The Art of Sandy Denny

And the no limits of perfect imperfection.

For some inexplicable reason, not known even to me, I was thinking of the ephemeral nature of time as I was walking the dogs this morning. Hardly an original thought, I admit. Indeed the notion that ‘time flies’ is a weary cliche. Unless it is sang by Sandy Denny. And then ‘Who Knows Where Times Goes’ becomes visceral and emotionally powerful. And it was her singing that came to me next.

Sandy Denny is best known as the lead vocalist for the folk rock band, Fairport Convention, in the late sixties, producing some of their greatest albums such as Unhalfbricking and Liege and Lief. She also happened to duet with Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin Volume 4 and the Battle for Evermore.

She left us far too early in 1978 at the age of 31 following a brain haemorrhage. She had been troubled by alcoholism and had earlier received a head trauma from falling down some stairs. The last song she performed live was Who Knows Where the Time Goes just three weeks before her death.

Her singing was on another level. Pure and ethereal it also contained something else that is hard to pin down. It hasd a haunting edge with a sense of ice and danger. She had gone early to the crossroads and…