Where the f*ck is the John Martyn thread?

[at least 100 dead]

Fret not, 'tis right here.

[spacefreak]

Rather a Well Kept Secret on The Road to Ruin.

[JJ88]

Saw him live in 2008, as it turned out only a matter of weeks before he died (not the very last show he played, but not far off). He was obviously physically in a bad way but it didn't particularly affect his performance. This was a tour of the 'Grace And Danger' album- I remember him tearing into 'Jelly Roll' after playing that album in full, almost out of sheer relief given the bleak mood of the 'Grace...' material.

My favourite stuff of his is predictable- 'Solid Air', 'Inside Out', 'One World' and 'Grace And Danger'. He went into really deep, very jazz-influenced waters on things like 'Outside In', and there's also the tranquil beauty of things like 'Small Hours'.

[soundsweird]

Huge fan here, since I first heard Solid Air in 1974. The later stuff with the AOR/funk/soul influence, not so much. I guess the first 2 albums were recorded in mono, unfortunately. Incidentally, I have two CD versions of Live at Leeds, and they are completely different performances. The 2CD deluxe edition on Island is apparently the real deal (highly recommended), while the earlier single-disc album on Blueprint is the same songs, but from a different concert entirely (still good). I have never heard the CD version on Recall/Snapper. Anybody care to comment on that release? I also have some other good live CD's as well, and would recommend the Island remasters of his studio albums, which have many nice bonus tracks. The 2CD deluxe Solid Air has a complete album of alternate takes and other good stuff, likewise the 2CD One World. I haven't bought any of the box sets, due to limited finances and perceived overkill.

[Scrotum Scissor]

He's one of my fave artists in the whole world. When there were less-than-so makings from his head & heart, they were still mostly pretty decent - but when they were ace it was sheer brilliance beyond any reproach whatsoever. Bless the Weather, Solid Air, One World and Grace & Danger remain my most played Martyn records.

And would you believe I've actually NEVER come to hear that Live at Leeds?

[Reid]

Lots 'o good stuff on the BBC DVD. I got into the music through the 2 CD compilation Patterns In The Rain, which features studio tracks from some of the 80s & 90s albums, and some excellent live renditions of Solid Air, Sunday's Child, and I Don't Want To Know. And the live track with David Gilmour. Forget the title. A nice collection for 3 dollars & change.

[at least 100 dead]

He's one of my fave artists in the whole world. When there were less-than-so makings from his head & heart, they were still mostly pretty decent - but when they were ace it was sheer brilliance beyond any reproach whatsoever. Bless the Weather, Solid Air, One World and Grace & Danger remain my most played Martyn records.

And would you believe I've actually NEVER come to hear that Live at Leeds?

I worship all those records you mentioned, but Professor – you NEED Live at Leeds! I mean the original single CD edition – the version of Outside in on that one is to die for. Seriously.

EDIT: It's OOP, but you can still get it here for example.

[Scrotum Scissor]

And the live track with David Gilmour. Forget the title.

"One World". There's a story that he was so drunk-vs-coked out on that recording that his comment on a later occasion - when showed the film clip - was something akin to "[...] I can't remember it so I doubt if that's me...".

[Reid]

Anybody have his early records, London Conversation, etc... I know these don't represent his mature songwriting style, but I'd like to get them just for the guitar playing.

[JJ88]

Of the 80s albums (at least the ones I've heard), I'm quite partial to 'Piece By Piece'. The hard-rock 'Night Line' and 'John Wayne' are classic, whilst the pop-soul songs, whilst heavy on 80s trimmings, suits him quite well. 'Lonely Love' for example could have been a hit, and the title track written by his keyboard player (also worked with Fish) Foss Paterson is nice.

He did get some pretty decent sales on those 80s albums- few of his more acclaimed 70s albums ever troubled the charts, 'And' from the mid 90s also charted reasonably well.

[Reid]

Cooltide is a good one from the 80s.

[JJ88]

I have never heard the CD version on Recall/Snapper. Anybody care to comment on that release?

This is the one we have, don't remember anything specific though. Certainly the 2nd disc is all later stuff that has no place on there. I think on the 1st disc the original album is as it was, with some extra stuff added after it. The confusion over the recordings seem to be relating to the original album only being partially recorded in Leeds, apparently!

Cooltide is a good one from the 80s.

He opened with the title track on the gig I saw. He was on a small label then though- I think that was on Permanent Records, as were those albums of remakes that make up all the cheapo compilations out there.

By the time of 'And' he was on Go Discs who were a notable label in the mid 90s.

[Scrotum Scissor]

He did get some pretty decent sales on those 80s albums- few of his more acclaimed 70s albums ever troubled the charts, 'And' from the mid 90s also charted reasonably well.

Much due to his status in places like Germany, Spain and the Benelux, if I'm not mistaken; although a major cult name and favourite with the critics in the UK, he was never a big seller there.

Just wait until they make the movie, and the world will start boiling with hipsters who of course "dug him way before he was well known". But oh boy, that''ll be some biopic... This guy's life was nothing if not dramatic - and at times tragic as well.

