10. Nick DrakeFive Leaves Left
I picked this, but it’s virtually impossible to pick one [Drake record] and not another. There is no inconsistency in Nick Drake as far as I’m concerned, he’s just extraordinary. I picked this one because I had to pick an album, I had to put him in there and I could’t choose all the albums. I think I did this very honestly – that was the first record I heard by him, and I thought I’ll be honest and I’ll be loyal to that! ‘Time Has Told Me’, ‘River Man’ – it just has so many fucking great songs on it! ‘Cello Song’, ‘Fruit Tree’; it’s kind of the classic songs. I don’t know what to say about Nick Drake – it’s like trying to talk about air or your arm, or just something that’s so much a part of your life and has been for so long now. If you want an introduction to Nick Drake, just start there; it’s a great place to start.
I’ve never tried to deliberately replicate him, but there’s a song on my new album that’s a complete rip-off of a guitar intro to one of his songs! It wasn’t until Tom [Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers] walked in and went "ah yeah, Nick Drake, great" and I was like "really?!" And it was right under my nose – I think he’s just become such a part of my… everything, I’d never even noticed that I’d gone ahead and done that.
