Solid Air

Just a nice, soothing, relaxing ride. Had a couple of standouts and no duds. I probably wouldn't seek this out but if it was on in the background I wouldn't mind, and depending on my mood, I might actually enjoy it. 3.5 stars

Pleasant folk music. A nice morning listen. The man in the station is amazing.

Solid folk

Some solid folky stuff. This has a further dimension to it with some songs going off into more spacey jams. I can see people not liking his voice/mumbling vocal delivery but it grew on me.

You'll need the lyrics to understand his slurred singing. Good songs!

First listened to this after reading the Ian Rankin novel. Not every day listening, but I do like it.

not bad but not that great.

There is a nice vibe going on here. Singer/song with some twists here and there

Very noodly album, not the biggest fan of the vocal style but I did like the instrumentals

A mix of lightish folk rock, and bluesy/psychedelic stuff.

Will need to revisit with a better sound system

Aged well i think. Mellow

Two songs that mention jelly. What's not to like?

BL: never heard of John Martyn or solid air but seems he was a collaborator of Nick Drake who I do love, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this AL: I enjoyed this. I didn’t think it was anything spectacular and a lot of tracks blended into one another. But it was a very good atmospheric album for late night driving, which is where I experienced it. FT: “Solid Air”, “I’d rather be the devil”, “dreams by the sea” 3/5

Tre stjerner

3. A bit dull, but it was nice to have on in the background while reading.

When my partner got this album, they were very vocal about their hatred for the way this man sings, and I kinda get what they mean. My man needs to enunciate, at least on the first song. The music was decent though. Nice and mellow. My favourite song was Solid Air.

It was ok, not my thing though.

Not sure about those mumbling vocals, but pretty good instrumentals.

One of the most unique sounds I've heard in a while. I like thatb it's jazzy but not jazz. This was a nice surprise.

I had never heard of John before today and so I did a quick Wikipedia search, and this album was billed as folk. The first song on the album had an ethereal quality to it, and I could buy it as some sort of folk music. I didn’t really love it and wasn’t looking forward to listening to the rest of the record. But from the second song until the end of the album, I was questioning the definition of folk music. Because to me, it did not seem like what I consider folk. If anything, it seemed bluesy. Even though I hadn’t heard any of the songs before, they all seemed familiar and made me happy. I also read that the songs had something to do with Nick Drake. A tribute? A theme? I didn’t get to delve into this aspect of the album, but I liked it a lot and would play it again.

Was just ok

you know i like folk country vibes a lot but this album wavers constantly between 'this is really good' and 'this is really average' in a way that doesn't let me rate it any higher

God I hope it's better than the last one of his on this list Artist #877 currently on last.fm Update: Yep. Much better.

Good sounds

3.5

Thought this was tighter and better focused than the last entry I got by this individual. Still, it's a genre of modified folk that doesn't quite mesh with me.

Un artista totalmente desconocido para mí. Pero tiene un aire folk totalmente actual para un disco que este año cumplirá 50 años!!! Me han gustado bastante "Over the hill" y "Dreams by the sea".

Ich glaub ich müsste mich länger damit beschäftigen um mehr dahinter zu steigen, auf jeden Fall interessant

Not my style at all, so I can't say if it's any good.

Never heard of this artist before, but some good songs on here.

This was a really relaxing album. I was able to just have it in the background while concentrating on other things and I felt like it worked well. Not a normal listen for me but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

A decent folk pop all in that provides nice Melodie’s and catchy instrumentals. I’ve never heard of this album or artist before but I thought it was well done for what it was and enjoyed most of the songs. It felt somewhat like a nick drake album but with less dread. I’d revisit most of these songs for casual listening. 6.3/10

Just a really good chill listen. Wasn’t too many bangers, but the album as a whole had a mood. Solid 3. Will be adding “Solid Air” to my playlist.

Decent. Feels newer than 1973.

There are a lot of these folky albums on the list. the seventies were a good time for singer songwriters. It's not too bad.

Just a bit "meh". I like the singer/songwriter/folksy vibe, with the occasional jazzy interpretation overall, but not many songs are very interesting to listen to. I do like May You Never, and Don't Want to Know and The Man in the Station, but most of the rest is just fair.

