Has there been a thread about John Martyn?

(maybe we should have a thread for cheap stuff on Amazon?)

London Conv is pretty much yr standard 'folk singer's first album' stuff.

I guessed it was and passed on it (got The Payback instead).

Yeah lots of these John Martyn CDs are three quid in Glasgow Fopp at the moment - they also have all of Sandy Denny's solo recs, cpl of Richard and Linda Thompsons and some Fairport stuff at the same price

I got Unhalfbricking, just cause it was £3.

Man! That 'sailor's story' sounds like Tom Verlaine guitaring!

yeah, verlaine's gtr sound = 50% jerry garcia, 50% richard thompson - the version of 'Sloth' on the Fairport Convention live at the LA Troubadour set is especially Television-like, tho' Sailor's LIFE always sounds to me more like FT trying to be the Velvet Underground

Talking of guitaring, there's an amazing similarity between the bonus track version of 'Outside In' and the Edge on 'Where The Streets Have No Name'.

tho' Sailor's LIFE always sounds to me more like FT trying to be the Velvet Underground

Yes, that occurred to me too.

(Who's FT btw?)

Have been listening to "Go Easy" on repeat for a while now -- yeesh what a great song! The rest of Bless The Weather is great too, but that one is doing it for me right now. Woozy, wasted self absorption never sounded so good.

http://www.johnmartyn.com/files/images/mojoo.jpg

let's balance out all these fat old John pics with an skinny young one.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Z6nbGySgL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

John's just received his second lifetime achievement award of this year (from Mojo - he got one from BBC Radio 2 in Feb). This does not bode well I fear.

A friend recently lent me the 'Live At Leeds (And More)' album and I finally got round to listening to it last night.

The Live In Leeds set itself, recorded October 1975, and self-released as a LP at the time, is absolutely amazing. Really powerful, rocking, freely extended versions of the tracks. Solid Air on there is wonderful.

The CD set has a second disc of other live stuff from over the years and is pretty patchy to my ears. Too much later stuff that was far too saccharine and sentimental, m.o.r. pish, BUT it ends with an incredible version of a track 'Anna', performed in 1983 at the Bottom Line club in NY.

Anyone know this one? A bit of reading about says that "Anna" was from a movie soundtrack and was an evolution of the track "Small Hours" from 'One World'.

I've only ever heard 'Solid Air' before, which I've fallen in love with over the course of this year. Nothing else I've sampled has clicked yet, but I'm going to explore a few others now.

http://www.johnmartyn.info/?q=node/92

This story needs reposting, especially for the "no matter how drunk JMartyn was, he still could work out what was going on" air.

xp , If you like Solid Air then Bless The Weather is probably the next thing to try.

Mark G, that's incredible! Thank you for the link.

Thanks passed on to caek (link was above)

Ah, I see it now. Thanks caek.

in the end, kind of a depressing thread...

the drum machines added to "dancing" on one other world make it sound like it just came out today. pretty amazing

One World is the missing link between Spirit of Eden, World Of Echo, and Heart Of The Congoes. I can't believe I am only hearing this record now.

aye, its a great record. allmusic gave it 3 stars!!

3 out of 3 right?

Those mid-period Martyn Records are really great--that echoplex!

One World is the missing link between Spirit of Eden, World Of Echo, and Heart Of The Congoes. I can't believe I am only hearing this record now.

That's some playlist you're pointing to there.

They all have to be on Spotify right?

the drum machines added to "dancing" on /one other world/ make it sound like it just came out today. pretty amazing

I prefer One World by a pretty big margin to Solid Air -- the watery dubbiness of "Big Muff" and "Smiling Strangers," the grit of "Dealer," his gruff vocals, Steve Winwood's taut Minimoog solos...there's a lot to love about this album.

"Small Hours" is transcendent, shimmering peace.

"I prefer One World by a pretty big margin to Solid Air"

Bless The Weather is better than both imo

Ranking them is tough. But for now I'd go (1) One World, (2) Grace & Danger, (3) Solid Air and (4) Bless The Weather. Love the man!

Been pretty obsessed with Martyn this year. I don't think the drum machine on One World sounds contemporary though, but that's what i love about it. It's got that primitive feel, like on There's A Riot Goin' On

Also, pretty sure drum machine isn't on Dancing -- it is on Dealer tho.

The drum machine is added to "Dancing" on the outtake/bootleg (yet avail. on iTunes) set Another World.

