That’s Sandy Denny (1947-1978), the late, legendary British vocalist & songwriter. Her birthday is January 7th & so I was thinking a lot about her this week. She is rightfully recognized as one the greatest vocalists ever to come out of the UK but that’s underselling her. It’d be more accurate to say she’s one of the greatest voices that the universe itself has ever produced. And good lord, her songwriting, sigh. Folk songs but pop songs. Epic & still utterly accessible. Mystical, romantic & melodic. Cryptic & obscure yet completely relatable. All delivered with a voice of unspeakable warmth & power. She was a contemporary of Nick Drake, part of the same scene, on the same label, utilizing the same producer but has received nowhere near the accolades & attention he has over the years. Uh oh, yeah, get ready, I’m gonna say it; I think she was better than him (more genius songs & of course that voice). The best quote about Sandy came in 2010 from Rachel Unthanks, an otherworldly singer in her own right; “Don’t listen to her ! You’ll realize that the rest of us are wasting your time”. This week has been horrific but a little Sandy can go a long way to quelling nightmares & calming the soul. And so pop on some “Northstar Grassman”, “Next Time Around” or best of all her signature song “The Lady” & let yourself get transported to another century for a few minutes, it’s just the most insanely beautiful medicine & damned if we all couldn’t use some right now.
And with that I welcome you to the first WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST of 2021 featuring the finest new songs we’ve heard over recent days ! They are also beautiful to the core & I am genuinely glad they exist at this insane juncture of humanity. Hopefully they too transport you to a peaceful place. Rock on…
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PICKING UP ROCKS 