Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
Encyclopedia
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz is the third solo album by English folk rock
singer Sandy Denny
, released in June 1974. The album featured a more pop
and jazz
influenced production style, a marked change from Denny's previous folk rock
albums as lead vocalist for Fairport Convention
, Fotheringay
, The Strawbs
and as a solo artist.
Although Denny originally hoped to tour in support of the album, difficulties with Island Records
delayed its release from Fall 1973 to June 1974, by which time she had rejoined Fairport Convention. AllMusic has called Like an Old Fashioned Waltz "an intimate and moving record."
failed to cross over to mass market success, a fact which greatly disappointed Denny; she had recently decided that she desired to be received as a notable music act along the ranks of Led Zeppelin
or The Who
, two bands Denny had performed with as a guest vocalist. Denny decided that in order to establish her solo career, a record appealing to a new audience was required.
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz features covers of several jazz songs remembered from her father's record collection, including The Inkspots' "Whispering Grass
" and Fats Waller
's "Until The Real Thing Comes Along
". Around this time, it was rumored that Denny was considering recording an album solely consisting of jazz standards (or possibly an entire cover album of songs written by The Inkspots), but the record never materialized.
. The first track recorded was No End at Walthamstow Assembly Hall on December 3, 1972 in a solo version accompanying herself on the piano (later abandoned in favor of a new recording with a band and strings). Denny embarked on a month long tour of the US in April 1973, stopping at A&M Records
' studios to record four songs; Friends, Solo, At the End of the Day and the new version of No End prior to a week long residency at The Troubador in Los Angeles.
After a tour of Europe throughout June and July, sessions for the album resumed at Sound Techniques in London in August where the remaining tracks were recorded; Carnival, Like an Old Fashioned Waltz, Dark the Night and the two jazz standards Whispering Grass
and Until the Real Thing Comes Along
. Harry Robinson added string arrangements to many of the tracks.
In addition to singing, Denny played acoustic guitar, piano and electric piano on Like an Old Fashioned Waltz. Denny's Fairport Convention bandmate Richard Thompson performed lead guitar on "Solo" and "No End".
sleeve styled in the colours described in the albums title track (primrose
yellow and velvet green) and designed to look like an antique plate, with a floral motif drawn by Denny herself. The cover photograph by Gered Mankowitz
depicts Denny in an old style image in the Edwardian style. The album's lyrics were reproduced in the gatefold.
A single of Whispering Grass / Friends was released in a sepia picture sleeve in the style of the album cover.
AllMusic's Brett Hartenbach gave Like an Old Fashioned Waltz 3 1/2 stars out of 5, saying "Denny expands on the more polished moments that her previous work, Sandy, 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." Hartenbach went on to call the album's opening track, "Solo", one of Denny's "best songs."
Robert Christgau
of The Village Voice
gave the album a lukewarm review, but conceded that "Solo" was "a four-minute masterpiece."
on September 20, 1973 at Fulham Registry Office. Shortly afterward, she put together a band comprising Pat Donaldson
, Hughie Burns and Willie Murray, with intent to do an extensive tour in support of the album. The group recorded a session for BBC Radio on November 14, 1973, and also played a brief four-date tour around that time.
However, the release of Like an Old Fashioned Waltz was delayed from Fall 1973 to June 1974, by which time Denny had rejoined Fairport Convention
. Several songs from the album were regularly played during the Fairport tour that year.
on her 1978 album White Shoes
. Eric Johnson
and Susan Cowsill
covered "At the End of the Day" for the 1995 compilation True Voices.
Side one
Side two
The remastered CD version included four bonus tracks:
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
singer Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
, released in June 1974. The album featured a more pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influenced production style, a marked change from Denny's previous folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
albums as lead vocalist for Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, Fotheringay
Fotheringay
Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots had been imprisoned...
, The Strawbs
The Strawbs
Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964. Although the band started out as a bluegrass group they eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock, glam rock and progressive rock...
and as a solo artist.
Although Denny originally hoped to tour in support of the album, difficulties with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
delayed its release from Fall 1973 to June 1974, by which time she had rejoined Fairport Convention. AllMusic has called Like an Old Fashioned Waltz "an intimate and moving record."
Background
The 1972 album SandySandy (Sandy Denny album)
Sandy is the second solo album by Sandy Denny, and is generally considered to be her best. The album was released in 1972 and begun just a fortnight after her UK tour promoting her debut solo album The North Star Grassman and the Ravens ended in early November 1971.The first song recorded for the...
failed to cross over to mass market success, a fact which greatly disappointed Denny; she had recently decided that she desired to be received as a notable music act along the ranks of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
or The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, two bands Denny had performed with as a guest vocalist. Denny decided that in order to establish her solo career, a record appealing to a new audience was required.
