Search - Sandy Denny :: Boxful of Treasures (Spkg)

Absolutely sensational retrospective of an overlooked artist

Glenn Fink | Arlington, VA United States | 02/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sandy Denny is one of the best artists the UK produced in the 60's and 70's, yet so few people have heard of her in the USA that it borders on disgrace. IF people know her, they know her as the one guest vocalist Led Zeppelin ever used (on The Battle of Evermore). This underrated woman, whose second written song was "Who Knows Where The Time Goes", was a popular folk singer by the time she joined up with the Strawbs for an album, and shortly thereafter, the Fairport Convention for 3 albums (all considered classics) before starting her own highly acclaimed group Fotheringay, following that with 4 solo albums and a brief return to Fairport. This box set covers all of this ground, though it may find you scrambling to locate the original releases to hear the tracks that could not be included due to space reasons. It includes alternate versions of several songs, and many unreleased versions, including 3 of "By The Time It Gets Dark", a song that should have seen the light of day when her fourth solo LP, Rendevous, was released, which nevertheless has been covered by several artists to date.

Who knows why Sandy is not well-known. She died tragically young at a time when her career was in a lull. There was a tendency on the part of her producers to add a lot of ornamental flourishes to her music, and some of that causes these works to age more than they would have, which may be contributing to reluctance of radio stations to air the songs. But to hear the songs and realize that their quality is so good, and they're being sung by quite possibly the best female singer to sing popular music (and that is NOT an exaggeration), it's easy to forgive added strings and other similar indulgements. To help offset this, disc 5 is made up of almost entirely simple demos of Sandy with guitar or piano, mostly unreleased.

As Richard Thompson put it in the liner notes, practically every artist he knows whose work he respects highly has Sandy's music in their personal collections. There is a very good reason for that. Some of Sandy's work can correctly be called some of the best popular music has ever had to offer. Dive in and enjoy."

Essential recordings for Denny fans new and old

Kenneth Sargent | Pensacola, FL USA | 11/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This fine box set from the U.K. displaces the (sadly) discontinued "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" as the definitive survey of Sandy Denny's lamentably short career. It takes the listener from her early days as a traditional folk artist, through Fairport Convention and its offshoots (Fotheringay and the Bunch), and ends up with her later solo recordings. While any summary of Denny's output will suffer from omissions, this one is as good as it is likely to get.



Obviously, the selections from the early Fairport Convention years only brush the surface - anyone who fancies themselves a fan of Denny or Richard Thompson should own the individual albums. The same goes for the solo albums, although the coverage "A Boxful of Treasures" provides is very good. The fifth CD which is a collection of mostly demos and a few live recordings is a wonderful supplement. When considering a five CD set, it is silly to identify individual standouts - we all have our favorites in the Denny catalog. It is enough to say that there are, in fact, many great performances here.



The short statement from Richard Thompson which begins the accompanying booklet says what needs to be said regarding the fact that Denny's work is largely unknown to most modern listeners - some (at least) of whom should know better. One continues to hope that the contemporary music community will open its eyes to one of the greatest female singer-songwriters to ever record. Even if they are three decades late in their realization."

Timeless Beauty

Elizabeth Stone | Ohio, USA | 01/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It saddens me that Sandy Denny is so little known here and was so seldom played on the air. The first time I heard her voice, I was absolutely riveted and was instantly on a mission to obtain as much of her work as I could. Not only was her voice purely beautiful, she conveyed tremendous emotion, and a hint of sadness, in every phrase, almost as if she had some secret foreknowledge of her early and tragic death. She was a wonderful song-writer and her collaborative efforts with other artists, especially Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, were beyond brilliant.



I highly recommend this set to anyone, whether you have heard all of Sandy's work or not. There are so many treasures in this set (the demo disc, number 5, is a joy to listen to), the design of the whole package is functional and also delightful to look at. The introduction by Richard Thompson is a great piece of writing, and the biography and photographs are wonderfully done. The biography was honest about who Sandy was...a flawed gem who had talents and appetites larger than life... and I was left with no doubt that anyone who knew her loved her.



One fascinating fact was that Sandy's casual singing of Scottish folk songs that she had learned from her father influenced the Fairports and Richard Thompson to go in a Celtic direction. I wonder what the state of Celtic influenced and even world music would be today without her seminal influence. Another fascinating fact was that she lacked self-confidence and always had stage fright.



Yes, there are songs I have heard before...and I am glad of it. I will never tire of listening to Sandy Denny's angelic voice and it is good to know that this tribute exists....and that I have it. It is worth every penny and then some."