Rendezvous is a 1977 album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny, and was her last release before her death.
Background
and Trevor Lucas left Fairport Convention at the end of 1975 and Denny embarked on Rendezvous in the spring of 1976. Trevor Lucas produced the album with a contemporary rock sound designed to turn Denny into a mainstream act. The album is now generally thought to be overproduced with an excess of strings, backing vocals and instrumental overdubs. Despite this the album is felt to contain some of her finest compositions, and showed someone continuing to widen and deepen their songwriting craft, and who was responsive to new influences; Gold Dust with its Caribbean feel, the soulful torch songsTake Me Away and I'm A Dreamer and, most ambitious of all, a seven-minute orchestral tribute to the English pastoral symphony in the style of Vaughan Williams called All Our Days recorded live at CBS Studios. The punishing world tour with Fairport Convention throughout 1974 and 1975, coupled with Denny's heavy drinking and smoking, inevitably took a toll on her voice and by now much of its bell-like purity had gone, but the control and power were still there along with her subtle phrasing and characteristic grace notes. For the first time in years Denny recorded portions of the album live including an extraordinary session at Basing Street on 25 April, where Full Moon, No More Sad Refrains and I'm A Dreamer were cut live with the band and strings in a single day. A selection of cover versions were recorded for the album, notably I WishI Was a Fool For You by Richard Thompson, Silver Threads and Golden Needles, Losing Game by The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Lowell George's Easy to Slip. Several Denny originals were also recorded and not used, including Full Moon, By the Time It Gets Dark and Still Waters Run Deep. The majority of the album was recorded in a week of sessions between 23 April and 7 June at Basing Street and Island Studios; further sessions from the 9th to the 18th of June were largely devoted to extensive mixing and overdubs. The album, originally entitled Gold Dust, was finished by July and due to come out in October 1976, but Island repeatedly delayed the release and it finally came out in May 1977 when Denny was pregnant and unable to undertake a promotional tour. During this delay Denny returned to the studio to record a cover version of Elton John's Candle in the Wind, which was added to the album in place of her own composition Still Waters Run Deep: Both tracks were later released on a single. One last session, to record Bryn Haworth's Moments, took place days before the album's release, and this was Denny's final studio recording. The album was the only solo album of Denny's not to be issued in a gatefold. However, there was a black card inner sleeve with the lyrics reproduced in white type. The cover image was a composite of a location shot of Denny waiting on a street and a close-up studio portrait of her with heavy eye make up and wearing an auburn wig. Having relocated to the village of Byfield in Northamptonshire in the mid-seventies, Sandy gave birth to her only child, a daughter called Georgia, in July 1977. A UK tour to promote Rendezvous was undertaken in the autumn and marked her final public appearances. The closing night at the Royalty Theatre in London on 27 November 1977 was recorded for an intended live album, Gold Dust, which was eventually released in 1998. Sandy Denny died the following year in April 1978 following complications after a fall.
Critical reception
In 2005 Allmusic's reviewer Brett Hartenbach was less than enthusiastic about Trevor Lucas' production, saying "use of cumbersome strings, backup singers and bloated lead guitars weigh things down and bury some otherwise fine writing". His summation was that Rendezvous was "a flawed attempt at gaining a wider audience, by an artist who deserved better and was capable of the best". However, he did give the album a three-star rating of a possible five.
Rolling Stone's 2004 assessment was that having left her folk roots behind, "casting her as pop singer didn't quite work on Rendezvous".
Track listing
All songs credited to Sandy Denny except where noted.