7/10 corta

I did not really like this. Kind of boring and then it gets a little weird/bad at some points.

Sonically this is a very cohesive album. Haven't heard any standouts however, except perhaps 'If I were a carpenter'. This album could have its place in a coffeeshop playlist, used as background noise.

I'm listening to this at 11pm quietly on a laptop and it's pretty good late night music. I like the mood of it and can appreciate that there's a time and place for this kind of thing. I can't imagine listening to this in a car in the middle of the day, for example. But at night, quietly on a laptop? Yeah, sign me up.

2.5/5 ok chill instruments for background but vocals are a bit annoying

I'd never heard of this guy. True to coincidence form, a half hour after listening to this, I was on a podcast episode about a faded pop star called Beverly Martyn...the narrator said the following: "John Martyn, meanwhile, wrote and recorded a critically-acclaimed album about how sad he was his wife had left him. That album often gets included in some of those “albums you need to hear before you die” lists, and as if to rub salt in the wound, he gave Beverley co-writing credit on the last track" (he'd just mentioned JM's domestic violence and controlling behaviour credentials before this). So I ended up disliking this guy almost immediately after hearing about him. The music is fine.

This one was better than the other album we had to listen from him here (One World), but I thought it was still unmemorable for the most part. This one has a jazz/folk feel, sometimes channeling the warm and melancolic moods of Nick Drake, but with a cleaner production and an overall lighter vibe.

Favourite song: May You Never

Gentle, with some blues. Not loving all the singing as John Martyn "eats" the vocals sometimes. The big hit song (may you never) is really very beautiful.

Nice folk album

Pretty nice

Bruh what the H I liked this a lot. This is my shiitake mushrooms. My cup of earl grey with a splash of OJ. The crack to my cocaine. Solid Air was so sweet and Don't Want To Know and The Man In The Station were just so so pleasant. I can't give this a concrete 4 in good conscious but this album truly exceeded my expectations.

Fin plate med en del eksperimentelle jazz elementer blandet inn med typisk folk-stil. Kanskje ikke helt min greie, men kan se for meg å lytte gjennom senere

Not a bad album at all.

Nice vibe, but kind of boring. Vocals a tad high in the mix. Decent 70’s acoustic singer-songwriter tunes.

Not a bad listen. The first track was pretty interesting, but nothing else really stood out as memorable.

This dude loves jelly rolls, I respect that. Respect his smooth vocals too, 3.5 stars

It’s not bad by any means but it didn’t really compel me At times sounds like the Doors, at times sounds like Jack Johnson. It does sound fairly ahead of its time.

Dude sings with all he’s got, very soulful. Keyboard playing is right up my alley.

I enjoyed this. Martyn has a great percussive style on guitar. His bluesy drawl adds a lot to these songs too.

I have to admit this really didn't click with me overall. I didn't dislike it but feels like maybe if I had a beer in me, or hell, a beer in me and this guy was on stage I would have a lot more appreciation for it.

Less concise than "One World" but less boring too. The opener is such a beautiful jazz-folk track. And how it instantly degraded into boring folk-blues or whatever that was is annoying. These mediocre albums with great openers are the worst, it makes me feel bamboozled. Have you ever watched a TV show with a nice pilot episode but turned out to be terrible? It was like that. Still, it's not offensively boring. I agree that "One World" might be better, but at least this album doesn't sound like a long boring trip across the ocean.

boring, but nice

Easy listening album. Nothing that was crazy good, nothing that was bad.

Some decent songs in here. Some not so great...

Decent album for chill background music.

interesting

Impressive fusion of genres and performed masterfully. But for me, an overall bored experience.

Wasn't blown away by this album, but didn't hate it either.

Not great, but gonna round up from 2.5 stars.

Jai aime l’ambiance mais l’album est sans punch pour moi… 3.25

bluesy ramblings with some artsy psychedelic rock energy. best enjoyed over 2 sittings. album cover is a good approximation of what this sounds like. 3.5/5

5/10. I sleep.

Good album with a contry sound that meets jazz.

Never heard of him but this was pretty good guitar and singing.

