No More Sad Refrains: The Anthology [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]

Sandy Denny

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Polygram UK
• ASIN: B00004VVYE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,406 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #40 in	Music > Folk > Traditional British & Celtic Folk > British Folk
  #45 in	Music > Imports > Folk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Sandy Denny was perhaps was the greatest singer to come out of the British folk-rock movement of the 1960s. No More Sad Refrains is a two-CD collection of songs from her four solo albums as well as a selection from her work with Fairport Convention and the short-lived band Fotheringay. While Denny was alive critics praised her for her exquisite voice while overlooking her songwriting, which was equal to that of her fellow Fairporter, Richard Thompson. "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" her most popular song is here, along with lesser known but still worthy compositions such as "The Pond and the Stream," "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz," and "I'm a Dreamer." One unexpected treat is the duet with Linda Peters, who later married Richard Thompson, on the Everly Brothers classic "When Will I Be Loved." The music of Sandy Denny is probably better known and more respected in 2000 than it was when she died of a brain hemorrhage caused by a fall in 1978. Like the music of Nick Drake, another great British singer-songwriter who died too young, these songs have a melancholy air that is only deepened by the knowledge of her early death. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Thorough Anthology Currently Available, May 5, 2001

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Like many Baby Boomers, I first heard Sandy Denny on Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore." However, over the past three decades, I have gone on musical journeys which included a trip to the the British folk/rock scene and artists like Steeleye Span and Pentangle, featuring wonderful female vocalists Maddy Prior and Jacqui McShee respectively. But the most stunning vocalist was Fairport Convention's Sandy Denny.

This 34-track, two-and-a-half hour anthology chronologically covers Denny's career from 1969's Fairport Convention through 1977's solo album Rendezvous. [She died the following April of a brain hemorrhage at age 30.] There's been some quibbling over what is--or isn't--on this anthology when comparing it to the Who Knows Where the Time Goes box set. I bought the box set on vinyl when it came out in 1986, and roughly half of the tracks on this new anthology are repeated from the earlier box set. But there are some worthwhile additions on this new collection which make it of special interest to Denny's fans. The following tracks are not available anywhere else: Fotheringay's "The Sea" from their only album which also included Denny's future husband Trevor Lucas; Buddy Holly's "Learning the Game" performed by The Bunch, which also featured Richard Thompson on guitar; "Here in Silence" and the 7-minute "Man of Iron" originally released as a single from the soundtrack to the film Pass of Arms; "Carnival," from Denny's third solo album Like an Old Fashioned Waltz; demo versions of "Stranger to Himself" and "One More Chance" where Denny accompanies herself on guitar and piano respectively; and the Richard Thompson-penned "For Shame of Doing Wrong." There are another half dozen tracks here not on the earlier box set that you would otherwise only find on the import anthology Listen Listen (1999).

So even if you already own the earlier box set, there is more than enough here to justify purchasing this anthology as well. If you don't already own it, your decision is already made since it's out of print right now. So pick this up and enjoy the most engaging voice of British folk. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless talent., July 8, 2003

By	Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There will always be musicians out there who you know are at the top of their game, masters of the craft who should not be missed -- and yet you never really find the time to explore their musical gifts. In my case, my sin of omission was Sandy Denny, whose music I knew solely through her work in two incarnations of Fairport Convention -- a passing acquaintance at best. Now, through the two-disc anthology No More Sad Refrains, I finally know just how good Denny is.

The anthology isn't really for Denny enthusiasts. Most of them will already know this music by heart. But for those of us newly come to her altar, this set is a treat -- an excellent introduction to some truly magical songs and a truly gifted voice. And with 34 tracks totaling 2 1/2 hours of music, there's a lot of learn.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tribue to an underappeciaed artist, August 4, 2000

By	Rick Banales (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the best examples of a record company doing right by an artist for a change! Sandy Denny was probably one of the best songwriters to come out of the British Folk-Rock, "bedsit bard" genre, and almost assuredly the most important vocalist from the era. This two-cd collection brings together most of her best work from her days with Fotheringay, Fairport Convention, and her solo albums. This is music that automatically takes you to the misty moors and cozy folk clubs of England. It's too bad that artists like Sandy Denny and Nick Drake are not around to recieve the appreciation of music lovers firsthand, but at the very least their artistry is being recognized by more and more people everyday. As to the earlier review-I didn't think that the production and remastering on this album is sub-standard for source material from the seventies, in fact I didn't even think about the sound at all the first time I heard this amazing collection-I was just carried away by the lovely sound of Sandy's voice.