With
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz,
Sandy Denny expands on the more polished moments that her previous work,
Sandy (1972), had suggested. The tone throughout most of the record is melancholy and personal, with gentle piano, rich strings, and barely a trace of her British folk roots. "Solo," one of her best songs, opens the album with a sense of apprehension and yearning, while cuts such as the beautifully vivid title track, the longing "At the End of the Day," and the evocative closer "No End" nicely follow suit. The
Ink Spots covers "Whispering Grass" and "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" break the mood a bit, but it's a testament to the breadth of
Denny's talent that she's able to make this sort of jazz-inflected pop work for her. These two songs seem to hint at a new direction that never really materialized in her final years, though an entire album of
Ink Spots tunes was actually rumored at one point. As
Sandy Denny's last solo work for four years,
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz remains an intimate and moving record. ~ Brett Hartenbach