I once heard a story about John Martyn always having a joint on him. This album verifies that story. Some nice parts but a bit self indulgent

Kinda fun and chill. Surprised at how modern it sounded tbh.

It was a great experience

It's okay. I like the folk stuff much better than the light jazz.

3.5/5

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Solid air, Don’t want to know

pretty much what i need rn

it's nice but will i ever be crazy for it? i don't think so

I didn't hate it and it maybe even kind of won me over by the end, but this is another one of those "random albums to add onto the list because we ran out of ideas". Inoffensive, pretty good even, but not an essential listen. The album cover is really cool though. Made me think this was going to be artsier.

Eh, average

Folksy and chill, but dude was hard to understand

It was okay

Pretty good! 3.5

Helt ok. Låter modernare än 70tal.

Plain

Pretty nice. Good road trip vibes.

me gustó pero tranqui ah. 7.5 / 10

Nice and smooth

3.7

Title song is dreamy ... reminiscent of Lee Hazelwood for some reason

Acoustic folk, singer songwriter music. Reminiscent of Cat Stevens and Nick Drake. I've never heard this before, but it was pretty good.

It has it's moments, over the hill is a nice track

Not bad but a bit boring

Kind of wished I enjoyed this more, maybe on a later listen. Blues is great!

I liked this one fine enough!

Pretty solid

There is solid music here. It's definitely a mood, and one that I'm not in currently to appreciate, but this is actually a very solid album. I need to revisit this in the right mindset.

A real curio. I hadn't heard of this man - must ask my dad though as I suspect he will have. The more straight-up acoustic guitar folk numbers tended to appeal to me most, but I respect the blend of genres and the experimentation, even if some of it left me cold.

pretty good

I give it a 3, because it's a good album but it didn't do much for me, It has some absolutely beautiful tracks. I like the bass heavy mix, the "booming".

First track caught me a little off guard and I was sure I was going to hate this. But, there's a few Neil Young (and even some Johnny Cash) vibes that I dig. At times it even felt a little "punk folk" - if that's a genre. He's got a unique sound and style. I dig the mostly acoustic, singer-songwriter thing. And, the album art is cool (which should count for something).

Alternative, jazz, folk vibe.

3.5 / 5 Solid air is a solid album. Great sounds. Love to hear more of this one in the future.

Is there such a thing as solid air? Just like solid water is ice? And if so how does solid air look like? And how cold does it have to be to have solid air? Temperature would not be a factor in creating solid air, although I suppose if you chilled air to absolute zero, or minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, it might solidify. If the sun were made of air instead of hydrogen and helium—and if you compressed all that air into the size of an office building—you would have solid air. This would be no mean feat, because the sun is bigger than a million Earths. Most atoms are 99.9999999999996% empty space. If you took out all the space that exists in atoms the entire human race could fit into the volume of a sugar cube. There’s a major problem with compressing atoms. They constrain enough energy to flatten a major city. This is how the sun has blazed so brightly for billions of years without ever decreasing in size. The compression of hydrogen atoms in its core—in synergistic coordination with heat expansion—produces nuclear fusion. This process unleashes energy in the forms of heat, light, photosynthesis, vitamin D etc. The compression would need to be so powerful it overwhelmed the atom’s energy. Something of like a black hole where not even light can escape, and everything is crushed. The solid air you’d get would be denser than a neutron star. And it would probably look opaque, although it remains to be seen how light would refract off mashed together subatomic particles.

Really good rockin' stuff here.

I like over the hill, but I don't really like the rest. Probably more of a 2.5 for me.

This is an album I've always felt I *should* like more than I do, and it is certainly very good, but something about it I can't pin down stops me from fully engaging. Maybe it's Martyn's somewhat slurry vocal style. I don't know. Great bass playing, though.

Nice, chilled but a bit monotonous

very jazzy with lots of emotion, intresting!