[at least 100 dead]

There now follow some incredibly boring (but necessary) facts for the JM enthusiast regarding the Live at Leeds CD:

The first CD issue of the original LP was issued in 1991 by Hypertension Music ‎(HYCD 200 114), some German label. IMO, this is THE classic JM live record and no self-respecting JM fan should be without it. While the main attraction is unquestionably the side-long version of 'Outside In', the whole album has a very mesmerizing, hazy mid-summer atmosphere. The perfect soundtrack for getting stoned with your girl and taking a row-boat out on the lakeside park lake, willows in the breeze etc.

The tracklist is:
1. Outside in (18:57)
2. Solid Air (7:13)
3. Make No Mistake (5:05)
4. Bless the Weather (4:45)
5. The Man in the Station (2:35)
6. I'd Rather Be the Devil (8:40)

This edition is out of print (most likely due to Steve F’s evil scheming!). Apparently it was reissued in 1998 by One World ‎(OW107CD) with five bonus tracks, but I’ve never heard it & don’t know if it’s in print. Doubt it.

Then there’s the currently available Deluxe 2CD Edition, released in 2010 by Universal Island (532 519-7). As far as I can tell, only two songs of the original CD are featured on the new 2CD edition, namely 'Make No Mistake' and 'Bless the Weather'. The tracklist is:

CD1
1. May You Never
2. Outside In (12:55)
3. Spencer the Rover
4. Make No Mistake (5:00)
5. Bless the Weather (4:42)
6. My Baby Girl
7. You Can Discover
8. Solid Air (6:10)
CD2
1. I’d Rather Be the Devil (11:22)
2. So Much in Love With You
3. Clutches
4. Mailman
5. May You Never (Rehearsal)
6. The Message (Rehearsal)
7. Outside In (Rehearsal) (13:18)
8. The Man in the Station (Rehearsal) (3:48)
9. Head and Heart (Rehearsal)
10. Clutches (Rehearsal)

This is the complete gig recorded at Leeds University on February 13, 1975. Cool? Fuck no!

As you can extrapolate from the track lengths, 'Outside In', `Solid Air' and `I’d Rather Be the Devil' are different from the original single CD edition. Why? According to the liner notes, they were not recorded at Leeds and thus not included. Worse still, this putatively improved version has none of the charms of the original Live at Leeds if you axe me.

Blah blah blah

Still awake?

To cut a long story short: Track down the single CD edition if you can.

[at least 100 dead]

Cooltide is a good one from the 80s.

It's from '91 I think, but yes - good, especially the title track.

[at least 100 dead]

This guy's life was nothing if not dramatic - and at times tragic as well.

The guy was no saint, if Beverley is to be believed. He could be very kind, incredibly witty and generous but also flew off the handle at times, probably due to drug usage. A friend of mine once met him backstage after a gig and said he was extremely funny and very down to earth.

[at least 100 dead]

Rather a Well Kept Secret on The Road to Ruin.

I see what you did there!

[Scrotum Scissor]

The guy was no saint, if Beverley is to be believed. He could be very kind, incredibly witty and generous but also flew off the handle at times, probably due to drug usage.

According to most of what I've read, it was actually the alcohol that truly brought him down. He became more or less addicted to it on an unusually early stage (he was drinking heavily already by the time he recorded Bless the Weather), and it stuck with him long after he'd quit using heavy drugs. In addition, he was a provocateur by nature and character - something which isn't compatible with nerving out on overt drink, thus the (sometimes) frequent barfights and arrests. Unlike Clapton, he never let the smack get to his heart (although warbling in it for a short time in the mid-70s), but it's been rumoured that his ability to keep that drug off his heart contributed to Clapton's belief that somehow extreme consumption of liquor would "cure" his own heroin addiction. Of course, drinking most days for years on end and keeping patterns still by way of cocaine or codeine isn't too much healthier for a bodily system in the longest run.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I know these don't represent his mature songwriting style, but I'd like to get them just for the guitar playing.

Which was always stupendous. His playing still reminds me of a cross between the respective styles of Bert Jansch and Nick Drake - truly creative and just plain different.

[Halmyre]

I first saw him on the BBC doing the acoustic and echoplex thing and thought it was amazing.

A man who not only burned the candle at both ends but applied a blowtorch to the middle.

[JJ88]

About ten years ago BBC4 did a documentary on his career, it was repeated when he died- it's probably online. The most perceptive commentary I remember coming from Ralph McTell, who spoke of the great disparity between the domestic horror stories he was hearing about John (McTell's brother managed him at the time), and the beauty of his output. 'Grace And Danger', indeed.

[Halmyre]

There's a story I heard told about Humphrey Bogart, about what a nice guy he was until he'd had a few drinks, and then he started being Humphrey Bogart. I think Martyn was the same (see also: John Bonham). He also attracted dodgy hangers-on of the hard-man persuasion, and that only made him worse.

[Oreb]

IMO his output is the definition of "patchy", but no one who can di things like "Spencer the Rover", "Don't Want to Know", "Go Down Easy", "The Message" and "small Hours" can be overlooked.

[bob_32_116]

I only have "The Road to Ruin" (with sister Beverley), and that's on cassette, recorded from someone's vinyl copy.

4 or 5 excellent tracks, the others a bit so-so. I prefer the songs where he shows that trademark guitar style to when he does more or less straight pop, though the song "Give us a Ring" is not bad.

[Steve F.]

There is an amazing story told by Danny Thompson about how crazed he would get, especially on the road. Too long to type on the iPad. Sorry.