TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Great news from Andrew Batt via the SandyDennyList:

"Most of you will know about the forthcoming BBC sessions CD, what you may not
know is that this has now been expanded to a 4 disc set: 3Cd's and a DVD. I have
been working with Universal to make sure it is complete- or at least as complete
as we could make it!

For a full tracklisting and an exclusive look at the artwork (using Sandy's
sketches) go to:
http://www.myspace.com/sandydenny

I think you'll all agree this will be an important and definitive release. It
hits the stores on 10th September."

Great stuff, looking forward to this immensly.  ;)

It looks like a must have!!!

It certainly does  :) :)  Who is Andrew, btw?

Andrew - I hope I'm not blowing his cover here - is the force behind Sandy's page on MySpace. He's also responsible for content on Marianne Faithfull's official website, and is a big authority on both singers. I thought I knew my way round Sandy's recordings until I encountered his encyclopaedic knowledge, which he has clearly put to great use in tracking down some true rarities for this new boxset.

Philip

is the single disc & dvd still available as i have ordered this?
or is it just going to be the 4 disc set?

I'm presuming it'll just be the 4 CD set but I'd like to know the answer to this as well, so I can change my order if necessary.

Jules

No, just the 4 disc set. The price has gone up accordingly. But think of what you stand to gain, Jim. The whole of the Sounds on Sunday concert from 1972, which hasn't appeared before. According to my man on the inside, this is "amazing with quite different performances to the other sessions of this material (her best ever Blackwaterside). She also introduces each song, which is fascinating." Plus audio of her set on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Not to mention the DVD of One in Ten which "will blow you away- it looks great, and the footage is in better sound and quality than I have seen before". Got to be worth a few extra pence.  
 :)

Wow a box set and the 2nd fotheringay all in 2007. Its been a good year. I look forward to it.

im quite happy to pay the extra, i just wondered if the set was going to be released in 2 formats
play only have the 2 disc set on their website

I just checked at my local indie shop and they tell me there's just the one version, now indeed put back to September.  I think we'll be OK, Jim.  You may even get a bargain!

Jules

ONly if they've already debited your card - otherwise they'll just let you know / cancel your order.

4 discs?

I hate to complain but I can't remortgage again just to support my Fairport habit! What with this & R<'s Live 1975 and Linda's new one! We must be due another glut of Woodworm Archives releases too. ;) :-\ ;D

It took me a week to get through the Fairport BBC set!

There is now so much stuff coming out that I only ever have time to listen to anything once!

Did the laser get stuck, then?

You mean there is something on those little silver discs?

I was just talking about reading the book!  ;D

No way of knowing if the DVD part will be available in both NTSC and PAL formats, I guess.   ???

I am told that the DVD is multi-region and will play in the States.

When I was bigging this up before, I should also have mentioned that the other bonus of expansion to 4 discs is that we get all her surviving pre-Fairport radio tracks. Previously these were only available on bootlegs (or not at all, I think, in the case of "Quiet Land of Erin").

Hi Pete

I was just wondering - will Sandy's Fairport BBC recordings be duplicated on this forthcoming box set?

Jules

Hi Jules

No. There's no duplication of tracks between the existing Fairport box and the upcoming Sandy box (which is mostly her solo). They are designed to be complementary. Have a look at the tracklisting at www.myspace.com/sandydenny

Blimey, I sound like a salesman! I should be on commission.

Philip aka Pete

Throw in a set of steak knives, Philip, and I'm sold! ;)

Sorry Pete...uh...I mean Philip.   :-[

Thanks for the info and the link.  Much appreciated!

Jules

Hi folks

Can I suggest we revive this earlier thread for talking about this set, now that reviews are starting to appear? I'm in touch with someone who was involved with compiling it, so am happy to answer any more questions people have about content etc. Release date is set for 10 September.

Philip

I've already ordered it from my local dealer and cannot wait to hear it. I notice on the track listing that accompanying player is mentioned e few times,, does that imply that where nothing is stated, Sandy sings solo to own guitar or piano accompaniment? I noticed the old Fairport-connected "You Never Wanted Me" was included. That might be a solo effort, then?

Basically, yes. I think everything on discs 1 and 2 (plus the DVD) is Sandy solo with piano or guitar. On disc 4 The Spinners stuff is duets (with Mick Groves and Richard Thompson) and, on the same disc, the concert where she does 'You Never Wanted Me' is with the Johnny Silvo Folk Four.

Funny - I see Johnny Silvo is appearing at Cambridge Folk Club in October. I really must try to have a word with him about his old mate!  