No clue here… The album starts off with it’s title track, it’s enjoyable overall , but I’am not sure about his slurring/ singing style. Looking at wikipedia It’s apparently dedicated to nick drake, who I’ve herd before, so that’s cool! Over the hill has a much more folk sound ( actually more how I remember nick drake’s music) a bit of a wake up from before and the singing is less slurry. But it’s just a worse song I can’t put it any other way. I don’t want to know is really nice, kind of a mix of the sounds from before brought together by a short nice instrumental break and I like the backing singing on here. I’d rather be the devil is the standout though, apparently written by a guy called skip James, it has these great drums, repetitive but good lyrics and every element fits so well much better than the others shame it’s not his song ( apparently). Next is go down easy and while it’s on a different side to i’d rather be the devil I really like the flow between these two, It’s alright probably the worst so far but still okay. Dreams by the sea is much cooler and probably should’ve started off side two instead as it keeps all the main sound but has this energy to it that go down easy really doesn’t have. May you never is one of the folkier ones it’s really enjoyable, not my favourite, but great for the album happy it’s his most popular on Spotify. Then for the penultimate track the man in the station it’s alright it’s a slower cut with a cool enough instrumental but other than that meh. The easy blues is a track split into two parts, the first part is quite odd lyrically but okay instrumental a bit of a wake-up. Then is the shorter second part it’s much slower and not as good but makes sense as a closer. To be fair all I can really say is… eh. Is it in the top 1001 albums… probably but is it on the better half of those… no .

Solid

Another of those albums that I appreciate that just doesn't grab. Seems like I am just not that big on white boy blues.

Highlights: Don't Want to Know, May You Never. When the vocals aren't infuriatingly mumbly this is a gorgeous album.

Remember that part in Finding Nemo (2003) where Dory speaks whale? It would seem that in 1973 John Martyn did it first with somewhat wailing vocals in the title track. "Solid Air" the title track has a Nick Drake quality to it, and while 'solid' and 'air' may bother one's high school education, the song itself lends a bit of surprise with following tracks that go more jazz-inspired. In a way, if this album had been more of "Solid Air" style, the rating would be affected more positively. Jazz and singing to jazz are two very difficult things, especially for a non-musician, to be objective about. "Dreams by the Sea" is a groovy melody with seemingly ad lib moments that thankfully did not devolve into scat, but depending on how one processes jazz, this reviewer tends to dislike having to decode both at the same time. As if this album had more to give, "The Easy Blues" changes the pace considerably. The folksy Nick Drake, the jazz lounge, and finally the blues lounge. Admittedly, John Martyn's take on the blues is a solid offering. Vocally, his range is tested here and it performs well. This might be a song that gets disregarded for how out of place it seems, but it is not bad and while the genre rollercoaster ended here, it was a good end.

Initial thoughts, not a fan of the mumbling rambling singing style. The music itself sounds nice. I am enjoying listening to this more and more. A decent album, I will give some of his other albums a listen for sure.

some of these songs i was really impressed with and others i was like okayyy that’s enough but overall i thought it was a good and calming album

Čestitke na 365, here's to 636 more, volim vas!

Interesting, love the jazzy influence - will give his other works a listen but not completely grooving

I didn't feel his vocal style sat so well with the music. Some great instrumentation and I really enjoyed a lot of this album. Just the voice...

Enjoyed the singing and lyrics, solid folk album

A mixed bag of smokey late night jazz, sprightly folk and several experimental tracks that use an echoplex unit. It's a decent album, with some vocals that sound like Martyn was inebriated (or trying to sound drunk) like on the title track. I like the straightforward forward folk/country songs the best (May You Never and Over The Hill). This is John Martyn's best known album, but I prefer some of the earlier ones he recorded with his then wife Beverly. This one sounds a little disjointed.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought John Martyn was all twee fiddledy diddledy stuff, but it was punchy and varied and had loads of good riffs that stick in your head after the song had long gone.

I'd only heard of John Martyn before because Anthony down the open mic night paid tribute to him. I liked the variety of styles, bit folky, bit jazzy, better than I'd expected it to be... and I liked the cover artwork too!

This is the first of almost 300 albums generated that I really don't know how to feel about it.

Ugh, that title. But actually quite a nice mumble blues set of songs with a tinge of jazz - in the likes of Nick Drake and Neil Young. Better with repeat listens

Strangely likeable folk guitar, loose and floaty. Title track filled with wonderful mumbling.

