Product 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.

Track Listing

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27795 in Music
• Released on: 1993-12-31
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!
John Martyn creates a wonderful, cosy musical atmosphere on thsi alum, surely one of his best ever. It's as though he and the band were caressing his instruments rather than playing them: the result is a laid-back, mellow sound that is full of sweet melodies, even on the "angrier" tracks such as "I'd rather be the devil".

"Over the Hill", "Go Down Easy" and "May you never" are timeless classics.

Brilliant album!

Simply Wonderful
John Martyn has never managed to achieve widespread popularity. In a career spanning decades he has however, produced some works of breathtaking beauty and very personal emotion. If there is space for only one JM record in your collection, this should be it. Showing both the experimental, improvisational side of his output(see I'd rather be the Devil), and really concise little gems (Over the Hill and May you never), this album is full of great songs from beginning to end. There really isn't a bad song on it. The musicianship is top quality throughout and although it was a product of it's time, and therefore very mellow in a stoned kind of way, this adds to it's charm. You can almost feel the musicians firing off of each other, especially John and Danny Thompson (double bass). The perfect album by an artist that is often overlooked.

Am I slow-witted or what?
I've been listening to Solid Air for the last fifteen years or so, and have only just caught up with the Nick Drake connection... Solid Air is a five star album, a must have for anyone's collection. 'Solid Air' and 'May You Never' and 'Dont Want To Know' ... near incomparable virtuoso productions; strong bass, fine lead, superb voice, lyric, melody ... a league of his own.