Article: The Best Version Of… John Martyn's Solid Air

[Josh Mound]

View full article

[The Computer Audiophile]

It's going to take others a little while to comment because this masterpiece is lengthy. In these days of short attention spans and abbreviated everything, I applaud @JoshM for writing in-depth like this and creating a true reference piece of work. This is amazing. 

 

I'm a big fan of John Martyn's work, including Solid Air and other albums such as Grace & Danger, and Live At Leeds (DR 14). 

 

Now, to track down the Island Years box!

[Josh Mound]

51 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

It's going to take others a little while to comment because this masterpiece is lengthy. In these days of short attention spans and abbreviated everything, I applaud @JoshM for writing in-depth like this and creating a true reference piece of work. This is amazing. 

 

I'm a big fan of John Martyn's work, including Solid Air and other albums such as Grace & Danger, and Live At Leeds (DR 14). 

 

Now, to track down the Island Years box!

Thanks, Chris. If you want a new, physical copy of the box, this is the best place I’ve found to get it.

[Mayfair]

 

Thanks for and compliments on your latest article.  I think you hit the review trifecta - I found it magisterial, on point and entertaining.  

 

I’d never heard of this album or the artist before, but I bought the download of the 2000 remaster after reading your review.  It didn’t come with liner notes, but with your commentary, who needs ‘em?

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, Mayfair said:

 

Thanks for and compliments on your latest article.  I think you hit the review trifecta - I found it magisterial, on point and entertaining.  

 

I’d never heard of this album or the artist before, but I bought the download of the 2000 remaster after reading your review.  It didn’t come with liner notes, but with your commentary, who needs ‘em?

Check out his album Grace & Danger as well. Great stuff. 

[AnotherSpin]

I like The Church with One Bell, which is probably not very characteristic of John Martyn, also because it's a covers album.

[The Computer Audiophile]

11 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said:

I like The Church with One Bell, which is probably not very characteristic of John Martyn, also because it's a covers album.

Listening to it now. Thanks!

[Josh Mound]

In addition to "Grace and Danger," I really like "Inside Out" and "One World," too. Really, he has albums throughout his career that are worthy, even if some are very uneven.

[Iving]

Watchable BBC Four documentary "Johnny Too Bad" here: 

 

[Nikhil]

Josh,

 

Terrific recommendation!  I have to confess not having read your full article but that's only because I am listening to the album (via Qobuz) and enjoying every minute of it.  Absolutely brilliant ... right up there with the best of British folk rock.   Will circle back to your article at some point but until then, thank you for a fantastic recommendation.

 

Regards

 

 

.

 

 

[FabMan]

To be honest, I just signed up only to be able to comment on this stunning article. Being a moderate fan of John Martyn‘s music, I find it particularly special every time I got time and chance to listen to it. Your expertise and passion to deliver a profound contribution of this artistsˋ single album really leads me to invest some time to deepen my experiences with his music.

 

Kudos for the time and efforts you put into this, it is really appreciated. I miss more of this masterclass-worthy works to really getting into a particular topic like an absolutely in-depth analysis of an old but rather still relevant artists’ work. For me the article is well balanced between explaining personal circumstances, Zeitgeist and valuation of technical as well as quality implications of different published versions. What a bliss over ‚reviewing’ with a 30-lines compressed print of ‚just another remastering of just another dude‘ - just to have it covered, too, compared to the competition.

 

And by the way, Nothing beats the original pressings - normally.

[Josh Mound]

1 hour ago, FabMan said:

To be honest, I just signed up only to be able to comment on this stunning article. Being a moderate fan of John Martyn‘s music, I find it particularly special every time I got time and chance to listen to it. Your expertise and passion to deliver a profound contribution of this artistsˋ single album really leads me to invest some time to deepen my experiences with his music.

 

Kudos for the time and efforts you put into this, it is really appreciated. I miss more of this masterclass-worthy works to really getting into a particular topic like an absolutely in-depth analysis of an old but rather still relevant artists’ work. For me the article is well balanced between explaining personal circumstances, Zeitgeist and valuation of technical as well as quality implications of different published versions. What a bliss over ‚reviewing’ with a 30-lines compressed print of ‚just another remastering of just another dude‘ - just to have it covered, too, compared to the competition.

 

And by the way, Nothing beats the original pressings - normally.

Thank you so much for the kind words!