The North Star Grassman and the Ravens is a 1971 album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. Built mostly around her own compositions, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens is distinguished by its elusive lyrics and unexpected harmonies.
| The North Star Grassman and the Ravens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1971 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | March – May 1971 | |||
| Studio | Sound Techniques and Island Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 39:49 | |||
| Label | Island ILPS 9165 (UK) | |||
| Producer | Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, John Wood | |||
| Sandy Denny chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| Record Collector | [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Chronology
editDenny became a solo artist when her previous group Fotheringay dissolved. Half way through recording the group's second album, producer Joe Boyd left to take up a job with Warner Bros. in California, leaving the album unfinished. (The album was eventually released in 2008 as Fotheringay 2.) Denny then launched the sequence of solo albums that underlie the claim that she is one of Britain's finest recent singer-songwriters.[5]
Production
editTwo original compositions from the Fotheringay 2 sessions, "Late November", inspired by a dream and the death of Fairport Convention band member Martin Lamble, and "John the Gun" were re-worked for the album and supplemented by a further six self penned songs and two cover versions, Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood" and "Let's Jump the Broomstick", recorded by Brenda Lee. Sessions began with Andy Johns producing but in the end the album was produced by Denny herself, former Fairport Convention bandmate Richard Thompson and John Wood, who recommended to Denny the film-score arranger Harry Robinson,[6] who added strings to "Next Time Around", a cryptogram about former boyfriend Jackson C. Frank (one of her many portraits in song)[7] and "Wretched Wilbur". Robinson would arrange strings for Denny's further albums as well as for Nick Drake and other artists signed to the same company.
The first songs recorded were the traditional "Blackwaterside" and "Let's Jump the Broomstick" in March 1971 at Sound Techniques. Sessions continued the following month until the end of May at Island studios, where the album was completed with the cutting of the title track,[8] a sea voyage as a metaphor for death inspired by the loss of her friend 'Tigger' (Paul Bamber) who was in the Merchant Navy.[9]
A number of other songs were attempted and discarded during the course of the sessions including "Honky Tonk Women", "Walking the Floor Over You" and the traditional "Lord Bateman".[10]
The album was issued in a gatefold sleeve with a distinctive cover photograph of Denny weighing seeds in an old fashioned apothecary shop (surely casting tea leaves). The image covered both the front and rear sleeve, and was taken by Keef (Macmillan) who went on to do a lot of work with another British female singer-songwriter: Kate Bush.[11] A two-disc Deluxe Edition was released by Island Records in 2011. It features the original album plus outtakes and demos, including a previously unreleased instrumental version of Lord Bateman.[12]
The band for the supporting tour consisted of Denny, Thompson (guitar), Gerry Conway (drums), and Dave Richards (bass).[13]
Reception
editSpin wrote, "Richard Thompson produced and played unobtrusively on this, her best album. It has a deceptive simplicity, in lieu of the grandiose arrangements that muck up her later records."[14]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Sandy Denny, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Late November" | 4:28 | |
| 2. | "Blackwaterside" | traditional | 4:12 |
| 3. | "The Sea Captain" | 3:09 | |
| 4. | "Down in the Flood" | Bob Dylan | 3:20 |
