.