Nick Drake s posthumous recorded output now surpasses the number of albums he released while on this mortal coil. If the well has not been wrung dry, it s at least close to being empty of everything except backwash; if any posthumous Drake album is released in the next few years, it most likely will be a duets album with Tupac Shakur. Family Tree is the latest posthumous Drake release (as of this writing).
The album consists primarily of lo-fi (though listenable) recordings from Drake s parent s home at Far Leys and recordings made by Drake while studying in France. A duet with Drake s sister Gabrielle and two songs written and performed by his mother (it s a family tree, get it?) round out the album.
Although most of the songs have long been available on bootleg, this marks the first official release of this material. It is doubtful that casual Nick Drake fans (if such a thing actually exists) will give this album repeated plays. Many of the tracks are short and unfinished, and the sound is far from perfect.
This is, bottom line, an archival piece geared toward hardcore Drake fans. The irony of course is that most such fans have probably heard this material before.
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