Solid Air

John Martyn

album cover

Out of Mists and Haunted Shadows Comes . . .

Not much is terribly "solid" about Solid Air, one of the most inventive (and criminally overlooked) recordings of the early '70s. John Martyn floats through his shadowy originals, singing slurry, slip-sliding melodies like a jazz crooner who's one drink past his limit. He accompanies these with tinkling keyboard asides that sometimes have the wispy character of wind chimes. Often the closest thing to a pulse comes from Martyn's guitar, which provides "May You Never" (later covered by Eric Clapton) with a pensive and gentle governing rhythm.

Born in Scotland, Martyn began his career obsessed with the blues of the rural Mississippi Delta, and he brought that influence into the British folk scene of the late '60s, where his circle included Richard Thompson and Nick Drake. This album, Martyn's peak, certainly reflects the creativity that was flourishing at the time—the strumming patterns sometimes resemble those Drake used to hypnotic effect on Pink Moon, and the lead guitar declarations (some from Martyn, some from guest Thompson) share the exploratory quality of the great Fairport Convention records.

But Martyn is no follower. Throughout this spellbinding set, he creates an ethereal, placid soundscape, a place that seems untouched by earthbound cares. And then from that serenity, he grapples with all sorts of real problems—among them Drake's apparent suicide, which inspired the anguished title track. The contrast reaches a riveting pinnacle on bluesman Skip James's "I'd Rather Be the Devil/Devil Got My Woman." Here Martyn fractures and then reassembles familiar blues phraseology until it becomes his own language. Listen to the way his snarling ad-libs rise from the delicate textures of this tune, or "Go Down Easy," and you can't help but wonder how Martyn attracted only a cult following.

One explanation could be the times: Given the outpouring of greatness in the early '70s, it's perhaps inevitable that some genius works would get lost. Still, to the hippie-folk-revivalists (Devendra Banhart, Sufjan Stevens) who emerged in the late 1990s, Solid Air is a key text, a little like Revolver and Sticky Fingers and Pet Sounds rolled into one.

Genre: Folk, Rock
Released: 1973, Island
Key Tracks: "Solid Air," "I'd Rather Be the Devil/Devil Got My Woman," "Go Down Easy," "May You Never"
Catalog Choice: Bless the Weather; Sunday's Child
Next Stop: Nick Drake: Pink Moon
After That: Fairport Convention: Unhalfbricking
Book Page: 480

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Comments:

#1 from Kavin, Burleson, Tx., USA - 10/15/2008 7:56

Dear Tom
The album you reference here (album cover and amazon link) is a best of collection from some 90’s albums that Martyn put out which are remakes.  The original Solid Air which came out in 1973 is what really deserves to be on this list, which has Martyn in much better voice with original song list and better arrangements, I think.

thanks for the list and the book!

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About 1,000 Recordings

Celebrate the joy, the revelation, the mystery, the fun, the sheer shivers-up-the-spine pleasure of great music.

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