Search - John Martyn :: Solid Air

Solid Magnificence

Gavin Wilson | 02/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At a little more than 34 minutes, the original SOLID AIR is a pretty short CD. It's worth spending the couple of extra dollars for this version, not particularly because of the extra track, but for the remastering and the sleevenotes, which are substantial.John Martyn should be much better known in the States than he is, and this album, along with the currently unavailable ONE WORLD, are his masterpieces. Just listen to the title track, the defining piece on this album, for double-bassist Danny Thompson's long sliding notes, for Martyn's slurred vocals wandering in and out of the mix, and for the occasional vibraphone in the background. It's not quite jazz, folk or rock, but it is a wonderful tribute to Martyn's friend Nick Drake, who died 18 months after this LP was originally released. 'Don't Want to Know' should also be mandatory chill-out listening!"

Martyn's masterpiece - remastered

William M. Feagin | Upstate New York, USA | 12/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Martyn was originally signed to Island Records in 1967--at the tender age of 18--as the label's first solo white artist (Steve Winwood had been signed first as a member of the Spencer Davis Group, then as the leader of Traffic), and made his debut with the understated London Conversation album that year, followed by 1968's The Tumbler (which Al Stewart, another young up-and-coming artist of the time, produced), 2 long players with his now-ex-wife Beverley, and his definitive career-beginner, Bless the Weather. Solid Air, then, is his sixth overall release, and if Bless the Weather was where Martyn truly began to map out his stylistic plan, then Solid Air was its first true realisation.



What an album--others have stated that the original is too short, and the addition of the live version of "I'd Rather Be the Devil" to this Y2K remaster helps to flesh it out a bit. I'd certainly agree, but even the original 9-track set, however short it might be, is pretty damned amazing. Martyn's primary effect on this album is Echoplex, as it would be throughout his career, and it is used to greatest effect on his searing version of "I'd Rather Be the Devil." Elsewhere are the jazzy textures of the title cut, "Man in the Station" and "Don't Want to Know."



But it is his solo acoustic take of "May You Never" that was (at least for me) the biggest selling-point of this CD; it was the first John Martyn track I remember hearing, on the third of Island's 40th Anniversary comps, Acoustic Waves 1968-1975, and the simple message of unconditional love and eternal goodwill struck me right to the heart. According to producer John Wood's liner notes, JM had already cut a band version of this track when they were getting ready to deliver the finished master tapes to Island for transferral to acetate, but was uncertain up to the 11th hour as to whether it should be included. Wood was so annoyed by this that he finally told Martyn to just go back into the studio and record the song with just his acoustic guitar and voice and see if that satisfied him. JM laid this track down in one take, and it's absolutely perfect, proving once again that sometimes, simplicity is the best approach. And the original is the best, too--Eric Clapton would cover this song on 461 Ocean Boulevard, but it is John Martyn's version which wins the race. May you never fail to appreciate Solid Air!



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I won't be fancy, but I will be free

emperor nobody | california, USA | 03/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a true top 10 record for me, a desert island disc for the voyage to Saturn I was planning. I disagree with the reviewer saying that the remastering was all jacked up to maximum Noise Wars levels... I looked at the waveforms in Sound Forge (basic mastering software) and it's not as if they eliminated any semblance of headroom here. John Wood (original producer) supervised the remastering process for this one, and he recorded Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" (one of the greatest sounding records of all time IMO) as well as being namechecked in the Fairport autobiographical song "Angel Delight," so you know it was in the right hands the whole way.



If you're reading this getting all steamed because you've never heard John Martyn or this record and you wanna know what the music's like and I'm prattling on about nothing that makes any sense to you, just be advised that for many, many people, this is among the greatest (if not THE greatest) album ever made, by anyone. There's just a point where "masterpiece" doesn't even get into the zip code where records like this live, so anything I might say would just resemble mindless chattering hyperbole to someone to whom JM was a mystery they were only just on the cusp of discovering.



He's gone now but he left us countless songs that will last long after anyone reading this's grandkids are long gone themselves and beyond, and this record is as close to perfection, beginning to end, as any I can think of and I'm not the only one who thinks so. So if you are wondering if it's a good investment to pull the trigger and purchase this album you've never heard called "Solid Air" that everyone's on about, well I am here to verify that all the rumors and hype are more than true in this case, it's amazing to the power of incredible, I'm afraid.



There's really no better endorsement you could give something than that, is there?



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