Thanks for enlightening me. Although I personally prefer to hear Sandy sing, fronting a band/group, this is a release I have been waiting for. Sandy on her own is close to as good as with a band  ;)

Slight correction to that. On disc 1 the Cellar Full of Folk session from 1967 is also with the Johnny Silvo Folk Four and the Bob Harris session from 1973 is with Hughie Burns, Pat Donaldson and Willie Murray.

Here is the press release and promo card for the boxset:

Sandy Denny – Live At The BBC

Universal Music Catalogue and Island Records are delighted to announce the release of a lavish four cd box set containing all almost every recording Sandy Denny made for the BBC. 3 CDs containing sessions, concerts and ‘off air’ recordings of tracks ‘lost’ by the beeb alongside a DVD of her only surviving TV performances and a 38 page DVD booklet containing extracts from her handwritten note books including unreleased song lyrics, sketches and unseen photographs.

A truly unique collection of recordings, regarded by many to contain her finest works.

This stunning box set will be available from 10th September. Follow this link for sneak preview of the luscious design and exclusive guide to the recordings.
http://zaphod.uk.vvhp.net/v-v/070831161213

Strong reviews of this in October issues of:

Mojo (Jim Irvin, 5 stars)
Uncut (Rob Young, 5 stars)
Q (Peter Kane, 3 stars - stingy, but they only give Linda Thompson's new one 3 stars!)
Record Collector trails it in "Acoustic/Songwriter" news, so maybe they are holding off till November.

Anyone seen any others?

I wonder if my pre-ordered copy might have arrived today or not.  My local independent shop often does get new releases in the Friday before the release date.....

Jules

Envy,envy,envy  ;)

It arrived here today. Looks beautiful, same packaging as the Fairport BBC set (i.e. the "book" idea). Not much text in the booklet, but many pics, a lot of them never published before I think. The music I'll play in the coming days, most of it I know either from the original Strange Fruit CD or old tapes, but it's a welcome/essential addition to the Sandy catalogue - at last this BBC stuff is now widely availabe.

And this surely makes Fairport the most "boxed" band in history when you count the essential musicians' "solo" box sets. This is the 3rd Sandy Denny box; there's also 3 Fairport box sets (inc Cropredy Capers). Then the Swarb - RT - Hutchings - Pegg boxes - which 'mother'-band beats that?

I was thinkig similar thoughts myself.  Getting into Fairport has really boosted my Box Set Shelf!

Jules

And only 3 years to wait until the SJB Nicol box set too....  ;)

Ashley's had 2, The more recent Free Reed one plus the collected Guvnor CD's.
In addition there's FC related stuff on The Acoustic Folk Box.
You could also get The Carthy Chronicles too, there's related stuff  on that as well.

Let's not forget RT's Watching the Dark either...a vast improvement on the latter set imho....

Pedant's corner. I'm not sure that you can improve on something that was subsequent. But I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment!  :)

You're quite right of course.  The bloody shame of it all.... ;)

In fact, if I'm being truthfully pedantic myself, I'd have to admit to being uncomfortable with the '3-discness' of WtD as well.  But, hell, it's still a box set to me....it's just the box was smaller!

Now THAT would be something!!!  ;)

Judging on what's been released already, I'll be shocked if a Simon Nicol box set doesn't happen!

Jules

Re: Sandy's box set, having arrived today, much impressed with the dvd, the quality is great!! so much more real after the youtube versions. The early recordings on disc one have a lovely ethereal quality to them and you start to appreciate the textures to her voice.  Loved the interview, the box presentaion is excellent. Impressed with her guitar work.
                                   Still have to plow through the rest..... it's leaving me wanting more.... :)  

Stop it you lot - I'm trying to wait until pay day because I'm getting too old for (over)draughts!
 
We apologise for that joke - must have been the programme about the Beano & the Dandy on BBC4 just now - what a hoot.
Little Plum, your Redskin Chum - how delightfully non PC. Me go wigwam now for um kip before buy um Minnie the Minx box set off Amazon.
  

i'm hoping mine will turn up tomorrow (11th) my 54th birthday...................

May have to wait a long time  

http://www.amazon.com/Live-at-BBC-Sandy-Denny/dp/tracks/B000RHR7W0/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/104-4431569-8930360?ie=UTF8&qid=1189485614&sr=8-1#disc_1

Mine hasn't shown up yet.  The suspense is killing me.   :(

nor mine,postman's just been.i'm getting it from the hut,they emailed yesterday to say it had been despatched.

i've got most of the stuff on it but want to see the DVD without the glitches.

Yay - I finally received my copy.

