Sandy Denny died 21st April 1978

I finally discovered her late last year. I now can't seem to get enough of her. I still have gaps in my collection which I will fill over time. My music industry friend was the one who turned me on to her and to Fairport Convention.

 

I discovered her on these forums thanks particularly to people like @gasman1003 and she's become an absolute favorite. I especially love her first two solo albums as well as Fotheringay's works. My favorite track of hers has to be It'll Take A Long Time. Haunting and beautiful.
Rest in peace, Sandy.

 

Richard and Linda Thompson ask

 

Can't help getting a lump in my throat with this one:

 

Thanks to @Dok for posting this quote in a previous thread:

“Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?"

I Shot A Man In Reno: Richard Thompson & Reno

How do you approach the subject of death in your writing? Do you consciously come at it from a specific angle?

Richard Thompson: You don’t sit down to moralize or write about your philosophy every time you write a song. You just write a story. It’s fiction and it’s fun to make something up, it’s an enjoyable process. Then you look at it afterwards and you think, ‘Oh that’s obviously about me or about someone I know, and that reflects what I believe.’ With a song like "Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?" I sat down to write a story. It could be about Sandy [Denny] or a couple of other people that I know…. I don’t think it is about any person in particular. It’s a bit like detective fiction, it has some of the same goriness and detail. In good detective fiction there’s always a corpse, otherwise you feel unsatisfied. The song doesn’t really give any answers, it just asks the moral questions.

 

Like many probably I first encountered Sandy through Battle of Evermore. That voice. Haunting and beautiful. It lead me to Fairport and other works of hers. Tam Lin from L&L is another haunting favorite. Rest In Peace.

 

The song "Farewell Farewell" is another of my Sandy favourites - as well as all her other singing on "Leige and Leif".

"I'll Keep It With Mine" from the second Fairport LP also, and "You Never Wanted Me" from her earlier days too.

"Late November" from the Island compilation LP "El Pea" is my favourite solo Sandy song. It has to be the version on "El Pea" though - it is much more powerful than versions that appear anywhere else, and I've never been able to find a CD version of it.

Her later songs tend to be rather sad sounding, as somebody pointed out earlier in the thread. I wouldn't like to hear Sandy's songs on films or TV commercials. Whilst this certainly brings in the money, it cheapens the music.

Coincidentally, I've just started reading "I've Always Kept a Unicorn" by Mick Houghton, a large biography of Sandy. It is great so far, probably better than the Clinton Heylin book on Sandy.

 

El Pea version of "Late November"...

 

Sad, sad, sad. Evermore

 

Going by the liner notes, that version appears on the Rykodisc The Best of Sandy Denny CD, HNCD 1328. Recorded at Sound Techniques Autumn 1970 (4:31).

 

I only realised it was 40 years ago yesterday late last night. I’d already inadvertently paid tribute by buying Like An Old Fashioned Waltz at RSD earlier.

 

I'll Keep It With Mine is goosebump-inducing.

 

It appears on the remastered version of The North Star Grassman

 

It was Fotheringay for me last night. Perhaps some solo material in the garden this morning.

 

I have a couple of Aussie copies but I might pick that up tomorrow now - is the SQ good?

 

She did what I think is the finest Dylan cover ever. Tomorrow is a Long Time"

 

Any idea where this was pressed?

 

Yes, very good. The hype sticker states it was mastered from the original 1/4” tapes.

Sorry, I don’t know. I don’t have it in front of me and there’s no indication on Discogs.

 

No contest.

 

Fairport Convention - "White Dress"

Dave Swarbrick's song written in homage to Sandy.

(She responded by writing "Stranger To Himself")

R.I.P.

 

"She Moved Through the Fair" with Fairport. Gives me goosebumps every time.

 

Rising for the Moon is an underrated album.

 

Fair enough. But it’s a quiet pressing with good sound? Tempting.