Customer Reviews
A real classic - By: Mr. J. P. Shields, 17 Sep 2008 
This is a great record of undefinable trips into blues & folk with a jazz vibe at times.
Great guitar playing, great singing, great songs & an almost mesmerising laid back atmosphere.
Nothing else I have heard by John Martyn touches this.
I love to hear a record where a musician so clearly says "this is my sound, & it isn't like anyone else"
He shies away from the "hey nonny nonny" of Pentangle etc & produces a genre-defying piece of brilliance which could sit equallyin the folk or blues camps.
This is great music - it just remains for you to buy it immediately at this bargain price.
Desert Island Disc - By: Eoin Jordan, 05 Jan 2008 For some strange reason, when I first heard this album, many years ago, I didn't like it. I knew "May you never" which is not very representative of the rest of the album, but that was all I knew. A few years later I happened to hear "Over The Hill" one night & it blew me away. I went out & bought the album straight away, cursing those foolish young ears that had dismissed this timeless classic. These days hardly a week goes by without me giving this a whirl. From the title track through "I Dont Want To Know", "I'd Rather be the Devil", "Manin the Station" & the previously mentioned tracks, each ones a gem deliveredin a beautifully hypnotic, lazy slur. Buy it or live to regret it.
Lovable rogue - By: John Tree, 06 Oct 2007 I'll never forget the jaw-dropping effect John Martyn had the first time I saw him live. It was at Lancaster University, on his tour promoting the release of Solid Air. Martyn had come from a very British folk tradition which encompassed Pentangle, Fairport Convention, June Tabor, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn...and Nick Drake. Stablemate Drake had committed suicide eighteen months before, & the title track was dedicated to him. Martyn's earliest albums: London Conversation & The Tumbler showed promise, but were unremarkable... the next, Bless The Weather had some great songs...but nothing prepared the world for his next release, the groundbreaking Solid Air.
JM's live persona was very different from the sensitive artist he appeared to be on his albums...jokey & wisecracking...and perpetually flaunting a reefer...but whilst his brash breezy persona was a shock to the system, his music was sublime.
He was joined onstage by the mighty Danny Thompson on double bass, & between interludes of sparky banter, the pair worked their way through the album. They cut unconventional silhouettes on stage, Thompson's hang-dog stance over his upright bass, Martyn slouching on a chair with his guitar. I sat transfixed...the two musicians had an almost telepathic link. They were performing what can only be described as magic on stage. With elements of jazz, folk & psychedelia, the warm, dextrous, sinewy bass lines providing the perfect foil to the mercurial, heavily effected, almost funky, acoustic guitar. Martyn's unique vocal style had a depth & humanity that summoned up the kind of warm, fuzzy emotions that made you want to hug total strangersin the audience.
Martyn was also experimenting with a new box of electronica called an Echoplex. This analogue effects unit was used with long delay settings to allow him to set up complex cross-rhythms with his own guitar...phrases cascading over each other producing a psychedelic (blame the weed) glissando field of sound through which Thompson's nagging liquid bass bobbed & weaved ...mesmerising.
The next day, I rushed out & bought the album, half expecting to be let down, surely the magic they made onstage was mainly due to the adrenaline of playing live...but no...the magic was there alright. It made the hairs on my neck stand up all over again. There are more musicians on the album, Dave Pegg plays bass on some tunes, Dave Mattacks on drums, a number of Island session people...but it is Martyns songs, delivery, & verve on guitar, & Thompson's earthy invention that stays with you .
There really isn't a bad track here...from the blissfully-floating-on-air-in-slow-motion balletics of the title track ... to the pleasing simplicity of May You Never: a classic ode to friendship that never fails to make me well up. Solid Air has got to be one of the most atmospheric, singular, lovable albums ever made. Crammed from beginning to end with classic songs, I really can not recommend it highly enough, especiallyin it's remastered form. The album is Martyn at the height of his powers, & has all the qualities, & then some, of a timeless masterpiece.
One of the best singer songwriter's best album - By: Mr. A. S. T. Bateman, 06 Sep 2007 This album is a sublime masterpiece. All of the songs have such an unbelieveably relaxing effect upon the listener. The mellowness of John Martyn's superb voice coupled with his talent on guitar & the sheer beauty of his songs make listening to this album an unforgettable experience. The album's title track sets the scene with its mellow "smoky corner of a bar" feel & the dreaminess stays with you throughout. Even the faster songs such as "Over The Hill" & "Dreams by the Sea" gently bring you back from your lethargy temporarily before submerging you again with quiet & reflective tracks like "Manin the Station", "Go Down Easy" & the classic "May You Never." The album is the zenith for a singer who is hewn from the same rock as Nick Drake & the earlier Bob Dylan tracks although he is a more tuneful & melodious singer than both of these. His songwriting here at least is as good as any singer songwriter you care to mention & his voice is as pure & crisp as that of Don McLean.
Listening to the album is a richly rewarding experience & whether you are familiar with it already or new to the genius of it's bittersweet melodies, it has never sounded better than it doesin this remastered edition.
Diverse Brilliance - By: R. Kay, 14 Apr 2007 From the lilting, drowsy title track, through the smoky jazz of Go Down Easy, through the mellow West Coast vibe of May You Never (covered by Clapton on Slowhand) to the soulful pop of Man In The Station (revisited by Ian Matthews on his brilliant Stealin' Home albumin 1978), Martyn addresses almost every musical genre with ease & accomplishment. In the hands of a less able musician/songwriter, it could have been a directionless mess but Martyn gathered great musicians around him & wove this seamless blend of glorious music. There's country, soul, pop, jazz, blues & some digestible rockin these 40 minutes. It's perfect for late night listening & equally perfect for bowling along the motorway at 70mph.
Every track has a mesmerizing quality to it. Just think of this: I'd Rather Be The Devil is delivered with a growly blues vocal over a thumping riff. Take away the vocals and, amazingly, the music that remains could be the soundtrack to a Sci-Fi movie. That's how brilliant he was.. & he was only 25.
Few albums are truly essential; let's allow Revolver, Let It Bleed, Ziggy Stardust, The Kick Inside etc as albums that demand attention by simply being so different & assertive. Add Solid Air to the list now.