OK, first the niggles.  I'm not sure that it quite justifies being a 4 disc box set.  The DVD, as we know, is a three track affair (although they have added some very tastefully done bonus material), and the "off-air" disc clocks in at just over 30 minutes.  As neither disc 1 or disc 2 fills the entire capacity of a CD, I'm thinking that maybe it should have been 2 CDs and a DVD, though the interview might have had to have been sacrificed.  I wouldn't mention this if I hadn't payed £35 which is getting on towards being the price of four individual CDs.

Also there seems to be an almost random decision about which of the pre Fairport tracks ended up on disc 1 ('sessions') or disc 4 ('off-air').  All of them sound like off-air recordings to my ears!

But when the piano kicked in on Late November, I started to become transported and I forgot about all of this stuff.  There's some killer performances on here.  Especially on the latter part of disc 1, and all of disc 2.  Her voice just soars.  And her piano and guitar playing ain't so bad either!

And it's lovely to have those three performances on DVD in such fine quality.  I got quite teary seeing her sing and play.  Usually I only hear the voice and I sometimes forget about the flesh and bone woman behind it.  But watching her play and sing......it's just so special.

The box and booklet are beautifully done.  I was sorry to see that there were no musician credits though for the songs for which she is joined by a band.  Does anyone have these details?

So overall, it's a welcome addition to my shelves.  It's far from being the bargain of the century, but there's plenty of Sandy magic within the covers.

Jules

This came up earlier in the thread, actually. As far as I know:

Disc 1 tracks 3-4 with some or all of Johnny Silvo’s combo (Johnny gtr/voc, Roger Evans gtr, Dave Moses bs)
Disc 1 tracks 16-19 with Hughie Burns gtr, Pat Donaldson bs, Willie Murray drums (how I wish RT or Donahue had been around that day, but you can’t have everything!) Sounds like there’s a brass section on 16 and 17 too, not identified.
Disc 4 tracks 1-4 again with Silvo’s men. I believe Johnny was off with the flu that day (contrary to what it says on the “promo card”).

Hope this helps.

I think this is a fab set. Reportedly sales have been strong in the first week (despite the music mags giving far more prominence to the L&L re-re-re-re-issue) and it has already recouped its costs. I plan to publish a review on my Sandy blog when I get time.

Sales must have been strong - they couldn't keep up with the demand from my local shop which is why I've been kept waiting.  I think they've ordered a dozen copies in so far.

Thanks for the musician info!

Jules

Although those tracks were all recorded at one session, I suspect the personnel for the rock-oriented and the jazz-flavoured numbers was different. The two jazz numbers previously appeared on Boxful of Treasures. There the credits given are: Sandy Denny vcls/piano, Diz Dizley gtr, Dave Mattacks drums, Danny Thomson [acoustic] bass, Basing Street Brass. That sounds much more like it, except I can't believe that's Sandy on piano. It's someone who can play fluent trad jazz. Ian Whiteman, maybe, with whom she worked quite a bit?

Loath as I am to criticise this excellent boxset, I do wish they'd researched the musician credits!

Maybe they did?

Well if they did, then they forgot to include their findings!

Jules

Amazon UK is now selling this at £12.98:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-at-BBC-Sandy-Denny/dp/B000RHR7W0/ref=sr_1_1/026-2227610-4380443?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190109845&sr=1-1

Having shelled out almost £33 to the same company for the same product a week before release I am hopping mad. I thought, in the marketplace, people who pre-order were supposed to be rewarded, not massively penalised.

That really is outrageous.  The irony is that whilst I think £33 is a bit steep for 2 and a half CDs and a three song DVD, £13 is going too far the other way!  Maybe somewhere in between the two would have been better for everyone involved.

That doesn't hep either of us feeling we were somewhat robbed though!

Jules

So complain to Amazon.

Pretty certain you'll find it's a mistake - and orders will be cancelled after being made...they describe it as a 2-disc set but then list the contents of all the discs...

Hmmm - can they do this?

If the product is deleted, yes they can - but surely they have to honour something that is advertised correctly?

We'll see - MIne is supposed to arrive on Friday.

I did. I just had an apologetic reply saying that they are refunding me £20.01, reflecting "the difference between the price you were charged and the current discounted price". So it's a genuine bargain-basement offer. What are you all waiting for?!

Well done!

That's just me left feeling like a sucker then - I bought mine from a shop!  LOL

 >:(

Jules

Well, as I haven't got round to getting (a legal) copy yet I've just ordered one at the quoted price...we'll see what happens...!

Interesting... Thanks for the heads-up!

