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Sandy Denny  –   Sandy

Sandy Denny’s solo albums can frustrate to a degree, as does her work with Fotheringay. There is this sense that others are adding too much of their ideas to a project rather than Sandy being allowed to own the work. Maybe thats why I love her gorgeous demos so much. Sometimes it is the song choice being patchy, it can be over-blown arrangements or just too many musical influences on one album. With Fotheringay the musicians are so good, so used to the rhythm of a ‘Fairport’ type session, they sometimes give the feeling that it is just an easy session in the studio, a day at the office for them. But in all of Sandy’s albums, solo or with Fairport, there are absolute worldclass gems. She is THE English female vocalist of the 20^th Century – I do not engage in arguments over that one. If I was encouraging someone coming new to her work, then I would certainly suggest going to a compilation of which there are several worthy ones. I don’t own a vinyl compilation so I must as I write about my vinyl collection go to my favourite solo album.

‘Sandy’ is her most fulfilled album. On this album it comes together, fine songs, cover versions complimenting her own writing. Fabulous musicians that do not overpower her glorious vocals. That is highlighted by some gorgeous contributions from Richard Thompson on guitar & mandolin, so sympathetic to Sandy’s writing and vocals. Her voice is at the peak of its powers – tender with also perfectly directed power. Produced by her partner Trevor Lucas, he applies just the right amount of direction. Despite their often-tumultuous relationship, at this point they are working in complete unison.

This album should have been the one that took her through the crtitical aclaim barrier into superstardom. It had to be, as although she had been producing fine songs and performances, she was just treading water as regards popular acclamation. She was the darling of the critics but that does not pay the wages. She was certainly, in her own mind, running out of time. While not quite the last chance saloon this album had high expectations surrounding it.

The intent of the album is there from the cover alone. A photo by David Bailey of the beautiful Sandy. From all accounts the session with him was torturous and there seems to be a hint of a look that says ‘just take the picture and be done with it’ about the cover shot. It is still a gorgeous photo. Sandy writes down all the lyrics herself in the centre fold. It is a professional package and designed to impress – it says she has arrived in the mainstream. But had she?

If she had not, then this was certainly a fine attempt at ‘making it’. If you need any proof of her status as a great vocalist, then the stunning acapella ‘Quiet Joys of Brotherhood’ showcases her talent. Dave Swarbrick coming in at the end with his haunting violin solo certainly the icing on the cake. ‘Listen Listen’ and ‘The Lady’ show her remarkable range. On ‘Listen’ she effortlessly soars and swoops around the complex melody. ‘The Lady’ has become her title since her death. Mention ‘The Lady’ to anyone of a certain age who loves this era and music then it will be translated into Sandy Denny. On the track itself she is tender and sings a delightful knowing vocal around some simple but atmospheric piano work and sympathetic arrangement. It sounds autobiographical now from this distance – and sad.

On ‘It Suits me Well’ she goes into a young lady poor wayfaring traveller mode, her voice going into character. It is a remarkable piece of contemporary ‘traditional’ folk song writing and the vocal another example of her diverse vocal range.  

The cover of Dylan’s ‘Tomorrow is a Long Time’ sits perfectly on the album and dare I say that it is better than the original.

‘Bushes and Briars’ conjures up an Englishness that she returns to again and again in her writing. She seems on this and the whole album to be completely at ease with her talent. She sounds confident and that must be down to a large degree to Lucas’s sympathetic production. She does not always exude this confidence and arguably I feel she never really would again.

It is a wonderful album. It should have been the one that made her a national treasure. Sadly, it did not even chart despite some generous radio play support. It is one of life’s great conundrums – Why is Sandy Denny so revered today over forty years after her death but still so little known in most circles? A lot of this is down to her not keeping to a fixed path long enough for people to discover what she was all about. The variety of styles and song choices was often just too much for a single album. She lacked full confidence in her talents and was consistently unsettled in her personal life.

The album was not a success. Her follow up which was not long in coming was not as good, not without merit, but it never stood a chance. Her solo work became too over blown in production and her song choice was not as good as on ‘Sandy’ despite some lasting and much loved gems of her own song writing. She re-joined Fairport Convention for their ‘last chance saloon’ album. It should have been a triumph but again the song writing was not as strong as it needed to be, the dynamics of the previous band had been lost. The reunion was short lived. Sandy Denny spiralled into a dark place, her drinking worsened and only one more album came before her tragic death in 1978. Lucas produced her final album ‘Rendezvous’ but their relationship had deteriorated dreadfully and this almost ‘pop’ production did the songs no favours. Looking back now some of her songs on ‘Rendezvous’ are amongst her finest works and much loved. There were also some inexplicable song choices on the album. Sandy died a few months later. I still vividly recall popping out from work to collect my Melody Maker at the newsagents only to see the headine ‘Sandy Denny Dead.’ Work or conversation were hard to accomplish for the rest of that day, thoughts elsewhere of loss and what should have been. I never saw her live in concert having been thwarted in my attempts, something I truly regret. But, we have a legacy. It is a relatively small body of work compared to most artists.

But it does show that she was indeed ‘The Lady’ – the finest female talent England produced.

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