Thank you for posting this image! I have an LP copy of Grace & Danger that has what appears to be his signature on it, but I've never been able to find another example to confirm. I'm now convinced it's real and I'll give it a spin today in his honour.
JM fan of 40 years standing here, been listening to the 18 cd mega Island boxset right through over the last few days, which I purchased on release back in 2013. Of particular interest was the last cd in the box. The Apprentice unreleased Island mix. Thought that sounded excellent and can’t understand why Island rejected it? Most of the tracks are very good and many better than those on Sapphire and Piece by Piece. Production of it’s time admittedly but maybe better than the eventual Permanent release in 1990? Listening on a good quality hifi system the production on the Island mix is truly excellent. JM was out of the main spotlight for nearly 3 years after the original album rejection although I did see him live and perform to well less than full houses a few times in that period. Anyone else got any thoughts on this particular disc if you’ve got the big boxset? JM still much missed here.
I'm only familiar with "Over The Hill" because the Black Crowes were covering it for a while and I have a nice version they did in 2006. Great song, perhaps I should look into him a bit more!
Massive fan. "Live At Leeds" was my entry point and I am on board for everything up to "G&D" plus "Sapphire" for which I have developed a big soft spot. Lucky enough to see him live for the first time in January 1978 when he played an OGWT gig at the Collegiate Theatre off Euston Road. Have always preferred him in a solo or stripped back context. You can see the back of my head in one of the long shots from the back of the balcony! I seem to have bought pretty much everything officially released in the Island years many times over. Have maybe bought one of each of the rest. Which tells its own story. The move to WEA didn't serve him well and I didn't really get back on board for the comeback years when there was a rush to reclaim him for the Trip Hop generation. Warners' attempt to fashion him into another Winwood / Palmer / Cocker type AOR reclamation act (including the expensive suit jacket with sleeves rolled past the elbows) was completely misguided and I am not convinced the great man ever really got his mojo back. Though there were definitely moments.
I remember seeing John Martyn performing at our school around 1971, before Solid Air was released and he became better known. It was part of a "school tour" around the UK if I remember it correctly. John was brilliant and clearly very talented. As part of the performance, he played a duet with one of the guys in our year that was a budding guitarist and singer. You can imagine his face afterwards and I bet he never forgot it.
That's brilliant. The closest we got to that kind of "glamour" was a lecture from the unspeakably awful Sir Keith Joseph and a visit from Beryl Bainbridge (who to be fair was really inspiring).
Digging it out right now! I remember really not liking the production but that's got to be 20 years ago so will definitely try again.
One of my favorites, discovered him through Nick Drake and have been a fan ever since. Besides Solid Air, which is probably his best known album, he has some really great tracks. If I ever get married again, you can bet this song will be played at some point at the wedding.
I love John Martyn. So sad he is no longer with us. He is one of my main inspirers. And. is a terrific album too. It is right up there with Solid Air, Grace & Danger, etc. It doesn't get enough love.
Yes! I love the man. His work (especially his 1970s run) is untouchable, full of grace, humor, beauty, agony, romance and soul. Very few other musicians come close to achieving what Martyn did with just his voice, guitar and some simple effects. He was equally adept a bandleader. The closest American analogue I can think of is Tim Buckley, but Buckley went out of his way to make his beautiful voice and music sound ugly and dissonant, while Martyn is almost always pleasing to the ears. John was into different bag anyway. I never would have gotten so far into John Martyn's music had it not been for YouTube, which allowed us fans in the States to actually SEE John do his thing live. It's a shame most of his performance DVDs are out of print or only available in Region 2. In the BBC documentary it was gratifying to see that he remained a chipper fellow to the end, despite having half a leg amputated. Here's one of my favorite performances from 1978. I wonder what the joke is that the announcer, Martyn and the audience (but not the viewers) are in on at the beginning?
Yep, there will never be anyone to touch him. I was fortunate to him perform live several times and it was always wonderful. He had such affinity with the audience, the man was born to perform. God, I miss him...
Jamming on this one today. Great to heat John and Danny jamming out. Some great jazzy interludes and transitions between songs. Don't be fooled by the date, they delved back into mostly 70's material and re-explore classic Solid Air and Outside In tracks. You can tell they've been playing together for 20+ years when you hear this. The Kendall Arts Center live disc from the same year is really cool in a different way, but I prefer this one. Bless the Weather > Beverly > Make No Mistake is my favorite section. Danny taking some time to shine here
Glorious Fool is a good album, with questionable production. Well Kept Secret is as close as he ever came to sounding anonymous. But his last few albums were excellent - Church With One Bell and On The Cobbles are certainly worth picking up.
I saw Church With One Bell listed for RSD but have never heard it. I know it’s a covers album though, does he nake the songs his own or stick close to the original arrangements?
With luck this will help out some of those who didn't get the original LP issue. I read shortly after this came out that only 300 copies were pressed. I saw one for sale online for the price of a regular LP and ordered it in from the UK. It was shipped in a thin cardboard envelope as records from the UK often were, and my Post Office bent it into a semicircle to fit into my PO Box! (About 6 x 6 x 14", for those not in the US). Incredibly, it survived and sounds great.
I'm probably preaching to the converted but there are quite a few decent JM live albums available on CD. A few I have collected recently are: The Battle Of Medway July 17 1973 Live At The Bottom Line, New York 1983. The Best Of John Martyn Live '91 The Simmer Dim Live At Leeds 2 CD Deluxe Edition. Some wonderful live performances and, of course, banter. I particularly like The Simmer Dim, recorded in a small hall in Lerwick, Shetland in 1980. John, for once, is upstaged by a crying baby! The Simmer Dim - John Martyn And of course Live At Leeds 2 CD is great, as are all these Island Deluxe Editions, especially those from Sandy Denny and Fairport. The CDs don't cost the earth either, great additions to my JM collection.
Yeah the old One World lp goes for way too much money. Looking forward to getting the 1/2 speed one in June. I wish they would do the same thing for On The Cobbles and And.
