Heaven And Earth - Hole in the Rain LSM 4010
John
Martyn
Heaven And Earth Absolute
* * *
John
Martyn
Heaven And Earth Absolute
* * *
The wholly merited outpouring of grief in the music community when John Martyn died of pneumonia in January 2009 spoke volumes about the man's ability to touch hearts.
John Martyn
Heaven And Earth
Hole in the Rain
* * *
Absolute
Completed just prior to his passing in January 2009.
Our critics review the best and worst of this week's new releases...
POP
John Martyn: Heaven And Earth
Absolute Recordings, £11.99 ***
On Record
The week's essential new releases
Absolute
Heaven And Earth
Hole In The Rain,
out tomorrow
* * * * *
The current, Brits-endorsed interpretation of folk music, in which well-heeled young people dress as canal workers and sing about imagined old times, doesn't really legislate for someone like John Martyn.
I've spent the last week feasting on John Martyn via Spotify. He was a gap in my musical education. He turns out, as a large portion of you reading already well know, to be a rich, raw talent. I knew his rep but had a misguided notion he was another blueprint for whiny contemporary singer-songwriters. All that reveals is my own ignorance.
* * * * *
John Martyn's valedictory recordings have a suitably weary presence that makes even such legendary laidback soporificos as J J Cale and Leonard Cohen seem positively sprightly by comparison.