Like an Old Fashioned Waltz

FAIRPORT CONVENTIONへの参加などで知られ、 逝去後も今なお英国フォーク/トラッドシーンを代表する歌姫の筆頭に挙げられる名シンガー/SSW:Sandy Denny、英Island Recordsから発表された'73年作が英Proper Recordsより'22年180g重量盤アナログにて再発!

従来作と同様に、夫のTrevor LucasをはじめRichard Thompson、Gerry Conway、Pat Donaldson、John Bundrickといった関連人脈からサポート・ミュージシャンを迎えつつも、今作では表題曲や'Friends'などでHarry Robinson指揮によるオーケストラ・アレンジを大々的に導入。アルバム全編にわたって郷愁的な趣が強く出ており、過ぎ去った過去への憧憬と愛情を感じさせる内容が愛しい名作です。オリジナルのダブル・ジャケット仕様/ISLAND (島)レーベル・ラベルを再現。

With Like an Old Fashioned Waltz, Sandy Denny expands on the more polished moments that her previous work, Sandy (1972), had suggested. The tone throughout most of the record is melancholy and personal, with gentle piano, rich strings, and barely a trace of her British folk roots. "Solo," one of her best songs, opens the album with a sense of apprehension and yearning, while cuts such as the beautifully vivid title track, the longing "At the End of the Day," and the evocative closer "No End" nicely follow suit. The Ink Spots covers "Whispering Grass" and "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" break the mood a bit, but it's a testament to the breadth of Denny's talent that she's able to make this sort of jazz-inflected pop work for her. These two songs seem to hint at a new direction that never really materialized in her final years, though an entire album of Ink Spots tunes was actually rumored at one point. As Sandy Denny's last solo work for four years, Like an Old Fashioned Waltz remains an intimate and moving record. ~ Brett Hartenbach