Family Tree

Family Tree is the first real collection of unreleased Nick Drake recordings since 1987’s Time of No Reply. 2004’s Made to Love Magic uncovered a single track, “Tow the Line,” but Family Tree officially brings out home recordings by Drake that have been surfacing on low-quality bootlegs for years. Drake’s death at 26 in 1974, after just three excellent studio albums and very little public profile, have made him that most mysterious of legends, and the cult has been growing steadily. The Nick Drake that presents himself on these home work tapes, however, is still evolving into an English folksinger. His originals — “Blossom,” “Bird Flew By,” “Rain” — contain the Drake mystique, but mostly these are blues and folk traditionals, with a smattering of Jackson C. Frank (“Here Come the Blues,” “Blues Run the Game,” “Kimbie”), Bob Dylan (“Tomorrow Is a Long Time”) and a touching duet with sister Gabrielle on the old spiritual “All My Trials.” Drake’s mom Molly is featured on the track “Poor Mum,” rounding out the “Family Tree” concept.