| 5. | "John the Gun" | 4:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Next Time Around" | 4:26 | |
| 7. | "The Optimist" | 3:24 | |
| 8. | "Let's Jump the Broomstick" | Charles Robins | 2:42 |
| 9. | "Wretched Wilbur" | 2:38 | |
| 10. | "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens" | 3:27 | |
| 11. | "Crazy Lady Blues" | 3:22 | |
| Total length: | 39:49 | ||
2011 deluxe edition re-release
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Late November" | 4:28 | |
| 2. | "Blackwaterside" | 4:12 | |
| 3. | "The Sea Captain" | 3:09 | |
| 4. | "Down in the Flood" | 3:20 | |
| 5. | "John the Gun" | 4:38 | |
| 6. | "Next Time Around" | 4:26 | |
| 7. | "The Optimist" | 3:24 | |
| 8. | "Let's Jump the Broomstick" | 2:42 | |
| 9. | "Wretched Wilbur" | 2:38 | |
| 10. | "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens" | 3:27 | |
| 11. | "Crazy Lady Blues" | 3:22 | |
| 12. | "Next Time Around" (demo) | ||
| 13. | "Walking the Floor Over You" (duet with Richard Thompson) | Ernest Tubb | |
| 14. | "Lord Bateman" (previously unreleased instrumental) | ||
| 15. | "If You Saw Thru My Eyes" (duet with Iain Matthews) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "The Sea Captain" (rare demo) | |
| 17. | "The Optimist" (rare demo) | |
| 18. | "Wretched Wilbur" (rare demo) | |
| 19. | "Crazy Lady Blues" (rare demo) | |
| 20. | "Lord Bateman" (rare demo) | |
| 21. | "Late November" (BBC session — Bob Harris, 24/8/71) | |
| 22. | "The Lowlands of Holland" (BBC session — Bob Harris, 24/8/71) | |
| 23. | "Blackwaterside" (BBC session — Sounds on Sunday, 14/11/72) | |
| 24. | "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens" (BBC in concert — Paris Theatre, 16/3/72) | |
| 25. | "Bruton Town" (BBC in concert — Paris Theatre, 16/3/72) | |
| 26. | "Next Time Around" (BBC in concert — Paris Theatre, 16/3/72) | |
| 27. | "John the Gun" (BBC in concert — Paris Theatre, 16/3/72) |
Personnel
edit- Sandy Denny - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2, 3, 11), piano (1)
- Richard Thompson - electric guitar (1-5, 7-9), acoustic guitar (6, 7, 9, 10), bass (7,11), accordion (2), vocals (4)
- Pat Donaldson - bass (1-3, 8-10)
- Ian Whiteman - piano (4-8, 10, 11), flute organ (10)
- Gerry Conway - drums (1-7, 9-11)
- Trevor Lucas - acoustic guitar (1, 5, 8)
- Tony Reeves - bass (4, 6)
- Harry Robinson - string arrangements (6, 9)
- Jerry Donahue - electric guitar (1)
- Royston Wood, Robin Dransfield - backing vocals (5)
- Barry Dransfield - violin (5)
- Roger Powell - drums (8)
- Buddy Emmons - pedal steel guitar (11)
References
edit- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Rossi, Marco (13 June 2011). "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens | Sandy Denny". Record Collector. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 191.
- ^ Patrick Humphries (20/04 2003) The singing Madonna with an angel’s voice Sunday Express, pp 54–55. Nigel Williamson (Nov 2004) Glittering Prize Uncut, p 134. Cliff Jones (Sept 1995) Forensic dissection of the human heart Mojo, p 110.
- ^ Clinton Heylin. No More Sad Refrains - The Life and Times of Sandy Denny. London, Helter Skelter, 2002. ISBN 1-900924-35-8 p140.
- ^ See 'The lady she had a silver tongue': Sandy Denny as singer-songwriter Archived 2010-07-08 at the Wayback Machine by Philp Ward.
- ^ Clinton Heylin. No More Sad Refrains - The Life and Times of Sandy Denny. London, Helter Skelter, 2002. ISBN 1-900924-35-8 pp273-4.
- ^ See The Sandy Denny Blogspot
- ^ Clinton Heylin. No More Sad Refrains - The Life and Times of Sandy Denny. London, Helter Skelter, 2002. ISBN 1-900924-35-8 p138.
- ^ Notably the video to Wuthering Heights and the film of her only tour Live at the Hammersmith Odeon.
- ^ Humphries, Patrick (2011). The North Star Grassman and The Ravens (Deluxe Edition) (CD booklet). Sandy Denny. Universal-Island Records. 533 405-8.
- ^ "US Denny". Sounds. Spotlight Publications. 28 August 1971. p. 2.
- ^ Mark Fleischmann (June 1988). "Spinoffs". Spin. No. 36. p. 77.