Search - John Martyn :: BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert

Must Have

mark gilbert | Coralville, Iowa USA | 09/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I didn't already own this CD, I'd buy it just for the version of "Over The Rainbow" - John's version is hauntingly beautiful. I don't know of any other albums with this song which makes this a must-have. Hearing John Martyn is always a treat but his live albums are especially intimate. Like Townes Van Zandt, you learn a lot about the man hearing his comments between songs and such. Some of the best songs on this album are the classic love ballad "Head and Heart" ("Love me with your head and heart...Love me like a child"), the hilarious "Big Muff" ("Big Muff, get away with your powder puff. Lord knows you're tryin to kill me."), the traditional classic "Spencer the Rover" ("This tune was composed by Spencer the Rover - as valiant a man as ever left home. And he had been much reduced which caused great confusion. And that was the reason he started to roam.") If you have never heard John, buy the anthology "Sweet Little Mysteries" and when you get your jaw back up off the floor, buy BBC Live."