This CD contains a selection of live concert tracks recorded at the Paris Theatre on 16 March 1972, as well as a variety of live studio tracks recorded for the BBC. It was compiled by John Penhallow of the Australian Friends of Folk. Most of the tracks are of excellent sound quality and this CD is highly valued by Sandy’s fans. The CD almost didn’t make it because of a legal dispute but 3,500 copies were salvaged from destruction, were sold on the day of first issue only, and found their way to fans all over the world.

In 2007, an expanded 3 CD + DVD box, Live at the BBC, superseded this album.

Musicians

Sandy Denny: vocals, piano, guitar;
Tracks 16-17 and 19-20 with the addition of
Hughie Burns: guitar;
Pat Donaldson: bass;
Willie Murray: drums

Tracks

BBC Radio 1 “In Concert”, Paris Theatre, London, host Bob Harris, rec. 16 March 1972, bc. 25 March 1972

1. The North Star Grassman and the Ravens (4.25)
2. Sweet Rosemary (3.25)
3. The Lady (3.44)
4. Next Time Around (4.45)
5. Blackwaterside (Roud 312; Laws O1; Henry H811) (3.42)
6. John the Gun (3.12)

Note: The one missing track from this session, Bruton Town *, was already included in the Who Knows Where the Time Goes? box set.

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 24 August 1971, bc. 6 September 1971

7. Late November (5.07)
8. The Optimist (3.44)
9. Crazy Lady Blues (2.16)
10. The Lowlands of Holland * (Roud 484; G/D 6:1116; Henry H180) (3.13)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 25 October 1972, bc. 20 November 1972

11. It Suits Me Well (4.20)
12. Bushes and Briars * (2.35)
13. The Music Weaver (3.07)
14. It’ll Take a Long Time (4.01)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host John Peel, rec. 11 September 1973, bc. 25 September 1973

15. Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (5.31)

18. Like an Old Fashioned Waltz (3.30)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 14 November 1973, bc. 17 December 1973

16. Until the Real Thing Comes Along * (4.07)
17. Whispering Grass * (3.42)

19. Dark the Night (4.06)
20. Solo (4.26)

All tracks Sandy Denny except
Tracks 5, 10 trad. arr. Sandy Denny
Track 16 Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin / L.E. Freeman
Track 17 Doris & Fred Fisher

The tracks marked by a * are also on the Sandy Denny anthology A Boxful of Treasures.

This box contains almost every recording Sandy Denny made for the BBC with sessions, concerts and “off air” recordings. An included DVD shows her only surviving TV performances. The booklet contains extracts from her handwritten note books including unreleased song lyrics, sketches and rare and yet unseen photographs.

See also the Universal/BBC announcement for this box set.

Musicians

Sandy Denny: vocals, piano, guitar;
with
Johnny Silvo: guitar [CD 1 track 3-4];
Roger Evans: guitar [CD 1 track 3-4, CD 4 tracks 1-4];
Dave Moses: double bass [CD 1 track 3-4, CD 4 tracks 1-4];
Hughie Burns: guitar [CD 1 track 16-19];
Pat Donaldson: bass [CD 1 track 16-19];
Willie Murray: drums [CD 1 track 16-19]

Tracks

CD 1: In Session

BBC World Service “Cellar Full of Folk” (not “Folk Song Cellar”), rec. 2 December 1966, bc. 11 January 1967

1. Fhír a Bhata (The Boatman) (Roud 4356; Henry H834) (4.29)
2. Green Grow the Laurels (Roud 279; G/D 6:1138; Henry H165ab, H624) (3.53)

Note: These two performaces were actually recorded for the “Cellar Full of Folk” programme hosted by Alex Campbell. They were added by the BBC Transcription Service to the “Folk Song Cellar” transcription discs 31 (Green Grow the Laurels) and 36 (Fhír a Bhata). Thanks to Folk Song Cellar researcher Chris Brady for the clarification.

BBC World Service “Cellar Full of Folk”, rec. 6 March 1967, bc. 18 March 1967

3. Hold on to Me Babe (3.07)
4. Blues Run the Game (2.41)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 24 August 1971, bc. 6 September 1971

5. Late November (5.08)
6. The Optimist (3.45)
7. Crazy Lady Blues (2.17)
8. The Lowlands of Holland * (Roud 484; G/D 6:1116; Henry H180) (3.15)

See also CD 4, track 9.

