With the recent death of John Martyn OBE announced at the age of 60, I thought I'd review his most popular and enduring album, Solid Air, regarded by many fans as his masterpiece.
A Brief Background
John Martyn was born in 1948 in Surrey to Scottish parents who moved back to Glasgow, when he was still a toddler..His parents soon split up and he continued to live with his father and took up the guitar at 15. He made rapid progress on the instrument developing a finger-picking style. Two years later he left home at 17, heading back to the South East, where he began to perform on the British folk circuit, eventually gaining a residency at Les Cousins, London's most prestigious folk club. Whilst still a teenager he was spotted by Chris Blackwell the founder of Island Records, who signed him up in 1967, when he cut his first album, London Conversations.. While playing the folk circuit, John met his future wife, Beverley Kutner, also a folk singer, who was better known than him at the time. They performed and recorded together making 2 albums, as a duo. But after 1970, John resumed his solo career, with his wife (now pregnant) retiring from the folk scene.
In 1971 he made his first breakthrough outside of the folk circuit with the excellent Bless The Weather (BTW) album. Highly acclaimed by music critics and fans alike it was his first album to be released in the US. It showed a change of style with John combining folk with a jazz influence. It also featured the Echoplex, a gadget that enabled John to multilayer his guitar sound which he also began to use on live gigs. U2's The Edge is probably the most famous exponent of the echoplex sound, but it was John Martyn who pioneered the idea, but was never totally dependent on it, using it only when a song was enhanced by it.
Solid Air, John Martyn's next release in 1973 became his most famous and highly regarded work. Although at the time it appeared only in the lower end of the charts it became his best seller over the years. Although not quite my favourite John Martyn album, there's no doubting its appeal. Like BTW before it there is a notable jazz feel as well as folk influence with added saxophone, bass, vibes and drums augmenting the sound on some tracks. John's vocal style was the most noticeable change here, having previously sung in a clear sweet baritone, his voice now had acquired a definite rasp, as well as him slurring his lyrics. That style was to become a permanent feature.
Solid Air, the beautifully jazzy opening title track draws you right in with soft vibes playing in the background and Danny Thompson's pronounced double bass. But it's Martyn's new-style vocals and lyrics which provide the magic here, making the track so atmospheric Thompson was first featured on BTW and frequently accompanied Martyn on gigs throughout the 70s, and the two became great mates.
Over The Hill is a contemporary self-penned folksong featuring Martyn on guitar with accompaniment on mandolin. Martyn also reverts back to his old smoother style of singing. Pleasant and bouncy track to listen to with a slight bluegrass feel to it.
I Don't Want To Know (about evil). This is a bluesy number that starts out quietly like the first track does, but then gains in momentum and power as it progresses. Another very strong track with Martyn slurring his words. This could have easily been a hit single from the album had it been released. It certainly gets your toes tapping.
I'd Rather Be The Devil is the 'weird' track on this album, being a jazz-blues fusion number. It's the only song that is not a JM composition. it features John on echoplex and there are other heavily distorted and strange electronic sounds coming from John's guitar. It starts with 3 verses of rasping vocals from John before becoming an electronic jam. With not a hint of 'folk' in here it demonstrates that Martyn was moving away from his roots into more experimental territory. I've never been too sure about this track but most of Martyn's fans swear by it. It's certainly quite jazzy with Danny Thompson busily thumping away on bass in the background. But for me it's a little self-indulgent.
Go Down Easy starts the second half of the album with a quiet track.. John's back to acoustic guitar and Thompson is the other musician. A sensual song about making love (what else?), but an effective one. The ending of the song is unorthodox, but typical John Martyn.
Dreams By The Sea. John had set up home in Hastings by this time, so I guess this had some bearing on the title. Quite a bluesy, pop-like, up-tempo number with a breathy sax being blown in the background. Again a distinctive song with another unorthodox ending.
May You Never. Definitely John's most famous song, and the one covered by quite a few other artists.This is the best and original version, and many fans regard this as his theme song. Just John on his own, finger-picking his guitar, it's easy to listen to and very catchy, It's a superb song if nothing else, but he's written others that can hold a candle to this.
The Next Train Home. This is probably the weakest link here and the only track I can take or leave. It's basically a pop song with a bossa nova feel to it. It's not a bad song, but. It just doesn't quite match up to the standard set by most of the other tracks.
The Easy Blues.This is the last track. It features a fast fiinger-picking blues guitar backing Martyn's raspy vocals, and this song takes up most of the track. It is then split into a different tune and slower tempo still under the same title, but with the customary track gap in between.. Strange indeed, but then nothing is predictable with John Martyn. I'm not sure that he needed to add the second bit on.
Q magazine voted this album the 67th greatest British album of all time. Thirty five years on and John Martyn has now departed, but Solid Air I suspect will endure for many more years than that.
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Throughout his 30-year-plus career, Scottish musician John Martyn had touched on an ... more
eclectic range of sounds and styles. His continuous work in the jazz, blues, folk and rock fields has resulted in some fantastic music though, somehow, Martyn never rea...
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Throughout his 30-year-plus career, Scottish musician John Martyn had touched on an ... more
eclectic range of sounds and styles. His continuous work in the jazz, blues, folk and rock fields has resulted in some fantastic music though, somehow, Martyn never rea...
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