Hyvää ja kiinnostavaa musaa. Alussa innostuin aika paljonkin, mutta lopussa vähän taantui. Siistejä jazz-fiboja ja kokeellisuutta.

Soa muito coeso, e deve ser escutado como se lê um livro: na íntegra e na sequência do repertório.

yeah was fine. enjoyed the first track alot and was disappointed by the rest.

Wasn't a fan of the first song or the mumbling, but the album got better as it went on, and overall I enjoyed. Some good tunes!

John Martyn is a new artist for me, and Solid Air was new music. A fair portion of the music sounded like what I thought the music would sound like, based on the title and album art - a folk-ish invitation to float in space. Sometimes Martyn's voice and delivery reminded me of Nike Drake. "May You Never" was my favorite track. I'm not sure if I'll remember having listened to this album, but it was okay.

High 3

Pleasant enough folk album. The instrumentation works really well but the vocals take some getting used to.

Enjoyed this. Smooth jazzy vibes with a but of rock thrown in. Can hear the influence of Nick Drake in the vocals.

A very spacious folk album reminiscent of Nick Drake's vocals and accompanient. Gets a little crazy with the jazz, a little avant-garde here and there. It's busy, with a lot of channels going on, and I can hardly understand any lyrics in some songs. But it's pleasant to listen to and certainly creative. Favorites: Solid Air, Over the Hill, I'd Rather Be the Devil, May You Never

musically, not what i would have thought of as being called a folk singer. very experimental and interesting.

Mooi zeg! John Martyn, nooit van gehoord.

Dit vond ik zeer aangenaam. Beetje Nick Drakeish.

Dit was een aangename verrassing. Ga ik nog eens luisteren.

Een soort kruising tussen Nick Drake en Jack Johnson.

Bit dull singer songrwriter fayre.

Nice music. Some songs more interesting than others though.

9th December 2021 Listened throughout the day on my phone while working the night before going to Canada! Really original voice and style. Folk and jazz combined, I liked it.

Sounded OK. Lost interest. Will revisit.

Bien, pero no me ha llamado mucho la atención

I appreciated this album, but it's not really my speed

experimental and feels modern but old - doesn't grab me in the sense of wow I like this but it does grab me by feeling unique

Not bad, but not quite my jam

Wasn't at all familiar with this album or artist, but the folksy tone suited me well this morning. It's the kind of thing you might hear as a good acoustic set in a small club/venue somewhere. I don't think it's strong enough for me to merit 4 stars, but it's an easy 3.

Bien, pero no me ha llamado mucho la atención

Some folks have complained about Martyn's mumbling, drunken singing style, which sounds like a hybrid of Nick Drake and Tom Waits, but its quite distinctive and I like it. He's a master songwriter and guitar player too. My fav track is Small Hours with the looping guitar feedback.

Average

Groovy and chill

Like the instruments palette, bit early Tom Waits vocals, on track 1 Track 2 I like much less Decent

Ho ascoltato quest'album un paio di volte prima di dare il voto. Musicalmente l'ho trovato bellissimo. Mi piacciono gli arrangiamenti, come suonano le chitarre e come suona l'album in generale. C'è qualcosa che mi disturbava del suo modo di cantare, a volte sembra un continuo sbadigliare. Al secondo ascolto è andata meglio, diciamo che l'ho capito di più. Ho scoperto che John Martyn viveva (ed è morto) a pochi km da casa mia, perché la sua compagna era irlandese. Ed è stato anche ricoverato nell'ospedale dove lavoro - The new album is dedicated to the surgical team at Ardkeen hospital in Waterford, where his right leg was amputated below the knee in April 2003. “Awful nice people, nurses, doctors, really sweet, ” he says. He spent seven and a half weeks in hospital. Morphine helped to ease the pain and during the recovery period, his partner Teresa Walsh would drive him out to Dunmore East - (Dunmore East è un villaggio sul mare nella contea di Waterford, uno dei miei posti preferiti in assoluto). Vabbe', concludendo, non riesco a dargli 4 ma sono molto tentato.

Eclectic guitar rock

Not my thing, good album

solid folk sound.

Reposado. En ocasiones más enérgico. No destaca en nada especialmente.

