UK, 1969, singer-songwriter / chamber folk / contemporary folk

Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left: There’s something about his voice that I just can’t put into the proper words–a mysterious smoothness, a complete lack of vibrato without sacrificing melody, singing from the back of his throat but not from the lungs, so that the vocals are immediate and profound without being overbearing. For a depressed man, Drake didn’t make depressing music. Soft, nuanced, beautiful yes, but not depressing. It is quite introspective, though, like a man looking at things and saying everything by saying as little as possible. This definitely is less-is-more music.