2010's mammoth, highly collectible and very limited, 19-disc Sandy Denny box set was truly a thing to behold, presenting the entirety of her career from studio to stage to front porch.
It was a completist's dream, but it came with an exceptionally high price tag, which makes the appearance of 2011's Notes and the Words: A Collection of Demos and Rarities a real gift for fans, especially those who already own the complete studio recordings, whether solo or with Fotheringay, Strawbs, or Fairport Convention.
The handsome, limited-edition four-disc box skims the cream from the top of the myriad rarities, BBC sessions, demos, and outtakes that made the previous collection so remarkable (an intimate bedroom recording of Jackson C.
Frank's "Blues Run the Game"; an early demo of Like an Old Fashioned Waltz's "Carnival" with previously unheard melodies and lyrics; a blistering alternate studio take of a Dave Swarbrick-less "Sailor's Life," and alternate versions of Fairport classics like "Matty Groves," "Come All Ye," and "Fotheringay"), resulting in a wonderful window into one of English folk music's most magnificent voices.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milk and HoneyJackson C. Frank | Sandy Denny | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 19 MB |
| 4 mins | 10 MB | |||||
| 4 mins | 19 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sue Armstrong | Marketing |
| 2 | Andrew Batt | Research, Sleeve Notes |
| 3 | Joe Black | Project Coordinator |
| 4 | Anne Briggs | Composer |
| 5 | Saul Chaplin | Composer |
| 6 | Sandy Denny | Arranger, Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 7 | Jerry Donahue | Composer |
| 8 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 9 | Fairport Convention | Arranger, Composer, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Richard Fariña | Composer |
| 11 | Doris Fisher | Composer |
| 12 | Frederick Fisher | Composer |
| 13 | Fotheringay | Primary Artist |
| 14 | Jackson C. Frank | Composer |
| 15 | E. Freeman | Composer |
| 16 | Mose Henry | Composer |
| 17 | Ashley Hutchings | Composer |
| 18 | Bert Jansch | Composer |
| 19 | Elton John | Composer |
| 20 | Gordon Lightfoot | Composer |
| 21 | Keiron McGarry | Mastering |
| 22 | Chris McGregor | Composer |
| 23 | Roger McGuinn | Composer |
| 24 | Fred Neil | Composer |
| 25 | Jack O'Connell | Composer |
| 26 | Phil Smee | Artwork, Design |
| 27 | Swarb Solo | Featured Artist |
| 28 | Bernie Taupin | Composer |
| 29 | Traditional | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |