Concert review

Glastonbury Fair, 23 Jun 1979

25 Jun 1979
Unknown
Unknown

Martyn did his usual echo loop trip to great effect and to high applause, and I much preferred him to the super-crowd we wound up with, which consisted of Gabriel plus Alex Harvey, Tom Robinson and Nona Hendryx all jamming, taking it in turn to do each other's numbers (quite a few of Robinson's as I remember) and being hailed as long-lost heroes.

Melbourne, Dallas Brooks Hall, 19 Jul 1978

19 Jul 1978
The Age
Mark Daly

His fingers didn't leave his hands

Interview

John Martyn grits his teeth, rocks back on his chair and rolls his guitar across his knee as a wave of sustained notes surges through Dallas Brooks Hall. The scene is Wednesday night's concert. He is playing Inside Out [sic], a stunning combination of virtuosity on amplified acoustic guitar involving the use of Echoplex, wah-wah pedal, stereo projection and lyricism. The concert, a blend of folk, rock and Caribbean influences, was a success.

Canberra, Canberra Theatre, 13 Jul 1978

15 Jul 1978
Canberra Times
Bronwyn Watson

Martyn stylish but low-key

All the ingredients were there -an extremely talented guitarist and a dedicated audience- but the atmosphere was flat at the John Martyn concert on Thursday night. Martyn is a British guitarist who cannot be classified as a pure folk musician but is an interesting mixture of folk, blues and electrical effects.

London, Rainbow Theatre, 21 Nov 1977

3 Dec 1977
New Musical Express
Steve Clarke

John Martyn
RAINBOW

PRESUMABLY, John Martyn, who's been around so long even his most devoted followers must take him for granted, doesn't give a monkey's toss about Making It In A Big Way, but there's still no excuses for the performer's lackadaisical attitude at the Rainbow last Monday.1
That the gig was still enjoyable, if hardly stimulating and occasionally dull (when Martyn, augmented by electric back-up, failed to extract any inspiration from his musicians on several pieces of rifferama), is a measure of Martyn's talent rather than his personality.

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