Sandy Denny

[TheSquirrel]

Very few of the people on here will have heard of Sandy Denny, let alone heard her. But you can draw an historical musical line from Sarah McLachlan, back to Kate Bush, back to Denny. Denny was an original, and she influenced so many artists. I say the same thing about Denny that I say about McLachlan. You may not like the music, but oh, listen to that voice. The best quote I heard about Denny was "you had to hold on to the furniture when Sandy sang."

By the time of her death in 1978 aged 31, her voice was well past its best. Years of drinking, smoking, and over indulgence had taken their toll. I suppose anyone who was a drinking buddy of Keith Moon and John Bonham was not gong to do things the normal way, or have a long life expectancy. For me this is the only voice that can compete with Sarah McLachlan. The difference is McLchlan's superior range, but the inherent beauty of Denny's voice is the equal of McLachlan's, the only one for me who is even close. It's a shame that some of her best songs were written when her voice was nowhere near its peak. The sublime "I wish I Was A Fool For You," written by Richard Thompson, and "I'm A Dreamer" both from "Rendezvous," and "One More Chance," from the Fairport Convention "Rising For The Moon" album are truly glorious, and rank among her best works.

The mystery surrounding her death will probably continue. When I first heard about it, she was supposed to have fallen down the stairs and suffered a brain aneurism. Then talk about her drinking and continually falling over surfaced. Then talk about a possible brain tumour. She had married a man with a reputation for being a womaniser. By the time she fell down the stairs, he had already left her and taken their only child to Australia, possibly due to her drinking. She also suffered from insecurity and had been affected by a review referring to her as "plump." Her weight severely fluctuated due to crash diets and subsequent lapses.

But it's the music that counts. One of my favourite Denny tracks is "The Music Weaver." If I were to recommend one track for anyone to sample her music, that would be it. She cut four official albums, plus one early acoustic album, "The Original Sandy Denny." The fans prefer the acoustic and first two official albums, "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens," and "Sandy." Her voice was so strong she was asked by Robert Plant to sing on "The Battle Of Evermore," a track from "Led Zeppelin 4." Yes she sang with Led Zeppelin! She is the only guest vocalist to sing with them. I was so pleased to hear Plant still mention her name in glowing terms when he was touring with Alison Krauss.

I love the solo efforts, but the Fairport Convention albums were great too. She got the Fairport Convention job probably due to her "Who Knows Where The Time Goes," song when she was with The Strawbs. The "All Our Own Work" album was only released as a 99p cheap bargain bin album, but I thought Dave Cousins wrote her some truly beautiful songs to sing on that album. After leaving Fairport she formed her own band called "Fotheringay," named after her "Fotheringay," track written for the "What We Did On Our Holidays," album. Fotheringay cut one album. After that she went solo.

I love the unofficial and first two official solo albums, but I also love her two later albums "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz" and "Rendezvous." The purists hated them because they had orchestration that they considered detracted fron Denny's voice and cluttered things up. They do sound dated now, but I love them. The title track from "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz," is one of my favourite Denny tracks. She is the only artist apart form McLachlan who can cause me and my partner to have tears streaming down our face.

I think there have been more Sandy Denny albums released after her death than when she was alive. Some of the tracks that have been dug out are breathtaking IMO. The "Full Moon" track, recorded for "Rendezvous," and rejected by record company management as not upbeat enough, is one of my all time favourites. Absolutely exquisite. I'm a sucker for the song, the orchestration, and the magic of Acker Bilk on clarinet, which all adds up to something that... oh I can't keep churning out the superlatives. Jessel said he couldn't compare anyone else to Denny. That's about right. It appies to McLachlan too. Just give her a try. She is not your generation, but please, just give her a try. Something that beautiful deserves an audience.

[Kaleysuncle]

I love the Battle of Evermore! That's one of my favorite Zeppelin tracks. I've always wanted to hear Sarah sing that.

[TheSquirrel]

I'm fighting a losing battle trying to get people interested in an obscure artist long gone. My partner, who is a big Led Zep fan didn't even realise it was Sandy Denny who was guest vocalist on "Evermore." It was only after I told her a few years ago to "just listen to this voice" that she became interested in Denny. I played "Wild Mountain Thyme" from YouTube and she's been hooked ever since. I bought us each the "Boxful Of Treasures" 5 cd set. Not a lot of change from £100 but well worth it. Absolutely beautiful music, beautifully packaged.

