Carla Fuchs — Songbird
Since the sad passing of legendary folk singer/ songwriter Sandy Denny in 1978 the world has been in mourning for new material. There have been umpteen posthumous releases of alternative takes of classic Denny material as well as previously unreleased demo tracks and various other stuff. None of it seems to have truly satiated that lust for new material until perhaps now.
Back in 2009 when Phil Lloyd Smee was putting together the Sandy Denny boxed set he discovered notebooks of previously unused lyrics. Ever since this discovery came to light, Sandy’s daughter Georgia Rose Lucas has been trying to decide what to do with them, that is, until she met German singer/ songwriter Carla Fuchs. Fuchs was already writing and performing her own material influenced by Denny, and Georgia was so impressed by her skills that she suggested that Carla was the person to bring her mother’s lyrics to life.
The product of that meeting is Songbird, a ten-track album featuring nine songs with lyrics by Denny and music by Fuchs, and a tenth song, "Songbird" written solely by Fuchs as her personal homage to Sandy Denny. The album opens with "The Sixpence", a beautiful, sorrowful ballad largely made up of vocals and piano with some guitar breaking through to add a little extra variety to the mix. Fuchs voice brings the raw emotion that has become familiar to fans of Denny but I feel I must add that she still sounds like herself, not a Denny clone. That said, she manages to emote the songs beautifully and her music evokes Denny’s own. "Go West" is a gorgeous dreamy country-tinged folk ballad, that evokes memories of some of Denny’s finest moments, this is followed by Fuchs own composition the equally lovely, "Songbird". A tender and timeless ode to Denny and the genuinely life-affirming way in which she has taken the material and helped to bring it to such glorious life. The song’s closing lyric “This song it is yours but the change it is mine and we are all united in this secret of time” perfectly bringing the song to a close. "Simply Falls Apart" comes next and like everything that has gone before it, has that feel of being a new Sandy Denny song, even though it’s obvious that it’s not Sandy on vocals, the musical arrangement and the instrumentation would not sound out of place on Northstar Grassman and the Ravens. "If You Are Free" and "Charme and Patience" continue in much the same vein as what has gone before, another two beautiful tracks that fit the Denny aesthetic perfectly. The next track, "Georgia", is perhaps Denny’s most personal and poignant lyric on the album, being a tender ballad written for the person who was at the time, her beautiful baby daughter. This may be one of the most touching songs that I have heard in a very long time. "Halfway Home" follows, in what feels like an unenviable task, however, the track evokes memories of Denny’s work with Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin. "Winter Elms" is Denny’s poem to the dark beauty of Autumn, and features a spoken word section from Denny’s daughter, Georgia. The album is brought to a close by "Winning of the Game", another gloriously beautiful ballad from an album full of them.
Overall, Songbird is a beautiful album that does two quite distinct things. Firstly, it brings to our attention the remarkable talents of Carla Fuchs, a wonderful singer/ songwriter in her own right, who I am looking forward to hearing more from in the future. Secondly, the album serves as a reminder of the unique talents of Sandy Denny, one of the most special musical talents to come from these fair shores. Lyrically and musically this album is stunning, Carla Fuchs’ instrumentation perfectly accentuates Denny’s lyrics, creating an album that will probably never receive the credit it so richly deserves. The package is perfectly rounded out with a beautiful digipak and a well-designed booklet featuring an introduction from Georgia and reproductions of Denny’s handwritten lyrics. If you’re a fan of Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and folk/rock in general then this is a must have album.