Had Sandy Denny been a mere singer of her friend’s pieces and interpreter of folklore, she would still be considered a distinguished artist; what made the late English lady truly special – a genuine genius – was her songwriting talent. Having left this world in 1978, at 31 years of age, Sandy left a cache of tuneful treasures that still influences young musicians, one of those being multi-instrumentalist – handling guitar, piano, drums and woodwind – Carla Fuchs who used to perform gems from Denny’s repertoire alongside those of Laura Nyro, and her own numbers, of course. That’s what convinced Georgia Lucas, the former FAIRPORTS and FOTHERINGAY frontwoman’s daughter, in the German chanteuse’s ability to do justice to Sandy’s unfinished works.
There were not too many of the poems discovered in Denny’s notebooks in 2017, when Philip Lloyd-Smee was working on Sandy’s box set: some written in full, some in part – and none used in any of her published compositions. Out of those lyrics Carla created nine originals where she doesn’t sound like her late heroine – which has never been Fuchs’ intent; she always sounded like herself, and when she wraps up the solo album she’s been working on for more than a decade, the world should hear this – yet invokes Sandy Denny’s musical spirit. Titled “Songbird” and ready for release on September 15th, such a tribute will be a treat for many. Read the review.
Songbird
1. The Sixpence
2. Songbird
3. Georgia
4. Winning Of The Game
5. If You Are Free
6. Simply Falls Apart
7. Charm And Patience
8. Go West
9. Half Way Home
10. Winter Elms
