Sleevenotes

Live In Concert At The Cambridge Folk Festival

Date: 
1 Dec 2003
Written by: 
David Stubbs

Although he started out as a folkie, the notion of John Martyn playing a folk festival in 1985 borders on the absurd. But this was the Cambridge folk Festival and by 1985, his thoroughly absorbent sound had soaked in jazz, blues, rock and dub reggae, as had the festival itself. Meanwhile, his own singular musical legacy - those trademark slurred, emotionally supersaturated vocals and endlessly reverberating echoplex guitar stylings could only be categorised as Martyn-esque. Still, there's no hint of resentment from an often deliriously enthusiastic Cambridge Folk Festival audience on this July evening here, no cries of "Judas!" as he introduces an electric band whose playing, while virtuoso, is in rich and shiny keeping with Eighties pop/rock sensibilities.

And Live

Date: 
30 Jun 2003
Written by: 
John Hillarby
john martyn

Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Portishead to name but a few, are often credited as the pioneers of Trip-Hop. Trip-Hop is music that is slowed down with dub influences and rounded, sometimes indistinct and slurred vocals that fuse seamlessly with the music. Nothing new for John Martyn fans here, John has been singing in this way and using his voice as another instrument for many years. John's pronunciation is reminiscent of that of an educated palette tasting a fine wine. He doesn't so much sing the words as caress them and roll them around in his mouth before delivering them in his own unique way.

Related to: 

Martyn Lore...

Date: 
4 Nov 2002
Written by: 
John Hillarby
John Martyn and Danny Thompson in conversation with John Hillarby

Of all the musical relationships John Martyn has enjoyed over the years, it is his partnership with ex-Pentangle bass maverick Danny Thomspon -whose bass graces several of One World's standout moments- that he will forver be mist associated with. They have a unique take on each other... here are just a few of their thoughts. 1

Solid Air: Classics Re-visited

Date: 
23 Sep 2002
Written by: 
Joe Adair

Loudon Wainwright III once wrote a humorous song, 'Talking New Bob Dylan', in which he bracketed himself with a number of other would-be Dylans who picked up their acoustic guitar and got wordy back in the late '60s. John Martyn can safely be classed as one of those hopefuls, since he included a cover of El Zim's 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright' on his first album, London Conversation.

Live In Milan 1979

Date: 
27 May 2002
Written by: 
John Hillarby

With an established reputation as a singer-songwriter on the folk circuit in the late 1960s and early 1970s, John Martyn fans could be excused for wondering if they had arrived at the right venue and were listening to the same artiste by the mid 1970s! John was now experimenting with a fuzz box, a volume/ wah wah pedal and the echoplex. He was creating an astonishing wall of vibrantly textured sound that filled theatres to the delight and wonder of music fans.

Related to: 

Live At The Bottom Line, New York 1983

Date: 
19 Nov 2001
Written by: 
John Hillarby

Faced with two different paths, one well travelled and the other leading to uncharted territory, John Martyn always takes the path into the unknown. Renowned as a solo acoustic performer in the 1970s, the 1980s saw John take a new direction. "I decided I was bored with playing solo and I wanted to put a band together. They [Island Records] saw me very much as a solo artist and they felt that my career lay in that direction. And I was at the point where I really just did not want to play solo any more. You know, I was interested in playing with other guys full time."

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