John Martyn - Solid Air

Released - February 1973

Genre - Folk

Producer - John Martyn & John Wood

Selected Personnel - John Martyn (Vocals/Guitar/Synthesiser); Richard Thompson (Guitar/Violin/Autoharp/Mandolin); Simon Micol (Mandolin/Violin/Autoharp); Sue Draheim (Violin); Tony Coe (Saxophone); John "Rabbit" Bundrick (Piano/Organ/Clavinet); Danny Thompson (Acoustic Bass); Dave Pegg (Bass); Dave Mattacks (Drums)

Standout Track - Don't Want To Know

As I explained on my review of Bless The Weather, John Martyn has become a fairly recent obsession of mine and, thanks to the concentration of most of his best work in the early 70s, it means there'll be a few posts about his work in a row here. Mind you, despite the obvious loveliness of Bless The Weather, if Martyn had continued recording albums exactly like it for his entire life he would probably ultimately wind up being an artist I found enjoyable, but hardly essential. Solid Air was the first of his albums I heard back in early January, and thanks to all of its idiosyncrasies, its level of comfort in such a diverse range of musical styles, I was immediately struck by an artist who would obviously be someone who would fascinate me. Offhand, I honestly can't remember hearing an artist who grabbed me so immediately as I was when I first heard the opening bars of this seminal album's title track. I'm undecided as to whether this is my absolute favourite of the handful of Martyn's records I've heard (1977's One World is spectacular as well, and the decision would be a tough one), but from what I've heard it's certainly one of his crowning achievements, and one of the pinnacles of British folk.

Of course, to label this simply as "folk music" is diminutive - in working on it, Martyn would incorporate the sounds and styles of jazz music almost as centrally as he drew on folk music, and it's in this richness and versatility that the album really excels. There were signs of what was to come already on Bless The Weather - songs like "Glistening Glyndebourne" showed signs of Martyn's free-form improvisations that he would further indulge on later work, and songs like "Head And Heart" showed an increasing jazziness, while the inclusion of jazz bassist Danny Thompson (who would continue to be one of his major collaborators up until Martyn's death in 2009) further pushed things in that direction. Perhaps sensing how this direction seemed to revitalise his music, Martyn resolved to explore that territory further on his next record, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Perhaps one of the most curious innovations of Solid Air is the total reinvention Martyn imposed on his own voice. On Bless The Weather he sounded in fine voice, but not much unlike any number of British folk singers. Here, from out of nowhere, he sings in a semi-slurred, rich drawl that veers from silky, perfumed over-enunciation to raw, ragged and impassioned mumbling. It would become a trademark of all of Martyn's most popular work, and one that seems to split fans down the middle as to whether they love it or hate it, but personally, I can't imagine a way such smokey, late-night jazzy music could be sung differently, certainly without sacrificing a lot of its devastating effect. Martyn also diversified his musical pallette considerably, going from a principally acoustic guitar and bass-driven affair to something that incorporated much more electric guitar as well as more dense percussion, saxophones, electric keyboards and all sorts that rendered things more exotic and exciting to the ear than the usual folk album. The mood is almost uniformly one of late-night reflection, whether that be via the energetic mood of "I'd Rather Be The Devil" or the mournful tones of "The Man In The Station."

The title track, with its moody saxophone, mesmerising keyboards and slow, bluesy tone, is a piece of reflective majesty, made all the more tragic by the ultimate fate of its subject. It was Martyn's tribute to his friend and label-mate Nick Drake, who at this stage had released his final album in Pink Moon and was struggling with severe depression. The lyrics observe Drake's suffering with his condition, and try to pledge some sort of affinity and support for him - "I know you, I love you and I can be your friend, I can follow you anywhere, even through solid air." It's a beautifully touching statement of support for a friend struggling through difficulties, and that the friend in question should die from an overdose of antidepressants a year later renders it all the more heartbreaking. Given how unrecognised and under-appreciated Drake's work was at the time of release, it's perhaps the ultimate tribute to the man ever recorded. By contrast, "Over The Hill" is a beautifully jubilant and upbeat folk song that leads into the album's high point, the sensationally moody and cool "Don't Want To Know," with its slow, shuffling conga percussion and meditative tone that builds to a more rousing and ecstatic climax. Quite simply one of the finest anthems about love (as opposed to a simple love song) I've heard in an age.

It's followed by a cover of Skip James's "I'd Rather Be The Devil," which is perhaps slightly over-long but gives plenty of opportunity for a percussion-based jam around the framework of the song, as well as a platform for further Echoplex-based experimentation with guitar sounds and textures. Not one of the album's high-points, but still enormously entertaining. "Go Down Easy" is a fairly simple jazz-inflected folk song that's a great showcase for Danny Thompson's atmospheric bass playing, and "Dreams By The Sea" comes close to being a straight-up rocker, anchored by Martyn's distorted electric guitar riff. "May You Never," despite being far from one of the truly great songs on offer here, went on to become a much-covered Martyn standard. It's a prettily simple folk song with a catchy and memorable melody, but why it went on to become the song from this record with the longest shelf-life is a mystery considering the brilliance of what surrounded it. "Brilliance" is a word that applies perfectly to the desperately beautiful "The Man In The Station," blessed with one of the most effortlessly lovely, mournful and wonderful tunes and guitar parts Martyn would ever pen, decorated even further by the gentle keyboard part, while Martyn's soft vocal performance is pitch-perfect. A paean to the desperation to return home to a loved one, and the resentment felt when forced to be apart from the ones you love, it's easily the most emotionally powerful song on the record along with the title track. Things finish up in a more light-hearted vein with "The Easy Blues," a simple traditional blues number about a jelly roll baker which, much like the cover of "Singin' In The Rain" on Bless The Weather, wraps things up in a gloriously feelgood mood (it would also be memorably covered by Joe Bonamassa on his album Sloe Gin in 2007).

For some, Solid Air would be the pinnacle of all Martyn's musical achievements. For me, One World matches its brilliance, but it's certainly true that this is representative of all the genius Martyn possessed at his peak, and easily serves as one of the finest British folk albums of all time. Its musical beauty and perfection, paired with its ability to blend with jazz styles and traditions as well, made it just as irresistible to the critics and the general public at the time, and Martyn was soon enshrined as one of the very best British singer/songwriters of the time. Not one to be rendered lazy or apathetic by success, Martyn would respond not by simply trying to replicate the achievements of that album, but rather took the template it laid out and continued pushing his music into uncharted territory in order to continue challenging himself as an artist. The result would be an album perhaps less consistently brilliant but just as fascinating, called Inside Out. More on that momentarily...

Track Listing:

All songs written by John Martyn except where noted.

1. Solid Air

2. Over The Hill

3. Don't Want To Know

4. I'd Rather Be The Devil (Skip James)

5. Go Down Easy

6. Dreams By The Sea

7. May You Never

8. The Man In The Station

9. The Easy Blues