10 Almost Perfect Folk Rock Albums With One Bad Song

3. Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left (1969)

Nick Drake set a president for mysterious and sensitive male singers who died before their time. Like Jeff Buckly, there remains an ambiguity around Nick Drake as a character. There was a haunting sadness to his music, that was one part heartbreaking and one part transcendental.

Although he recorded three albums, he never found a large audience during his lifetime. In 1974 Drake died from an over-dose. His distinctly morose music, coupled with his known struggles with depression, have led many to believe it was suicide. After his death, his music remained mostly unknown during the '70s, but it continued to gather a cult-like following of fans. In the '80s, musicians who had grown up on Nick Drake - like Kate Bush, and Paul Weller - started mentioning him as an influence, leading to a surge in his popularity.

He's now become something of an icon; the romanticised image of a tortured artist. This image has only helped feed into is status as a brilliantly talented musicians. Any true advocates of Drake would be hard pressed to find fault with any of his work, and for the most part they'd be right. His second two records, Bryter Layter (1971) Pink Moon (1972) are faultless masterpieces.

His debut, is near that, but its enchanted charm, is highjacked by that most irritating of instruments, the flute. It makes an overbearing appearance on The Thoughts Of Mary Jane, detracting from Drake's vocals and spoiling what would have be a beautiful track.