I'm a sucker for his, er, dance-y late-'70s/early-'80s songs, like that track and "Running Up The Harbour" from the Grace And Danger deluxe set.

I think it's on the deluxe remaster too

"Didn't Do That" on Glorious Fool is a great twitchy number. But we are a long way from One World.

The drum machine is added to "Dancing" on the outtake/bootleg (yet avail. on iTunes) set Another World.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTje94as2w4

Jesus Christ

Bless Spotify

John Martyn, I did not know you until now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3QKwMzJZSI

^^^ fave john martyn song of the moment. so great.

when i got to talking to michael chapman last year he mentioned in passing that john martyn was the only person he'd ever kicked out of his house.
i would like to hear the rest of that story someday.

I'd be interested to hear Nick McCabe on John Martyn's new record too; pretty like minded people I figure.

― Keith Watson (kmw), Monday, May 10, 2004 10:05 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I always heard echoes of Richard Thompson in the guitar on the early Verve records. But I guess it was Nick drake not John Martyn that had his accompaniment, RT's that is.

yeah, verlaine's gtr sound = 50% jerry garcia, 50% richard thompson - the version of 'Sloth' on the Fairport Convention live at the LA Troubadour set is especially Television-like, tho' Sailor's LIFE always sounds to me more like FT trying to be the Velvet Underground

― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 1:12 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was really reminded of Verlaine at least by the guitar you can now hear under bits of North Star Grassman & The ravens the Sandy Denny lp.

the guitar on dancing is just so ~sparkly~.

durutti-esque even

god that ogwt 'one world' upthread is gorgeous

durutti-esque even

when i got to talking to michael chapman last year he mentioned in passing that john martyn was the only person he'd ever kicked out of his house.
i would like to hear the rest of that story someday.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Monday, May 7, 2012 1:55 AM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

never heard this guy before! he's amazing...

listening to Inside Out

not sure what kinda music this is...only thing that kinda pings are the weirder Tim Buckley albums...

xpost Even jazzier than Solid Air, that is. Yeah, I've never heard it! Gotta check the xpost concert youtube also.

Am I the only one put off by how "out-of-it" his vocals often sound, or is that part of the attraction? I guess I mean his enunciation in particular.

I never feel that way about Tim Buckley, for instance, which may or may not have to do with how "out-of-it" they each were when recording.

The slurred vocals? For me, that's a big part of his appeal

I was sort of struck by how different his vocals on One World sounded. Yes they’re still slurred but a lot of the tracks—“Dealer,” “Big Muff”—feature a much gruffer singing style than I’ve heard him use elsewhere.

I’ve always liked Solid Air. Weirdly not loved it. But this instrumental mix of the title track, ahem, goes down easy.

Would add that one of the things that always amazed me about Martyn was how he could sound on one track like he just gargled rocks and on the next bust out the sweetest, most delicate “Over the Hill” vocal you can imagine.

I saw him just before he died doing a "Solid Air in full" thing at the Roundhouse in London. He was carried on stage and launched apathetically into about 45 minutes of corporate blues-rock w/rock-gargling vocals. I recognised one song - Dealer - but the rest was 80s/90s stuff I think. Occasional gruff barking. He then said "Well I suppose we'd better get on with the business of the evening" and delivered the aforementioned sweetest, most delicate “Over the Hill” vocal you can imagine. Entire crowd singing along. Then the rest of the album (out of order, so as not to keep changing guitars) brilliantly, then another half hour of blues/rock crud. A memorable event.

JM invents Doom, did he often crank it up like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE6i_qnoAgo

ooft amazing version

Beautiful, thanks

Yeah, I've been wondering why that version isn't on the expanded One World!

xp Good lord that live "One World" is amazing. He used a similar doom fuzz effect on "Root Love" from Sunday's Child (imo his most underrated album, would be my favorite if not for One World)

I feel like I may have posted that “One World” performance two or three times on this thread already. Not that I’m complaining.

I saw him just before he died doing a "Solid Air in full" thing at the Roundhouse in London. He was carried on stage and launched apathetically into about 45 minutes of corporate blues-rock w/rock-gargling vocals. I recognised one song - Dealer - but the rest was 80s/90s stuff I think. Occasional gruff barking. He then said "Well I suppose we'd better get on with the business of the evening" and delivered the aforementioned sweetest, most delicate “Over the Hill” vocal you can imagine. Entire crowd singing along. Then the rest of the album (out of order, so as not to keep changing guitars) brilliantly, then another half hour of blues/rock crud. A memorable event.