Pretty solid.

Was it good? yeah Was it great? no

Mumble Jazz

3/5

Very nice. First listen. I give it a solid 3/5 for now. I'm sure this will move up to 4 stars after I've heard it more.

Some easy listening, good background music. Don't know that I'd put this on again but didn't mind it. Jazzy/Bluesy night music.

Knew nothing about the artist or album going into it. Not bad. Soft rock, but then it also had elements of jazz, progressive and hard rock. Intriguing album but it's hard to wrap my head around it on the first listen.

a bit average

1st Track I describe as mumble Jazz. The rest of the album was descent.

Knew nothing about the artist or album going into it. Not bad. Soft rock, but then it also had elements of jazz, progressive and hard rock. Intriguing album but it's hard to wrap my head around it on the first listen.

Chill vibes

Don't want to know is een vibe.

3.3 Leuke rustige listen. of ik het nog opnieuw ga luisteren idk maar heb wel genoten.

mooi compleet album, tof om eens te horen

Dreamy, folk-jazz album, many songs could work well as a part of a dinner party playlist to have some ambient background music. Best: Solid Air Worst: I'd Rather be the Devil (Devil got my Woman)

some decent tunes on here but also some forgettable ones...

Silky inventive blues

The Doors, Peter Capusotto. 3,7.

Blues, Funk, Folk - pretty good. Smooth album to listen to as a whole

I heard “Over the Hills” first covered by a slew of great bands in a documentary called “Austin to Boston”. This album is... fine. Excellently ignorable. This album is like... excellently ignorable, but many of the tracks could also serve as the background for a montage, should you be experiencing one.

Didn't hate it

Очень понравилось. Очередная находка благодаря этому ресурсу. Буду слушать дальше.

Nice, but didn't really grab me in any special way.

Nice acoustic early blues. Good vibes.

3.5 I really enjoyed listening to this album. I think a few songs do drag it down but still pretty solid.

Thought this was average (more like a 2.5). A few of the songs were nice but he also mumbled so much it got on my nerves?

algo lento para mi

Netter Singer-Songwriter mit ein paar Edges, die ihn von z.B. Zeitgenosse Nick Drake abheben. Ist bei mir nicht wirklich hängen geblieben, bekommt aber trotzdem 0,1 oder 0,2 Punkte mehr als die leider bisschen einseitige Cave-Nummer aus dem direkten Vergleich. Also 2,8.

sweet

Guitarrista acústico escoces

Ok...It's a good album, but nothing special for me. The song "May you never" is the best.

A great listen. I heard a lot of influences from 90s grunge especially Pearl Jam in a good way. Started strong and kinda faded towards the end. Good listen!

I enjoyed it. Would probably have enjoyed it more if I sat and listened rather than being on the go with busted earbuds.

Rock, folk

Fun jazz/pop/folk record. Only a couple tracks stuck with me though.

This actually is better than I expected. Some bluesy / jazzy bits, good melodies, interesting effects and distortion. His voice has an Ian curtis / john maus / new wave sound.

Quick listen, slightly forgettable but chill

Thought it was ok, classic sounding. Could tell he was being experimental but it sounded tame, at least by today's standards. Definitely heard the Nick Drake influence at times. Underwhelming for me overall.

silky smooth, much groove, will get you laid.

I'm sure that this album is very good at what it does, but it's not really my cup of tea.

Kind of pretty ok. Little moany in parts but I’d throw it on in the background.

Cool jazz/soul/rock/funk fusion stuff. Worth a revisit.

Pretty chill. I can see John Martyn having a cult-appeal. Some neat experimentation going on here, but overall is just fine... doesn't do much beyond that for me.

Was nice to listen to but the album did not get to me. Was not bad to me.

Nice atmospherical folk album, a must listen in the middle of the night.

A bit different but I like it

Was very calming, a bit too wispy for my taste. But a good listen nonetheless.

Okay. Nothing I'd return to.

Did not listen to it but looked into it enough. I'm sure it was fine but not what i was in the mood for the day after the Dodgers won the World Series.

