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 Sandy Denny No More Sad Refrains (2000)  Rating (Out of 10): 9 Tracklisting: Disc One: Fotheringay – Fairport Convention/Who Knows Where the Time Goes? - Fairport Convention/Crazy Man Michael - Fairport Convention/Farewell, Farewell - Fairport Convention/Ballad of Easy Rider - Fairport Convention/Nothing More – Fotheringay/The Sea – Fotheringay/Pond and the Stream- Fotheringay/Banks of the Nile – Fotheringay/Late November /John the Gun /Next Time Around /North Star Grassman and the Ravens/When Will I Be Loved? – The Bunch/Learning the Game - The Bunch/Here in Silence/Man of Iron Disc Two: It'll Take a Long Time /Quiet Joys of Brotherhood/Listen, Listen/Lady/It Suits Me Well /Solo/Like an Old Fashioned Waltz/Friends/Carnival/No End/Stranger to Himself [Demo Version]/One More Chance [Demo Version]/For Shame of Doing Wrong/One Way Donkey Ride/I'm a Dreamer /All Our Days /No More Sad Refrains When Sandy Denny died in April 1978 at the age of 31 she had already accomplished a hugely successful music career, had been in 4 different well known bands as well as having a successful solo career and released a total of 14 albums. Most famous for being the singer with the hugely successful folk band Fairport Convention alongside legendary guitarist Richard Thompson, she also managed to forge a very clear identity in her own right, writing and performing her own material and forming her own bands, The Strawbs, Fotheringay and The Bunch. By the time of her unfortunate death she had already become a much loved and cherished musician, someone who would be sorely missed. In 2000, twenty two years after her death, ‘No More Sad Refrains: The Anthology’ was released and it arrived just in the nick of time. Over the years there had been many ‘Best of…’ and ‘Greatest Hits’ Style records, but this was the first ever collect to span her entire career and include tracks from all of her bands and solo career. There are also several unreleased tracks and demo versions which makes it something to be treasured by all Sandy Denny fans. Disc One of this two disc box set mainly comprises of tracks that Sandy recorded with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, and The Bunch while the second disc concentrates on her solo career. The first two tracks on the album are probably the two songs most associated with Denny. The first track ‘Fortheringay’ was a Fairport Convention classic written by Denny and Richard Thompson, and was clearly one of Denny’s favourites as later in her career she named her own band after it. The second track, ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ was written by Denny when she was just 19 years old, which is quite amazing in itself. To write a song of such wisdom, at such a young age, a song that laments the passing of time, the wasting of a life, seems quite incredible and extremely sad. It’s something that an elderly person would sing at the end of their life, so to hear it sung by someone life’s beginning is strange, yet still very convincing. There is such a haunting quality to this song, not least because of her untimely death. For those unfamiliar with the work of Sandy Denny, her main talent was her voice. Just wasn’t just a singer, someone who sang songs. There was more to it than that. It went much deeper. Her voice was pure, unadulterated, like honey dipped in sugar, wrapped in chocolate. ‘No More Sad Refrains: An Anthology’ is a very good album for the unfamiliar to introduce themselves to the magic of Sandy Denny. Thirty four tracks, each one of them absolutely delightful, and yet it still isn’t enough. All in all, this is a very good album both for newbies and fans alike. For the uninitiated, it acts as an introduction, and for the already acquainted it provides solace, and comfort and pleasure. Send A Comment BACK TO INDEX BACK TO MUSIC REVIEWS INDEX |