Joanna Newsom pays respect to Sandy Denny on ‘The North Star Grassman and the Ravens’

Joanna Newsom has long cited Sandy Denny as one of her greatest influences, and now she’s made it official with this understated cover.

Recorded as a promotion for LA-based clothing label Wren, Newsom tackles ‘The North Star Grassman and the Ravens’ with characteristic grace, returning to the bare-bones harp and vocals setup we fell in love with on her debut LP The Milk-Eyed Mender. It’s been a while now since we’ve heard a peep from her, but then she’s been busy getting engaged to Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg so we’re frankly just glad to have her back, if just for a little while. [via Gorilla vs Bear]