Search - Moon Martin :: Shots From a Cold Nightmare / Escape From Dominati

Drop Everything You're Doing And Buy This

El Kabong | 10/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ordinarily my listening tastes wander far from simple pop music - but a lot of that has to do with how overproduced, dishonest and spiritually-impoverished pop music has become. "Why can't I turn on my radio and hear something that reminds me of Moon Martin?", I would bleat to the four walls (my friends know enuf to clear out when I'm waxing philosophical about music). The reissue of Martin's back-catalog -in TWOFERS, no less!- is the most encouraging blip on the music oscilloscope in many a...umm, moon. ESPECIALLY these two albums, which are simultaneously the embodiment and high-point of everything that was, is and can again be thrilling and wonderful about simple but beautifully-crafted guitar pop from the American heartland. No ostentation here...just rock and roll stripped down to its bare-bones essentials: rhythm, melody, songwriting, feel, heart, love and loss and growing up; a pretty girl's musical laughter, rain pattering on a shingled roof, the promise of bright sunshine and the echo of betrayal in the darkest night. This is the quintessential sound of American pop here, folks, shaped and guided by the chillingly pure choirboy vocals of a true original who makes it all seem so easy you might miss how near-impossible it is to pull off such perfect three-minute songs, again and again. (It helps that both of these albums begin with indisputable instant-classics: 'Hot Night in Dallas' and 'I Got A Reason'.) It seems like there's no place in the current (cynical and porno-manipulative) musical terrain for music this soulful and sincere- but here's what you can do. You can buy this and pop it into your cd player and sit back and let wave after wave of beatific audio pleasure crash onto the shores of your being. Remember that if you've never heard this guy before, it don't mean diddly whether or not this is a reissue of 20+-year-old records: it'll be brand-new to you. And pretty soon, it'll be YOU switching AM/FM dials impatiently and wondering howcum nobody out there ever sounds like Moon Martin. Moon's third and fourth have likewise been reissued as STREET FEVER/MYSTERY TICKET - while they're not up to the level of SHOTS/ESCAPE, I can guarantee you: if you buy this one, you'll be queueing up for another double-dose of Moon Martin in no time flat. At last, a great American pop-rocker is back on store shelves: don't pass up this golden opportunity to discover him for yourselves."

Moon Martin is a sonic/tone genius.

El Kabong | 04/17/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best power pop I've ever heard. Moon's voice is ethereal, the harmonies are beautiful,the chunky guitars are sexy and driving and there are hooks uber alles. The sonic quality of the recordings is something to behold. One of the coolest "un-sung" guys out there. I saw him live in the San Fernando Valley years ago -- and he was actually even better live."

Outstanding 1978 debut and adequate follow-up

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 10/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John "Moon" Martin's songs are substantially more famous than his recordings: "Bad Case of Lovin' You" produced a top-20 U.S. hit for Robert Palmer, "Cadillac Walk" created a turntable hit for Mink DeVille, Michelle Phillips cherry-picked several songs for her late-70s solo release (titled after Martin's "Victim of Romance"), and Rachel Sweet covered "I've Got a Reason" on her major-label debut. Like many successful songwriters, Martin's own interpretations of his songs never generated the commercial heat of the covers; but unlike many such songwriters, Martin's commercial shortcomings were more a matter of the market's whims than a lack of performing talent.



This 1995 CD pulls together all twenty tracks from Martin's first two albums for Capitol. The debut is a cannily underplayed power-pop production, with Moon's slightly nasal vocals balanced against straight-ahead guitar-led backings. The players included ex-Blondie bassist Gary Valentine and Dwight Twilley's drummer Phil Seymour, and producer Craig Leon (Ramones, Blondie, Richard Hell & The Voidoids) crafted a sound that's somewhat wimpy (in a DIY sense) but ultimately very fetching. The melodicism of Martin's songs has roots in '50s rock 'n' roll, and though he's not a particularly powerful singer, much like Leon's production, his voice ultimately matches the material; even his cover of The Beatles "All I've Got to Do" is quite charming.



The sophomore LP continued in the same direction, but with a few more now-dated New Wave touches. Recorded with his then-band The Ravens, the music doesn't have the tightly-coiled punch of the debut. The songs shine, but only a few really stand out, including the dramatic "I've Got a Reason," the soft-rock "Dreamer," the Chuck Berry styled "Hot House Baby," and the Buddy Holly styled "No Chance." Ultimately, this 2-fer is worth the price just to get the debut album, and the second album is a sweetener, rather than an essential. Shots: 5 stars. Escape: 3-1/2 stars. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]"