Track Listing

1. Solid Air
2. Over The Hill
3. Don't Want To Know
4. I'd Rather Be The Devil (Devil Got My Woman)
5. Go Down Easy
6. Dreams By The Sea
7. May You Never
8. The Man In The Station
9. The Easy Blues / Gentle Blues
10. I'd Rather Be The Devil (Devil Got My Woman)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1601 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 41 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Throughout his 30-year-plus career, Scottish musician John Martyn had touched on an eclectic range of sounds and styles. His continuous work in the jazz, blues, folk and rock fields has resulted in some fantastic music though, somehow, Martyn never really got his full props. The title track on Solid Air is a tribute song to his then depressed friend Nick Drake, which immediately lends a sentimental streak to the LP. The rest of the album reveals its charms in a respectful manner, slowly but surely crystallising much of his earlier work into a coherent yet diverse whole. Using his soft, almost whispery vocal style and gifted guitar phrasing as connecting threads throughout the LP, Martyn offers up a sprawling mesh of dark blues, progressive electric guitar, deep, tribal rock and lighter jazz to make what was one of the biggest benchmark albums of his career. --Paul Sullivan

CD Description
He began as a folksy minstrel but seemed drawn to experimental, free form improvisation. Solid Air is where John Martyn's love affair with effects and echoplex became serious. Thetitle track, dedicated to his close friend Nick Drake, became a eulogy, while the breezy "Over The Hill"--one of the greatest songs ever written about a train journey--is a feathery delight. "May You Never" and "Don't Want To Know" continued the simple, stoned ballad approach, although it is his interpretation of Skip James' "I'd Rather Be The Devil," totally reshaped with hypnotic shifts, tidal echoes, and a slurred growl, which broods over the whole album. A record that remains Martyn's youthful zenith.

Customer Reviews

Almost perfect
Solid Air is over thirty years old. I've heard a lot of music since, but it still sounds almost perfect. As it is an unlikely fusion of folk and free-form jazz, it must be something special to have been a success in the first place. There are beautifully crafted songs married to exquisite musicianship and Martyn's smoky delivery and ground-breaking guitar work. This experimentation leads to a constant tension that suffuses the album. The mood swings from dark and brooding to loving and hopeful. But more than anything else about the album is the magic of having the right people in the right place at the right time to make something that cannot be beaten. This is very possibly the greatest album ever recorded. Sit down with a glass of wine, switch off the phone and let it all wash over you.

How did I miss this for so long.
I am a convert to John Martyn as a result of seeing the recent documentary aired on BBC2. This album is simply superb, the music is well produced, the performances are excellent, and the songs are simply beautiful. This is also highly original; its quite unlike anything else in my music collection; highly recommended.

simply outstanding
from first hearing this majestic album at an old friends house on a late saturday night i have been truly knocked out by its beauty, the album starts off with solid air, a pure smooth, laid back "smoking" tune and gets you in the mood for whats to come, the chill out feel is defintly in the air, you can even smell the peat roasting in the fire. this album is for those who truly understand and appreciate a fantastic album. this should go down as one of the best albums of all time. this album will truly knock you out, even if you have never heard of john martyn before buy this album and it will change your life!