Interesting stuff, reminds me a bit of nick drakes early work

This had potential but kinda blew it. The first song was great - like some weird acoustic soul-ish number with great lil melodies and whatnot - but then it became more by-the-numbers SAME OL' FOLK ROCK in other songs. There were a few other tracks that tried to capture the same essence as the title track, but none really got up there, and I hate folk rock. Without the first song this album would be a 2, but with it, it's a 3/5.

Good album…. Bit funkier and 70s sounding that I expected. Probably revisit!

Haven't liked much both the lyrics and the singer

just not my vibe

As one who likes to judge books by their covers... this cover made me think "I'm going to hate this." After the mumble-fest title track, I was ready to give this 1* and just accept the fact I was going to be in pain for the next 30 minutes. "Over the Hill" though, surprised me. It was a simple, well constructed folk song, and I was thinking the album was turning a corner. The thing is, whenever Martyn tries to go jazzy... he breaks out this weird vocal delivery that is plain terrible. Most of the rest of the album fell into this pit for me. The one notable exception is when he broke out the 70's funk on "Dreams By the Sea". That track was exceptional. Two tracks I liked, 7 tracks I really couldn't get into. It wasn't unlistenable, so I give it 2 stars.

I haven't been this confused since Cocteau Twins (but at least there we had top-notch ambience to fall back on). Look, I'm probably the last person that should be critical of someone else's mumbling, but I'm also not a singer asking others to listen to and, presumably, pay for my work. The music, itself, is passable. I'm just not sure I can separate the instrumentation from the vocals - or should even have to try. The whole product is what the whole product is. If this had been purely instrumental (or vocally performed by someone competent), I'd have probably landed around a 3, but John Martyn's wounded moan and lack of enunciation butcher the experience. This escapes failure - but just barely... and mostly because I'm simply tired of handing out 1s.

Nice voice. Just wasn’t my vibe.

The only profound thought I had about this album is that he sounds like a discount doors cover band singer at times. The rest left so little impression on me, it's almost impressive.

It's like the blandest attempt at funk, or interesting folk, or jazz rock.

This mostly just feels like a Nick Drake wannabe who’s missing the precision of Tom Waits. Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere is solid, that smoky, late-night mix of folk, jazz, and blues is sometimes my thing. The instrumentation is great, especially the guitar, the double bass, and the sax, which create a really cool, hypnotic vibe. The title track, in particular, is perfect for a late night listen. But man, the moment he starts singing, the whole thing falls apart for me. Instead of someone haunting like Drake or a storyteller like Waits, it just sounds like he’s slurring and mumbling through the whole record. Half the time I couldn't even tell what he was saying, and it just drags down some otherwise really pretty arrangements.

Sort of a winey voice ruins it for me.

There were a couple that were decent vibes. A bit of a fan of Solid Air and Over the Hill had a couple decent portions. But overall? Meh

Not really my type of music, cool though

This guys singing is so irritating learn to say words properly you sound like you have sand in your mouth

#972. I know I've whined about this so much already that you're surely tired of hearing it, but this list is very much not the 1001 best albums out there, it's just one random boomer's dream record collection. He probably should have ran it by someone before he published the book. Just like if you let my Millenial friend Chuck make a list of 1001 albums, there'd probably be at least 164 2000s butt rock albums on there- but Breaking Benjamin, Staind, Hoobastank, Nickleback, and 3 Days Grace have no place on a list like this any more that John Martyn, Brian Eno, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, or Morrissey do. So, so, so much uninteresting nonsense here. 2/5: boring boomer rock

One or two good songs, but descends into parody by the end. Reminds me of some of my least favorite bits of Donovan -- trying too hard to sound like a soul musician.

2,5

boring

J’ai trouvé ça plutôt répétitif

Honestly there are some interesting songs in here, particularly the first one. But nothing really stood out. It was all very mellow however and a pleasant listen.

I bet John got a lot of sex in the 70s, but never once brought his partner to orgasm.

aah british folk. er singt uuhuere amerikanischs englisch. find d text irgendwie uuuhuere nervig. hm. hä. de schluss vo i'd rather be the devil (jo obvio traumjob) isch mega weird. okeee s wird besser, ich hanen am afang glaub afoch nöd vertreit. may you never isch guuet.

