Made to Love Magic

Personnel: Jeremy Gill (programming).
Recording information: Lansdowne Studios (03/1969); Morgan Studios (03/1969); Sound Techniques (03/1969); Lansdowne Studios (08/2003); Morgan Studios (08/2003); Sound Techniques (08/2003); Lansdowne Studios (11/1968-07/1974); Morgan Studios (11/1968-07/1974); Sound Techniques (11/1968-07/1974); Lansdowne Studios (1968); Morgan Studios (1968); Sound Techniques (1968).
Photographer: Victoria Weymouth.
Three decades after British singer/songwriter Nick Drake's death, MADE TO LOVE MAGIC appeared, full of rare tracks and alternate versions, and intended as a "companion piece" to Drake's official recordings. While a number of the tracks appeared previously on the TIME OF NO REPLY collection, there are a few treasures that are heard here for the first time. Whatever you think about posthumous overdubbing, it's fascinating to hear Drake's storied arranger Robert Kirby add new orchestrations to "Time of No Reply" and the title cut, in the style of his initial work with the troubled troubadour.
More captivating, though, are the alternate versions of "Three Hours," with congas and flute and an added emphasis on Drake's unusual, sophisticated guitar work, and "River Man." The latter's bare-bones demo, with its haunted whisper and bossa nova-cum-folk guitar, suggests Joao Gilberto studying existentialism in Cambridge. The biggest news is the discovery of a previously unknown Drake composition, "Tow the Line," whose serpentine melody and inscrutable lyric are fully on a par with the PINK MOON material amid which it was discovered. MADE TO LOVE MAGIC isn't the ideal introduction to Drake (start instead with his debut, FIVE LEAVES LEFT), but it's an illuminating addition to the legacy.