[Jessel]

Well, you have covered pretty much everything I want to say about this great lady (great post!). It's really thanks to the deplorable era of the after-90s that I was able to dig deeper into the past decades and discovered her in the process. When I first heard her sing, I knew at that moment how Sarah felt when she first heard Peter Gabriel: that feeling of "hell, I can't believe I'm missing out on something this good all this time!" I plundered the net mercilessly for all live Sandy recordings that I can find. Just like Sarah, she's even better live. She is a true original and like I said before, I simply do not compare her to anyone at all: there's simply no one like her. I'll always remember her as the lady with the "strong alto voice that was never in doubt". Her insecurity is well-documented and even confirmed by friend and contemporary Linda Thompson. What I don't understand is how can you be so insecure when you have so much talent? But that's another story...

My favorite Sandy songs are The Music Weaver and Late November. I just can't describe the beauty of her voice. The closest thing to a description I can come up with is that it conjures up images of a medieval English bard singing in ancient halls. She is headstrong and quite domineering, and some bloke even referred to her as "the angriest woman" he ever met, yet most of her songs sound gentle and vulnerable. The confusing clash of "meanness" and tenderness manifested in her singing is part and parcel of my overall fascination with her music.

Accomplishing something as grand as pioneering the modern British folk rock movement (with Fairport Convention), it's surprising (and quite sad) that she's almost forgotten nowadays... well at least by the record-buying public. IMHO, you don't have to be the best singer out there to stand out, you just have to be among the really good ones. Sandy is in my top ten and I daresay I rate her even higher than Sarah McL. And needless to say, she's obviously worth giving a try.

[TheSquirrel]

I had intended to do a Sandy Denny post for a long time, but knew my words couldn't possibly do justice to the beauty of her music. Then there was the futility of trying to get people who are interested in modern music, interested in an artist who died over 30 years ago.

There was so much to say in a limited space that I failed miserably in conveying the music. You do a better job than I did Jessel. There was indeed that medieval vein running through her music. She turned those folk, country, medieval, ye old english folke, rock, pop, singer songwriter influences into something quite unique. She can't be compared to anyone else, yet musically and spiritually she was one of Sarah McLachlan's earliest ancestors.

Someone said she caused the most pain to those closest to her, yet artists she worked with talk about her glowingly. Dave Cousins adored her, and Ralph McTell said he still couldn't listen to a Sandy Denny album all the way through. It was wonderful to hear Robert Plant give her credit on his tour with Alison Krauss.

She loved sex, drink, cigarettes, and from the sound of it probably drugs, and was out of control. She came across as a desperately sad yet endearing person. Maybe these lyrics give a clue to her real personality.

"And the heroine waits for her beau to return,
And violins play from behind garden walls,
How I'd love to remain with the silver refrain,
of an old fashioned waltz."

"As they dance round the floor
and there's no one else there,
and the world is no more and there's never a care,
by the perfect lagoon where the nightingale calls,
with only the moon and the nostalgic tune,
of an old fashioned waltz."

Hope I haven't infringed copyright by posting too many lyricas. Just remove them Migs, if that's the case.

She made music that can move and affect your entire spirit and soul. The voice can only be heard not described. Haven't heard anything even close to that voice. Possibly the most beautiful sound of all.

[Jessel]

She made music that can move and affect your entire spirit and soul. The voice can only be heard not described. Haven't heard anything even close to that voice. Possibly the most beautiful sound of all.

Amen! The voice and music combined defies description. For me, it's timeless not old-fashioned. Before I discovered Sandy, I never thought that sad tunes can be so irresistible. Like everyone else, I avoid listening to depressing songs during those rare times when I'm extremely sad but that's not the case with Sandy. I listen to her every time I want to regardless of my current mood. Her music is living proof that there is beauty in sadness. I'm pretty much a stoic and well-guarded individual but I'm completely vulnerable to Sandy's music. Sorry to say this Squirrel but Like An Old Fashioned Waltz is something that I don't recommend to anyone who's going through a messy break-up. (btw, I never had one and it's very unlikely I'll experience one so I guess I'm immune )

Well, looks like the two of us are going to respond to our own posts for a long time but I'm hopeful that some people here would check her out in the distant future if not now. I for one wouldn't have bothered with Sandy during those carefree days of my teenage years when I'm awfully self-obsessed and very much into Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead and music of that sort (prolonged exposure to which upsets the lining of my stomach nowadays) but at the grand age of 28, my taste has matured and my ears became more and more accustomed to gentler and soothing tunes. You're also right when you said that Sandy is one of Sarah's earliest ancestors. Almost every folk or folky artist traces their roots to Sandy.

Kate Bush mentioned Sandy in one of her songs (Blow Away - For Bill) and part of me wants to believe she's also influenced by this great lady.