Composition
The songs on Like an Old Fashioned Waltz saw Denny refining her songwriting craft, on a nostalgic panoramic song-cycle detailing many of her personal preoccupations: loss, loneliness, fear of the dark, the passing of time and the changing seasons.Like an Old Fashioned Waltz features covers of several jazz songs remembered from her father's record collection, including The Inkspots' "Whispering Grass
Whispering Grass
"Whispering Grass " is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and his daughter Doris Fisher. The song was first recorded by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra in 1940. The Ink Spots also recorded it the same year....
" and Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
's "Until The Real Thing Comes Along
Until the Real Thing Comes Along
" Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.According to one version of the original sheet music, the songwriting credits read: "Words and Music by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman"....
". Around this time, it was rumored that Denny was considering recording an album solely consisting of jazz standards (or possibly an entire cover album of songs written by The Inkspots), but the record never materialized.
Recording
Work begun on the album whilst Denny was still promoting her previous LP SandySandy (Sandy Denny album)
Sandy is the second solo album by Sandy Denny, and is generally considered to be her best. The album was released in 1972 and begun just a fortnight after her UK tour promoting her debut solo album The North Star Grassman and the Ravens ended in early November 1971.The first song recorded for the...
. The first track recorded was No End at Walthamstow Assembly Hall on December 3, 1972 in a solo version accompanying herself on the piano (later abandoned in favor of a new recording with a band and strings). Denny embarked on a month long tour of the US in April 1973, stopping at A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
' studios to record four songs; Friends, Solo, At the End of the Day and the new version of No End prior to a week long residency at The Troubador in Los Angeles.
After a tour of Europe throughout June and July, sessions for the album resumed at Sound Techniques in London in August where the remaining tracks were recorded; Carnival, Like an Old Fashioned Waltz, Dark the Night and the two jazz standards Whispering Grass
Whispering Grass
"Whispering Grass " is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and his daughter Doris Fisher. The song was first recorded by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra in 1940. The Ink Spots also recorded it the same year....
and Until the Real Thing Comes Along
Until the Real Thing Comes Along
" Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.According to one version of the original sheet music, the songwriting credits read: "Words and Music by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman"....
. Harry Robinson added string arrangements to many of the tracks.
In addition to singing, Denny played acoustic guitar, piano and electric piano on Like an Old Fashioned Waltz. Denny's Fairport Convention bandmate Richard Thompson performed lead guitar on "Solo" and "No End".
Album cover
The album was originally issued in an embossed gatefoldGatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
sleeve styled in the colours described in the albums title track (primrose
Primrose
-Botany:* Primulaceae, a family of flowering plants* Primula vulgaris, commonly known as the Primrose * Oenothera, commonly known as Evening Primrose, a plant genus...
yellow and velvet green) and designed to look like an antique plate, with a floral motif drawn by Denny herself. The cover photograph by Gered Mankowitz
Gered Mankowitz
Gered Mankowitz is a British photographer of the rock music scene over the last 40 years. Some of his portraits of rock musicians, such as The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Slade, are now part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery.-Personal life:His father was the late...
depicts Denny in an old style image in the Edwardian style. The album's lyrics were reproduced in the gatefold.
A single of Whispering Grass / Friends was released in a sepia picture sleeve in the style of the album cover.
Reception and reviews
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz was warmly received by critics; however, like nearly all of Denny's solo work, it was by no means a commercial success.AllMusic's Brett Hartenbach gave Like an Old Fashioned Waltz 3 1/2 stars out of 5, saying "Denny expands on the more polished moments that her previous work, Sandy, 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." Hartenbach went on to call the album's opening track, "Solo", one of Denny's "best songs."
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
gave the album a lukewarm review, but conceded that "Solo" was "a four-minute masterpiece."
Live band and abandoned tour
Several weeks after Like an Old Fashioned Waltz had been recorded, Sandy Denny married longtime boyfriend and bandmate Trevor LucasTrevor Lucas
Trevor George Lucas was an influential folk artist, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay...
on September 20, 1973 at Fulham Registry Office. Shortly afterward, she put together a band comprising Pat Donaldson
Pat Donaldson
Pat Donaldson is a bass guitarist.The 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street, Soho was a legendary hang-out for early rock artists of Britain. It was here that Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and Terry Dean played. Albert Lee and Pat Donaldson played here while they were members of Bob Xavier and the...