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 25 October 1972, bc. 20 November 1972

9. It Suits Me Well (4.21)
10. The Music Weaver (3.08)
11. Bushes and Briars * (2.35)
12. It’ll Take a Long Time (4.02)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host John Peel, rec. 11 September 1973, bc. 25 September 1973

13. Solo (4.36)
14. Like an Old Fashioned Waltz (3.31)
15. Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (5.35)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 14 November 1973, bc. 17 December 1973

16. Until the Real Thing Comes Along * (4.08)
17. Whispering Grass * (3.43)
18. Dark the Night (4.07)
19. Solo (4.28)

All tracks Sandy Denny except
Tracks 1-2, 8 trad. arr. Sandy Denny;
Track 3 Tom Paxton;
Track 4 Jackson C. Frank;
Track 16 Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin / L.E. Freeman;
Track 17 Doris & Fred Fisher

CD 2: In Concert

BBC Radio 1 “In Concert”, Paris Theatre, London, host Bob Harris, rec. 16 March 1972, bc. 25 March 1972

1. The North Star Grassman and the Ravens (3.47)
2. Sweet Rosemary (3.25)
3. The Lady (3.45)
4. Bruton Town * (Roud 18; Laws M32) (4.45)
5. Next Time Around (4.46)
6. Blackwaterside (Roud 312; Laws O1; Henry H811) (3.43)
7. John the Gun (3.13)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds on Sunday”, host Johnny Moran, rec. 14 November 1972, bc. 3 December 1972

8. The Lady (4.21)
9. Bushes and Briars (4.11)
10. It Suits Me Well (5.14)
11. Blackwaterside (Roud 312; Laws O1; Henry H811) (3.36)
12. The Music Weaver (4.51)
13. The Sea Captain (3.18)
14. John the Gun (3.56)

BBC World Service “Tomorrow’s People”, 1972

15. Clive Jordan interviews Sandy Denny (7.45)

DVD 3

BBC TV “One in Ten: Sandy Denny”, rec. 15 September 1971

1. The North Star Grassman and the Ravens (3.18)
2. Crazy Lady Blues (1.56)
3. Late November (3.40)

All tracks Sandy Denny

Bonus Material

• Diaries
• Photo Gallery
• Discography

CD 4: “Off-Air” Recordings

BBC World Service “The Johnny Silvo Four”, rec. June 1967, bc. January 1968

1. This Train (Roud 6702) (1.58)
2. Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor (Roud 13930) (2.20)
3. The Last Thing on My Mind (3.23)
4. You Never Wanted Me (3.05)

“My Kind of Folk”, rec. 26 June 1968

5. Been on the Road So Long (2.23)
6. The Quiet Land of Erin (3.20)

BBC 1 TV show “The Spinners”, rec. 22 April 1971, bc. 12 July 1971

7. Sweet Nightingale (Roud 371) (with Mick Groves) (2.00)
8. Blackwaterside (Roud 312; Laws O1; Henry H811) (with Richard Thompson) (4.17)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 24 August 1971, bc. 6 September 1971

9. The North Star Grassman and the Ravens (2.52)

See also CD 1, tracks 5-8.

BBC 2 TV show “Old Grey Whistle Test”, rec. 13 June 1972

10. The Lady (3.35)
11. It’ll Take a Long Time (4.06)

Tracks 1-2, 6-7 trad.;
Track 3 Tom Paxton;
Track 4 Jackson C. Frank;
Track 5 Alex Campbell;
Track 8 trad. arr. Sandy Denny;
Tracks 9-11 Sandy Denny

Andrew Batt compiled the highlights of the Live at the BBC 3CD + DVD set on a single CD.

Musicians

Sandy Denny: vocals, piano, guitar;
with
Hughie Burns: guitar [15-16];
Pat Donaldson: bass [15-16];
Willie Murray: drums [15-16]

Tracks

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 24 August 1971, bc. 6 September 1971

1. Late November (5.08)
2. Crazy Lady Blues (2.17)

BBC Radio 1 “In Concert”, Paris Theatre, London, host Bob Harris, rec. 16 March 1972, bc. 25 March 1972

3. The North Star Grassman and the Ravens (3.47)
4. The Lady (3.45)
5. Bruton Town (Roud 18; Laws M32) (4.45)
6. Next Time Around (4.46)
7. John the Gun (3.13)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds on Sunday”, host Johnny Moran, rec. 14 November 1972, bc. 3 December 1972

8. Blackwaterside (Roud 312; Laws O1; Henry H811) (3.43)
9. The Music Weaver (4.51)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 25 October 1972, bc. 20 November 1972

10. The Music Weaver (3.08)
11. Bushes and Briars (2.35)
12. It’ll Take a Long Time (4.02)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host John Peel, rec. 11 September 1973, bc. 25 September 1973

13. Like an Old Fashioned Waltz (3.31)
14. Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (5.35)

BBC Radio 1 “Sounds of the Seventies”, host Bob Harris, rec. 14 November 1973, bc. 17 December 1973

15. Dark the Night (4.07)
16. Solo (4.28)

All tracks Sandy Denny except
Tracks 5, 8 trad. arr. Sandy Denny