Listen Listen

AMG Review of Listen Listen

James Christopher Monger
All Music Guide

Island's single-disc Sandy Denny compilation does its best to offer a compact overview of the iconic singer's work. Focusing on the four records completed before her death in 1978, the 17-track Listen Listen winds comfortably through career highlights like "The North Star Grassman and the Raven," "Blackwaterside," and the gorgeous title track. Fans will contest the omission of tracks like "Carnival" and "It Suits Me Well," but for such a slim collection -- considering Denny's invaluable work with Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, and the Strawbs -- Listen Listen is a fine introduction to the artist's later days. Fans and non-fans alike would do better to pick up 2000's excellent double-disc career-spanning No More Sad Refrains: The Anthology.