f28 Woman In A Box


Island Records’ forthcoming 19-CD Sandy Denny retrospective contains every available recording, scrap of memorabilia and quite conceivably her kitchen sink. Mike Wilson explains the phenomenon.


I


t’s over 40 years now since Sandy Denny first embarked on what was to be a tragically short career in music; it’s over 30 years since her untimely passing, yet her music may just be about to receive the most lavish and detailed reappraisal possible. She is beginning to enjoy the cult-status of her contemporary, Nick Drake, and there cer- tainly exists a solid fan-base who sustain a healthy level of interest in her work. This isn’t just confined to the baby- boomer Fairport aficionados either: there are younger listeners whose births post- date Sandy’s death, and who continue to find inspiration in her music.


Sandy Denny’s career was an eclectic


affair, though covering a relatively short period of time. Her work in groups such as Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, and as a solo artist resulted in a varied record- ed output that saw her reaching far beyond the world of folk, recording songs in genres as diverse as blues, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and pop. These days it is Sandy’s lega- cy as an exceptional singer-songwriter that has kept her name alive. Indeed she has become a benchmark of excellence for many of the young female singers fea- tured within these pages.


It has only been in the years since


Sandy’s death that her reputation as a unique artist has emerged. Though her recordings attracted a respectable critical acclaim at the time, real commercial suc- cess eluded her. Her reputation has grown posthumously through a series of releases that often featured her playing with just her own guitar or piano, or with a small group of musicians, as on the Live At The BBC box set, and the recording of her final concert. It is these recordings as much as her original albums that have attracted new admirers.


Testament to the timelessness of


Sandy’s work, even after all these years, is the pride and high esteem with which her music is still regarded by her former record company, Island Records, who are releas- ing a comprehensive 19-disc retrospective box set that showcases Sandy’s career as she lived it, from her early solo days to her recordings with the Strawbs, Fairport Con- vention, Fotheringay, and of course her solo career. In addition to these familiar recordings there are many unreleased home and live recordings, alongside alter- native studio takes that will demonstrate to the uninitiated why Sandy remains one of the finest singers and songwriters to come from the British Isles.


Denny has already been the subject of several box sets: Island Records released the first Who Knows Where The Time Goes? back in 1986, and more recent efforts such as Boxful Of Treasures present- ed some hitherto hidden elements of her career. So, why do we need another one? Well, the release of this definitive collec- tion serves two purposes: firstly to gather together in one place the entirety of Sandy’s studio work that would make up the body of her official releases, and sec- ondly to show the origins of the material, the intense authority of her live perfor- mances, and therefore a more complete picture of the journey that her career took. Importantly, it allows for the setting aside of some of the divisive issues that have dogged her legacy, and allows the opportunity to witness the songs in their naked form as they were conceived or without overdubs.


We now have an opportunity to reap-


praise Denny’s short career, stripped of the follies of the day. Bambi Ballard, the cos- tume designer and film restorer and one of Sandy’s best friends, seems certain that this opportunity provides a window to Sandy’s strengths. “Her singing stands out more without the ‘production values’ with which most of her released material is sur- rounded. Some of her songs are very sub- tle and intriguing, and you get a better sense of what she was about when her material is pruned of inessentials… and you get a better impression of her voice… of its richness and warmth.”


Andrew Batt has been afforded the opportunity to scour the recordings of Sandy Denny held in the Island archives, in a process that has taken around a year, painstakingly going through each of Sandy’s studio sessions. So, what treasures were unearthed whilst researching the project? Andrew Batt describes a few per- sonal highlights: “A song fans knew about for years but had never heard until now, is Lord Bateman. We found it on a reel labelled as blank, and it wasn’t until the end of the reel when it seemed it would be empty after all, that Sandy’s voice sud- denly sang out unaccompanied; finally getting to hear Sandy sing that song was very special. The acoustic piano session of No End, from the Walthamstow Assembly Hall was also an incredible reel to listen to: the performance is far more powerful than the eventual album version, and we are issuing an alternate take complete with chatter that really displays how Sandy worked in the studio.”


F


rom Sandy’s initial period in Fair- port Convention come acoustic versions of Fotheringay and She Moved Through the Fair (record- ed in a single take) that show-


case not only Sandy’s voice but also her great guitar playing. Further interesting finds are a duet between Sandy and Trevor Lucas during the Fotheringay ses- sions of The Way I Feel, in a much faster tempo than the issued version; a wonder- ful alternate version of Dawn, a rare co- write with Jerry Donahue; and acoustic studio masters of some of the material from her solo albums, in particular the entire Sandy album in demo form, and some beautiful acoustic tracks from her last album Rendezvous including One Way Donkey Ride and I’m A Dreamer.


Perhaps most moving is Bambi Bal-


lard’s reaction to the acoustic version of She Moved Through The Fair, with Sandy accompanying herself on guitar: “One of my favourite folk songs is She Moved Through the Fair, which Sandy once sang for me alone. To my delight, I discovered it will be on the box set, but it breaks my heart that I cannot call her and tell her how lovely it sounds.”


The involvement of Sandy’s husband,


Trevor Lucas, in shaping the sound of Sandy’s solo career is one that divides opinion amongst admirers of her work to this day. There is little doubt that his inten- tions were well-purposed, yet Sandy’s solo albums often didn’t receive the production consistency that they merited, in particular the addition of lush string arrangements that many feel drowned out the very essence of her music. Even those close to Denny find it difficult to disagree with such criticisms, as Bambi Ballard explains: “I think everyone I knew agreed it was a little overdone. Trevor, bless him, was not very subtle. The style I imagine Trevor was aiming at was already rather dated at the time, and perhaps more suited to singers (and songs) of the previous generation.”


Former Fotheringay and Fairport bandmate, Jerry Donahue, offers a similar sentiment, though also suggests at a delib- erate, possibly commercially-influenced, judgement call. “It seemed like a good idea as it was thought that the orchestrations would broaden Sandy’s appeal at a time the folk era was seemingly on the wane. It was rather grand, playing live with the orchestra but, in retrospect, most of her players and fans feel that it was surplus to requirements for her particular music.”


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