, Hughie Burns and Willie Murray, with intent to do an extensive tour in support of the album. The group recorded a session for BBC Radio on November 14, 1973, and also played a brief four-date tour around that time.
However, the release of Like an Old Fashioned Waltz was delayed from Fall 1973 to June 1974, by which time Denny had rejoined Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
. Several songs from the album were regularly played during the Fairport tour that year.
Legacy
Songs from Like an Old Fashioned Waltz have been covered by a number of notable artists. Following Denny's death, Fairport Convention has sporadically performed the songs "Solo" and "It'll Take a Long Time". "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz" was rerecorded by Emmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
on her 1978 album White Shoes
White Shoes
White Shoes was a 1983 Emmylou Harris album, composed of an eclectic collection of material. A rockish version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", a country remake of the Donna Summer hit "On the Radio", and a version of Sandy Denny's "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz" were all included...
. Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
and Susan Cowsill
Susan Cowsill
Susan Claire Cowsill is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. She is the youngest member of The Cowsills and the only daughter of parents Bud and Barbara Cowsill.-The Cowsills:...
covered "At the End of the Day" for the 1995 compilation True Voices.
Track listing
All tracks credited to Sandy Denny unless otherwise statedSide one
- "Solo"
- "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz"
- "Whispering GrassWhispering Grass"Whispering Grass " is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and his daughter Doris Fisher. The song was first recorded by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra in 1940. The Ink Spots also recorded it the same year....
" (Doris Fisher and Fred FisherFred FisherFred Fisher was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Fisher founded Fred Fisher Music Publishing Company in 1907. He was born as Albert von Breitenbach in Cologne...
) - "Friends"
- "Carnival"
Side two
- "Dark the Night"
- "At the End of the Day"
- "Until the Real Thing Comes AlongUntil the Real Thing Comes Along" Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.According to one version of the original sheet music, the songwriting credits read: "Words and Music by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman"....
" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
/Saul ChaplinSaul ChaplinSaul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley...
/L.E. Freeman) - "No End"
The remastered CD version included four bonus tracks:
- "At the End of the Day" (Alternate take without strings)
- "King and Queen of England" (Demo recorded at Denny's home in Byfield 1974)
- "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz" (Live at the LA Troubadour 01/02/1975)
- "No End" (solo piano version recorded 03/12/1972)
Musicians
- Sandy DennySandy DennySandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
- lead vocals, piano (1/2/4), ac. guitar (5/6), el. piano (9) - Richard Thompson - electric guitar (1/10)
- Trevor LucasTrevor LucasTrevor George Lucas was an influential folk artist, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay...
- acoustic guitar (1/7) - Diz DisleyDiz DisleyDiz Disley was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and graphic designer. He is best known for his jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, and for his collaborations with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli....
- acoustic guitar (3/8) - Jerry DonahueJerry DonahueJerry Donahue is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of the rock guitar trio The Hellecasters.-Biography:Donahue was born in New York, the son of big band...
- electric guitar (4/7), acoustic guitar (5) - Jean Roussel - organ (1)
- Ian Armit - piano (3/8)
- John (Rabbit) BundrickJohn BundrickJohn Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick is an American rock keyboardist, pianist and organist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free and Crawler. Bundrick is noted as the principal musician for the cult...
- piano (5/9), electric piano (6), clavinet (6) - Dave PeggDave PeggDave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
- bass (1-2/4-5/9) - Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
- double bass (3/8) - Pat DonaldsonPat DonaldsonPat Donaldson is a bass guitarist.The 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street, Soho was a legendary hang-out for early rock artists of Britain. It was here that Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and Terry Dean played. Albert Lee and Pat Donaldson played here while they were members of Bob Xavier and the...
- bass (6/7) - Dave MattacksDave MattacksDave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...
- drums (1-5/8-9) - Gerry ConwayGerry Conway (musician)Gerald Conway is an English folk and rock drummer/percussionist, best known for having performed with the backing band for Cat Stevens in the 1970s, Jethro Tull during the 1980s, and currently a member of Fairport Convention as well as his side projects...
- drums (6/7) - Alan SkidmoreAlan SkidmoreAlan Skidmore is a tenor saxophonist of jazz and blues music, son of the saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore.-As a sideman:...
- saxophone (8)
- Harry Robinson - string arrangements (1/2/4-7/9)
- Bob Leaper - brass arrangements (3/8)