Search - John Martyn :: Sunday's Child

For John Martyn fans, a revelation.

Brady Earnhart | Fredericksburg, VA United States | 03/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to Sunday's Child since the Carter administration, & trying to cover some of the songs for nearly as long. One of my favorites is the brief & aching "Lay It All Down"--inimitably simple, just acoustic guitar & upright bass. I've always liked the production of the whole album but wished more of the music were just that naked. I ordered this 2005 re-release without knowing much about it--I'm kind of a completist & there were some alternate versions of songs I just had to have.



What I didn't even hope was that they & the other bonus tracks would all be just Martyn, singing & playing alone. This is indispensable stuff for anyone who loves his music already--or anyone attracted to gorgeous, sensual, smart, jazzy, posttraditional music in general. Especially fine are "One Day Without You," "You Can Discover," "Spencer the Rover," & the nineteenth-century folk song "Ellie Rhee," all on acoustic guitar.



Someday Sunday's Child & the rest of Martyn's 1970s catalogue will get the attention they deserve (&, I understand, already get in much of the UK). Meanwhile, it's fun to find music this great that still hasn't been turned into a Volkswagen commercial."

Back to the roots...

B. Bowman | Jersey, United States | 06/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Sunday's Child" represented a step back to his folk roots for John Martyn after the radical experimentalism of his previous album "Inside Out". "Sunday's Child" finds Martyn in a content mood. As detailed in the liner notes Martyn was a young father at the time this was recorded and this disc captures that aspect of his life, particularly on tracks like " My Little Girl". Martyn's voice throughout is excellent, and his guitar playing (as usual) is phenomenal. I personally prefer some of his more pensive material from this one, such as the title track, "Lay It All Down", and "Call Me Crazy", which all showcase his acoustic guitar playing and signature slurred vocals, but after repeated listens I began to appreciate the more upbeat material like "One Day Without You" and the almost heavy metal sounding "Root Love". The bonus tracks included on this remastered edition are a worthy addition to the original album, and give the listener an opportunity to hear some of the electric guitar driven songs off the album in an acoustic setting live on the BBC. After purchasing all of Martyn's CD's from the 1970's I am convinced that the man could do no wrong during this period. All of his albums on the Island label are amazing, and "Sunday's Child" is no exception. Word to the wise: if you buy this you may find yourself buying the rest of John Martyn's catalog down the line. Don't smirk...it happened to me."