I placed an order on Amazon for this and another (as yet unreleased) album and asked Amazon to send them together. Since they'd not dispatched yet I asked Amazon to cancel the original order and then placed exactly the same order again, this time with the lower Sandy price  :)

Amazon asked for a reason for the cancelation and their list of choices included "found it cheaper elsewhere". Surprisingly it didn't have a choice for "found it cheaper on this very same site"  ;D

Cheers

Nick

It is even cheaper at http://www.powerplaydirect.com/asp/itemdetails.asp?prodID=1452416&currsec=CD I always visit http://http:/www.find-cd.co.uk to get the best prices...not quite as much fun as going to your local record store, if you're lucky enough to still have one.

Ah, but that is listed as the 2-CD version, and the RRP is £15.99, according to them.

thanks for pointing that out - I would have been a bit disappointed! Looks like I'll be taking my cash to amazon.

Ollie, there IS no "2-CD version".  Just to clarify for everyone, the BBC box is a 3cd 1 DVD set: that will not change! the 2disc listing is outdated because that was the original format of the product, before it was revised. It will never be a two cd set and the box is not a limited edition! Anyone buying it online will get 3cds and 1 DVD even if it is still wrongly listed as 1cd and 1 dvd!

This info comes from the proverbial "horse's mouth".

Mr Ed is still alive?!?!?!

 ;D

Jules

Thanks for the tip-off.  Since I only received my (higher-priced) copy from Amazon yesterday, I have now asked them for a refund, too!  Fingers crossed.


Enjoying what I've heard of it so far...

Phew!  Amazon have now agreed to give me £20.01 too... it is a BIG difference in price, isn't it!

pay your money and stop moaning you bunch of skinflints.the improved quality DVD is worth £50 on it's own.............................

Charming!  ???

I for one never said the original price was too expensive (a skinflint wouldn't have paid that much in the first place, would they?) - in fact the reduced price seems puzzlingly low to me... however, you can't blame people for feeling a mite cheated by Amazon, if they've just paid the higher price.

apologies,that wasn't aimed at you specifically.on this site and even the Sandy Denny site all anyone mentions is how cheap they can get it for.

it's 3 CDs and a DVD in a boxset,if you "stole" it for 10 or 11 quid you should be ashamed of yourself.

So, if Amazon choose to sell it cheap - maybe we should we pay more somewhere else, just on principal!  :)


Seriously - and back to the actual CDs - it's a brilliant bunch of recordings (recording quality variable, of course, but what the heck - Sandy's wonderful!) - and it's beautifully packaged.  Haven't listened to it all yet, but loving it so far.  2 versions of my all-time favourite Sandy song, 'John The Gun'... bliss!

What complete codswallop! If the the difference in price went to Sandy's estate, I could understand your position, but it doesn't.

The estate will get a set amount per box sold, and any difference in price is pure profit for seller or distributor. I can fully understand that we'd try & avoid paying extra.

Good point, Chris. Amazon are not philanthropists. If they cut the price of something by more than half, they are presumably calculating that they can shift more units that way. So price-cutting is actually good news for the estate - yes?

thanks,i didn't know that.probably best to nick it then.......................................

I'm not sure I understand the reason for your hostility.

My bargain of the century Sandy at the Beeb set arrived today.  Feeling very ashamed with myself.  But in a good way!  I do pity the poor bugger who bought my friend's original single CD at the Cropredy boot fair for 60 quid a couple of years ago.  You win some, you lose far more (in my experience!) though....  ;D

http://www.metafilter.com/65154/I-wont-linger-over-any-tragedies-that-were

Price at Amazon is back up to £28.99 again now.  Left it too late...  Rats!  >:(

Err...hate to carry on with the Mammon thread but my copy arrived today. Invoice said £14.44 from Amazon UK although the website said £12.98 inc VAT. Appears to have been sourced from the EU, not the Big Shed Next To The M1, Milton Keynes - which suggests that it's sold rather well!

Very nice package, have only had chance to spin the DVD so far. Bit strange watching it this lunchtime actually, particularly Sandy's song book and the photos. How bloody sad it all is. The whole thing took me a very long way back to St Quintin Ave W10, Harrowdene Rd Wembley, parties, girlfriends, gigs, folk clubs, some things I wish I didn't remember. Got back to work late, feeling rather autumnal. Can't provide a reasonable critique at the moment (will leave that to Philip) but thank God the video footage has surfaced in broadcast quality, even if it maybe isn't Sandy at her transcendent best.    

