Gold Dust is a live album by the late English folk rock singer Sandy Denny. It documents one of Denny's last public performances and was recorded at London's "Sound Circus" venue at the Royalty Theatre, Portugal Street, near Aldwych, London on 27 November 1977. The album features many of her classic songs both as a solo artist and as a member of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay and remains the most extensive documentation of Sandy's live work with a backing band. The album was not released on the label originally planned owing to stated technical problems with the master tape, and was only released on a different label twenty years after her death after various guitar and backing vocal tracks parts were re-recorded by Jerry Donahue and others.
Album Information
Denny had not performed live for about two years and her solo studio release from earlier that year, Rendezvous, had shown a departure from traditional folk music. She had been quoted as saying shortly before this recording "If I have to sing "Matty Groves" one more time, I'll throw myself out of a window." Denny's voice is well captured on this recording, although some critics claim that it was sub-par due either to the effects of a cold or to wear-and-tear compounded by the effects of her long term smoking. The performance was the final concert of an 11-date U.K. tour although one source claims erroneously that it was the first date. The included songs comprise a wide ranging selection from her recording career and include one from her pre-Fairport days and recorded with both the Strawbs and with Fairport on Unhalfbricking, two from Fotheringay, three from The North Star Grassman and the Ravens, three from Sandy, one from Like an Old Fashioned Waltz, two from Rising for the Moon and five from Rendezvous. Containing as it did three-fifths of the original Fotheringay group with the addition of Dave Mattacks on drums, Rob Hendry on lead guitar and Pete Willsher on pedal steel guitar, the band has a distinctly Fotheringay feel, an impression further enhanced by the later replacement of many guitar parts by fourth ex-Fotheringay member Jerry Donahue, who was unavailable for the original concerts being on tour himself with Joan Armatrading at the time. While originally intended for a live album to be released by Saga Records owner Marcel Rodd, the purchase of the tapes was declined owing to technical problems on the guitar and backing vocal tracks. Eventually the tapes were purchased by Island Records although only one track was issued, being a performance of "The Lady" backed just by solo piano, included as the lead track on the Joe Boyd/Trevor Lucas-produced 1985 4-disc posthumous compilation Who Knows Where The Time Goes?. In 1997 it was decided that for commercial release of the remainder of the concert, the problematic lead guitar and backing vocals tracks needed re-recording and this was undertaken by Jerry Donahue with replacement backing vocals by Simon Nicol and Chris Leslie ; in addition the running order on the CD was also changed from the original. Some fans consider these changes regrettable, however for the CD's producers, they were considered the preferred mechanism to produce an acceptable product suitable for commercial release. The completed album was released by Island in 1998, twenty years after Denny's death and nine after that of Trevor Lucas. A subset of rough mixes of the original, unadulterated concert performances had previously been released on a fans-only cassette compilation, "The Attic Tracks Volume 3", based on tapes found in Lucas's collection, with a smaller subset on a subsequent CD compilation "The Attic Tracks 1972-1984". Owing to restrictions of time for the finished CD, most song introductions and between-song talk are omitted; however, a composite audience tape from an earlier date on the same tour preserves much of the latter and also the contributions of the original lineup. In an interview with Sandy recorded in late 1977, posted by Karl Dallas, she can be heard discussing the upcoming tour and her choice of musicians and material, among other subjects.
Track listing
All tracks credited to Sandy Denny unless otherwise stated
