Has there been a thread about John Martyn?

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...

get One World, Solid Air, and Bless the Weather right now!

yeah, those and live at leeds. the ones with his wife are solid too, though more on the straight-up folk tip.

Stormbringer

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FNSAHUM/ref=dm_ty_trk

Amazon selling the 17 disc as mp3download, £7.49 (at time of this message)

https://play.google.com/store/music/album/John_Martyn_The_Island_Years?id=Bqmgjpwbxsxje7d2hhlei6jigkq

or even £1.29

yow, good deal, gotta be a mistake, right? doesn't seem to be available in the usa :(
listened to sunday's child last week -- great record, if a bit all over the place. found myself wondering: "who the hell does this guy think he is?!"

The only thing about this is that there's no 'ebook' or suchlike, and all the MP3s seem to have the same Album Title for the idb tags.

Still, that's sort-outable..

Weirdly, 'Couldn't Love You More' has been popping up on various m8s fb/twitter feeds, incredible song...just took a punt on the Glorious Fool LP (£3 from a fruit/veg/record shop in New Cross)...might take a bit of getting into this...

yow, good deal, gotta be a mistake, right? doesn't seem to be available in the usa :(
listened to sunday's child last week -- great record, if a bit all over the place. found myself wondering: "who the hell does this guy think he is?!"

― tylerw, Monday, October 7, 2013 4:00 PM (2 days ago)

Both links now dead so must have been a mistake.

I bought the Amazon one as it automatically added to my Cloud Player on Monday and told some friends about it but both Google Play and Amazon are no longer selling the MP3s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVjEERe1UqU

^ crazy scenes on Hastings beach with Big John

middle of the day and the whole town looks pissed

listening to 1987's piece by piece for the first time, thought i was in for an ugly horror show after the first track but some of it is very nice. even if at points it does sound like john has wandered in on some bloke playing around with a dx7 and decided to sing along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A903GGnzgyw

I still haven't warmed to this guy at all. Glorious Fool still sounds wispy.

his best work is with phil collins tbh

Echoplex-era FTW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wJevkA7_O4

one or two songs on the new Slowdive really sound like him

You need to listen to "One World", Alfred

omg what alfred

not even "small hours"?

One World is revelatory

Gonna give this revelatory album a spin in a few minutes. Stay tuned!

his 70s solo albums are really where it's at -- Bless the Weather - Solid Air - Inside Out - Sunday's Child - One World. If those don't do it for ya, he's probably not for you.

Solid Air and One World are holy. Can't imagine anyone not falling for the former in particular.
"Small Hours" is one his most gorgeous moments but may I dare saying that Robert Smith's cover of a few years back might even top it.

The small bit of vocals in small hours is the best thing ever

he is really great

bless the weather has the field beat for worst cover/best album
maybe some manuel gottsching/ashra competition but it's a contender at least

although i do not like sugar lump

there is probably a thread for that

thread for not liking sugar lump

i learned last night that my friend's dad, an older musician, knew martyn, anne briggs and bert jansch o_O

Glorious Fool still sounds wispy.

― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 June 2017

Is this the first John Martyn album you've tried? Its an odd choice.

I mostly love 'Bless the Weather', it was the first JM album that clicked with me but, yeah, "Sugar Lump" and the artwork are not so great.

I sympathise with Alfred. On paper, Martyn is exactly my sort of thing, but he just hasn't clicked with me. I own Solid Air and Stormbringer

xxpost Jon, please grill your friend's father (for info, not for lunch)! Haven't really followed him, but agree that Solid Air and One World should convert the infidels if anything will. Also maybe Road To Ruin, with aforementioned wife Beverly---who also sounds good on John Renbourn's early 60s gypsy stash, Attic Tapes, finally out a couple years ago, and I carried on about it on the post-Fahey thread---ditto about the very recent album Renbourn's ancient colleague Wizz Jones did with fellow vet Pete Berryman and son Simeon Jones. The most specific Martyn connection I'm aware of on that 'un is a song inspired by the (or a) night Jones and and JM found themselves in deep freezing water.

the tune "give us a ring" is my favorite john & bev track. the rest are kind of dull imo! i love that song though.

i'm a pretty big fan of "John the Baptist" off of Stormbringer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_nbrW5cMU

Is this the first John Martyn album you've tried? Its an odd choice.

― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B)

I own Inside Out and Well Kept Secret.

It's a sweet little mystery

hello! where exactly should one begin with john martyn?

I started with "Road To Ruin" then went to "One World" and then I was hooked forever. Love him.

I like Bless the Weather, Solid Air, Inside Out, Live At Leeds, One World and the solo with Echoplex Battle of Medway. That was recorded in 73 I think and put out about 10 years back.

Don't like his treatment of Beverly.