No More Sad Refrains: The Life and Times of Sandy Denny [Kindle Edition]

Denny's most famous song is "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?", and somehow it's taken over two decades for the unvarnished story of her life and death to come out. Clinton Heylin's biography is no hagiography; Sandy Denny was no saint. Most of her fans will be surprised to learn that she was a heavy drinker, and terribly insecure. Heylin blames many of those around her for making her insecurity even worse. He brands her adored but roving husband Trevor Lucas (who died in 1989) "a mediocre musician" who badgered Denny into writing more songs, then dismissed them as sounding too much the same. He blames Denny's early producer, Joe Boyd, for pulling the plug on Fotheringay half way through recording their second album, forcing her unwillingly to go solo. ("Solo" is one of her most ironic songs, as much about broken love as about singing.)

Heylin's book, which includes photographs, some of Denny's drawings, pages from her diaries, and unrecorded and draft lyrics, is a sharp-edged record of her personal and professional frustrations and missed opportunities. It's sad to read of so much sadness, especially considering, as one of her friends said, "When you listen to her voice you think, God, what did she have to be insecure about?" And Heylin ends by quoting another great Fairport alumnus, Richard Thompson: "I've not heard a singer since with that much of a gift... Sandy's songs [are] some of the best songs written since the war." -David V Barrett

This book acquaints you with the woman behind the voice. As the author says, "Solo the voice could now be heard in all its resonating purity, driven by an unerring instinct, but the secret Sandy remained a deeply unhappy person, for whom the songs remained her only release."

There are lots of touching anecdotes, like the time Sandy invited her friend Bambi Ballard to a studio at one in the morning to play the songs of the album "Sandy." After each song the insecure Sandy asked "You don't want to hear any more, do you?" Bambi Ballard, the sole audience, with tears running down her face had to reassure her that each song was lovely and to urge her to play another.

The book also corrects the notion that Sandy fell as a result of falling downstairs - and helps to explain why the some of the facts were played down.

In short if you like Sandy Denny's music, this book is a "must" and is extremely readable.