Actually in the UK it's cheaper than Amazon was here as postage is included in the price!
http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3366181/Live-At-The-BBC/Product.html

Still appear to be some very cheap options around...

http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000RHR7W0-sandy-denny-live-at-the-bbc.htm

Thanks for the hype, Ed. I've jotted down a few thoughts here:
http://sandydenny.blogspot.com/2007/09/live-at-bbc.html

Included at the end is some speculation about the missing musician credits. I'm pretty sure the pianist on the jazzy numbers was Ian Armit, a veteran jazzman who worked with Chris Barber, Long John Baldry, Alexis Korner etc and - more to the point - played on the studio versions of 'Whispering Grass' and 'Until the Real Thing Comes Along'.

I love the interviews on the Johnny Moran session. Presumably the 'Richard' she refers to when talking about 'Bushes and Briars' was Richard Branson. I believe he mentions her in his autobiography.

Another strong review of the boxset in November's Record Collector. 'Did Albion ever sire a greater female voice than Sandy Denny?' asks Rob Hughes. Good God, man! Aren't you forgetting Dame Clara Butt?!

Philip

Now then folks, the issue of "who plays what on what".

I did in fact errr....illicitly record the original broadcast of the In Concert programme when it was introduced by Peely. He did announce the personnel, in between chatting up Sandy in the most obvious manner. And I did write the personnel down on the tape box. Trouble is it's in the loft under a mountain of other elderly bits and bobs! And of course, the original CD was wrong. But from memory, the jazzy people are:

Sandy - singing
Ian Armit - piano
Danny Thompson - double bass
Alan Skidmore - some sort of brass (tenor sax?)
A. N. Other - Trumpet
A.N. Other - more trumpet??
Diz Dizley - guitar
A,N. Other - drums

Oh dear, I see I must find the box...watch this space!! And my mate Dave's got a Ferrograph reel to reel.....
 

He's not got the two missing songs as mentioned in the box set liner notes, has he?

Jules

Anyone else see the sizeable review of this boxset by Charlotte Heathcote in the Sunday Express at the weekend? Spread across two pages with nice photos of her and FC, it's more a biographical piece than a review. "Demons That Killed Folk's First Lady...The Amy Winehouse of her day" - I don't think Sandy deserves that kind of stuff, but there were some quotes from Bob Harris that I don't recall reading before and it's encouraging to see her getting so much attention in a national newspaper.

I saw it yesterday - given to me by a friend who knows of my FC predeliction. I agree it was more of a piece about Sandy and FC rather than a review. It was a pity, but perhaps to be expected, that the headline accentuated the negative.

RT said at his gig in Cambridge, just before playing WKWTTG, that people will maybe start re-discovering Sandy in the same way that people are starting to re-discover Nick Drake

starting?
 the nick drake revival has been ongoing for about 20 years

After some misunderstanings and troubles I´ve finally got this beautiful set in my hands. I paid loads and loads (compared to you who waited and got the Amazon bargain) but it´s worth every penny,cent or sekin and much, much more! So beautiful in presentation and sound. It´s an act of culture, making these recordings available. I´ve been known to prefer Sandy with a backing band but after playing these records I´m in doubt. Some tracks are just pure bliss. I know Sandy´s voice and music transfers me to my student youth and different days but I feel this is a really wonderful compilation. Thanks to everyone who made this release come true. Amen. :)

There's a full-page article about Sandy in today's Independent. It says Robert Plant is keen to voice a documentary that Bob Harris is working on - a radio doc, presumably?

Bob Harris is working again? That's good news...

Actually, reading the article closely, it's not clear whether they are talking about radio or TV. At the end it says "Bob Harris's radio documentary is planned for 2008". In the body of the article it refers to the TV docs on Thompson, Martyn and Drake, with Harris "explaining his plans for just such a programme" on Sandy. Could this in fact be the TV documentary her fans have agitated for for so long?

Another choice quote: "The silver-tongued chanteuse is the subject of innumerable blogs and fansites". Innumerable?!

Google gives 404,000 hits for "Sandy Denny". That's probably further than a journalist cares to count.

Indeed it is:
"Although Harris is undergoing treatment for cancer and taking a break from his regular Radio 2 shows, he is still able to keep on top of his pet studio projects."
http://arts.independent.co.uk/music/features/article3141321.ece

A couple of pics with the article: one of Sandy with Messrs Bonham, Plant & Page, and a smaller one allegedly of FC (but its not) with Sandy, Richard, and 2 others I'm ashamed to say I don't recognise - could they be Richard & Mimi Farina?

A passing thought - when Zep play their gig at the Dome, will they play Battle of Evermore - and who would sing Sandy's part?  Chris While?

I think it's Pat Donaldson on the left & Timi Donald (drums )between Sandy & RT.

Ms Krauss might be a better bet....?

How about Deborah? She sang it at Cropredy.

Paul