Sandy Denny was perhaps was the greatest singer to come out of the British folk-rock movement of the 1960s. No More Sad Refrains is a two-CD collection of songs from her four solo albums as well as a selection from her work with Fairport Convention and the short-lived band Fotheringay. While Denny was alive critics praised her for her exquisite voice while overlooking her songwriting, which was equal to that of her fellow Fairporter, Richard Thompson. "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" her most popular song is here, along with lesser known but still worthy compositions such as "The Pond and the Stream," "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz," and "I'm a Dreamer." One unexpected treat is the duet with Linda Peters, who later married Richard Thompson, on the Everly Brothers classic "When Will I Be Loved." The music of Sandy Denny is probably better known and more respected in 2000 than it was when she died of a brain hemorrhage caused by a fall in 1978. Like the music of Nick Drake, another great British singer-songwriter who died too young, these songs have a melancholy air that is only deepened by the knowledge of her early death. --Michael Simmons
