Sandy Denny Recommedations

I love that anthology too John. I'll be interested in what recommendations you get.

Not sure whether these are still available:

The Attic Tracks (Special Delivery SPCD1052)

Who Know Where the Time Goes 3CD box (Hannibal HNCD5301)

If you haven't got any Fairport, other than the few tracks on The Anthology, I can recommend Liege & Lief - the remastered cd has a couple of bonus tracks, including a different take of Quiet Joys of Brotherhood, which is just stunning.

quote:

Originally posted by zarniwoop:
I can recommend Liege & Lief - the remastered cd has a couple of bonus tracks, including a different take of Quiet Joys of Brotherhood, which is just stunning.

And they seem to have done a good job of the remastering for a change.

Personally as a Sandy Denny 'solo' album I rather like the 'Gold Dust - Live at the Royalty', a live recording of her last ever concert. I was going to see her on that tour, one week earlier in Bristol, but for some reason...

As for the Fairport stuff, you really have to buy all the albums because she recorded some subliminal tracks scattered across all of them. Top faves:

'Genesis Hall' and 'Who Knows...' from 'Unhalfbricking'

'Come All Ye' and 'Crazy Man Michael' from 'Liege and Lief'

'Rising for the Moon' from same

and best of all (IMHO!)...

'Fotheringay' from 'What We Did on Our Holidays'.

Regards,
CB

I love her solo stuff but the "best" one, to my ears, is "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz".

steve

Got this on vinyl recently, highly recommended.

I thought she was very good in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Fred

I'd recommend Sandy as the place to start. I would also recommend Fotheringay - although not catalogued as a Sandy solo elpee, it is if you consider The North Star Grassman And The Ravens as a solo. Thing is once you've got one then you'll want them all.

Sandy wrote Who Knows Where The Time Goes and IMHO, it is one of the finest songs every written.

ATB Rotf

Thanks very much for the suggestions. Time to place my order with CD Japan.

Cheers - John

Here's my overview, for what it's worth…

Where The Time Goes (recorded 1967)
Compilation of material from Denny's first recording session, originally issued on the albums "Alex Campbell And His Friends", "Sandy And Johnny" and "It's Sandy Denny". All songs just feature her and her guitar, with no original material, so pretty inessential stuff.

Fotheringary (1970)
Denny's first post-Fairport Convention project, and an excellent folk/rock album. Features several fine original compositions, plus a superb eight-minute version of the traditional "Banks Of The Nile". Denny's husband Trevor Lucas also gets to write and sing, but I don't find his more uptempo contributions quite so enthralling.

The North Star Grassman And The Ravens (1971)
Her best solo album, in my view. Features four of her most beautiful compositions ("Late November", "Next Time Around", "John The Gun" and the title track), plus a brilliant progressive folk reworking of "Blackwaterside". Only downside is a couple of rather egregious cover versions.

Sandy (1972)
More consistent than "North Star Grassman…", but also a lot more polished, with some country-rock tinges and an adult contemporary sheen creeping in.

Like An Old-Fashioned Waltz (1974)
Similar to its predecessor, though a little gentler and more baroque. Once again includes an odd cover version ("Whispering Grass").

Sandy (1977)
Another pointless cover ("Candle In The Wind"), but otherwise easily her best album since "North Star Grassman…" - really beautiful, haunting stuff. Her version of "For Shame Of Doing Wrong" is way better than the Richard & Linda Thompson original, with some shimmering, almost psychedelic, guitar work and a surprisingly heavy rock beat.

Live At The Royalty (recorded 1977)
Controversial reworking of Denny's final concert. The producers claimed that the guitars needed to be re-recorded due to problems with the master tape, but others have claimed the material was extensively remade and remixed, and that the sound bears no resemblance to the original concert. Also, the running order was completely changed, making this a mockery of a concert document. The actual performances are pretty good, however.

Excellent synopsis Manxman. Which has lead me to give The North Star Grassman and The Ravens a spin. I would recommend this album above all her others. Great to hear Richard Thompson on Blackwaterside...such a distinctive sound and what a great track it is.

Hi!
I saw this thread, nice to see her getting mentioned. She had one of the best voices ever, won the Downbeat poll four years in a row. And as great as she was in the early Fairport, her solo albums were always a mixed bag. I've got everything she's done, collections, reissues.
Yet, I wish she had made just one outstanding album, and I think she never got the chance to.
All I do know is, if the house was on fire, I'd grab that blue box set on vinyl first.