UK

Guitar Folk

01 Jul 1974

Ian Elliott Shircore
Guitar Vol 2 #12

Probably the most decisive influence on developing acoustic guitarists on the folk scene these days is a young Glaswegian who hasn't played the folk circuit himself for many months. But although John Martyn is now established quite firmly as an electric rock player, his style and his unique approach to the acoustic guitar have spawned a whole generation of imitators. It is virtually impossible to spend an evening in any but the most traditionally-oriented clubs without seeing at least one guitarist trying to achieve the rhythmic pungency and explosive dynamics which are the Martyn trademarks. And though John's career has led him away from the clubs, his spirit is as dominant now as that of, say, Bert Jansch or Davy Graham in the late sixties.

Southampton, June 1974

29 Jun 1974
New Musical Express
Frank Dixie

John Martyn/ Southampton

"NICE TO see ya," cried the exuberant John Martyn in between yet another pint of cloudy beer. "To see ya nice," was the spontaneous reply. And indeed it was.
With the preliminaries over John began the task of stimulating the semi-conscious audience. This was achieved successfully with help from nimble-fingered double bass player Danny Thompson, whose musical reflexes suggested he was having multiple orgasms.

Neglected Guitar Hero

01 Jun 1974

Ian Elliott Shircore
Music Scene

John Martyn, the tousled Glaswegian whose fizzing, dynamic playing looks like making him the first really new British guitar hero for years, will be treating America to his talents when he flies out for a major tour in October.

Talking with John Martyn

01 Apr 1974

Andy Childs
ZigZag magazine 41 (Vol 5 #1)

bard bon-viveur bullshitter doper entertainer explorer guitarist hero hobo legend lover minstrel musician pathfinder performer picker pioneer pissartist player poet raconteur rambler rhymer romancer singer songwriter talker thinker tripper troubadour trouper trucker tumbler virtuoso wayfarer - and lots of other things too

John Martyn with Love

16 Feb 1974

Geoff Brown
Melody Maker

TWO comments made in the past by John Martyn, who appears on the Yes bill, have defined his work as well as any lengthy analysis.

Firstly, when talking about 'Head And Heart', a track from Bless The Weather, his third album, John said: "I am somewhere in the balance between them." 1) In other words Martyn aims to nourish both the cerebral and the emotional man.

Music Alive

ILEA TV
1 Jan 1974

John has contributed to Music Alive, a Schools TV programme made by ILEA-TV that ran in 1973 and 1974. It also featured Frank Zappa, Kevin Coyne and Artemis.
ILEA stands for Inner London Education Authority.
No further details available.

Fire & Water

01 Dec 1973

Dave Laing
Let it Rock #15
The elemental, avant-garde John Martyn, by Dave Laing

1967: "So there I was on this barge on the river wearing nothing but denims and a smile..." so runs the sleeve note on London Conversation, the first 'white' album on a thriving reggae label by an eighteen year old folk guitarist and singer.

John Martyn [Music Scene]

01 Dec 1973

Mitchell Paul
Music Scene

John Martyn

Whose music is his life and whose life is a process of learning

"Music makes my heart go, makes me tick. The money doesn't really matter, if it didn't come in I would still go on playing, singing away. I'm just in love with music. That's me."

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