5/10 Bastante aburrido, no es malo del todo pero no tiene nada que me llame la atención

Dreary

Blah. 2.5

Not really for me. Too depressing.

Too yacht-rocky, I'm really not a fan of his singing style Best Song: May You Never Rating: 4/10 Stars: 2

I like the couple songs that are blues-y but the rest was a little strange to me.

The guitar playing was kinda good but everything else is a bit on the lamer side

It's certainly a more chilled album with interesting parts. I found Dreams by the Sea to be the highlight of the album which had nice jazz elements, the rest was just too folky for my taste. This is definitely someones cup of tea, but it ain't mine.

It had a blues/folk sound, but also some funk/disco elements thrown in. I didn't like it.

En artist jag aldrig hört talas om tidigare. Inte riktigt min musik; fint men också lite tråkigt. Sista låten I'd rather be the devil är dock fantastisk. Om hela albumet hade varit låtar av det slaget hade det varit en solklar 5:a. Nu blir någonstans mellan en 2:a och 3:a. Lite för stillsamt för min smak.

2/5

Remarkably unremarkable

A sort of laidback meandering guitar and vocals kind of album. Not really my thing.

I wanted to like this more given some of the other players on it who were/are some of the most well known in Brit folk circuit. But alas, the solid turned to gas pretty quickly. I just couldn’t get past his vocal delivery. All I could think about was the scene in Talladega Nights where Ricky Bobby says to Jean Girard: “I don’t understand a thing you just said. You sound like a dog with peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.”

Goodness this was all over the place. First 3 songs had me like 🥱, then I’d rather be the devil had me like 🤔and the rest I was just kind like 😕. 1.75

Isn't horrible but just comes up short.

A lot of acoustic guitar plinking and plunking and not much substance.

It’s not bad but I don’t know why I’d ever listen to this one again I listened to this album like 6 hours ago and I already forgot everything about it other than the first song being elevator music. Absolutely nothing offensive in this one but it’s definitely on the boring side. There’s some alright parts for sure and my opinion kinda seesawed for each successive track I heard It’s exceedingly generic, from the dudes name to the album name to the tracks and lyrics. I bet I’d give this a 3 on a day where I was more bored but a 2 feels more right today

Very nice

at least one really good song. kinda all over the place in terms of style. Fav song: Over the Hill

It's a nice sounding record, but didn't strike me as anything amazing

Ninguna canción que destacar Tranquilo de fondo

Mid 2 stars

I didn’t get much out of it. Couple tracks were ok, but a lot of them felt like the LaCroix of music. Like, they know what music is, and created something that’s only kind of close, but obviously not quite there

The first song led me to think this was gonna be a real stinker. I ended up liking the second song more but the damage had been done and there wasnt enough good to offset the bad

2 out of 5 Some songs were actually ok. Rest were too soft rock for me.

When I was a kid they used to sell these 70s mellow listening comps on TV. There were songs from James Taylor, Bread, The Carpenters, Looking Glass, etc. Many of the songs from those commercials sound just like the songs on this record.

Couldn't get through the whole thing. Just wasn't my kind of music.

Some unique compositions with unexpected instruments, but otherwise not terribly memorable. I’d consider listening to it again, but I’d probably remember it as much on that listen, which is to say, barely at all.

i was bored

Luckily the instruments saved this from being one star

Too boring and too much mumbling. 2.5

A little too esoteric

nice

me gustaron 2 temas aprox, medio random igual no es malo

honestly forgot it was on after I hit play.

Kinda like 70s Jack Johnson, which is to say, not too interesting to me.

Another white noise solo guitar album

Some nice folk songs and then some meandering slop.

Some songs were quite nice and mellow easily listening but some were a bit… warbly? The way he sang was a bit weird at times.

His singing was a bit slurry, but not terrible. I kind of liked this album.

I found this interesting at times but overall extremely grating. The title track in particular set my teeth on edge.

can’t hear clearly what he’s singing about, certainly not my vibe

Soft rock schmooze

So I guess he used to be a little bit more bearable before 'One World'

A bit too easy listening for me.

Not a huge fannnn 👎🏼

This sounds like what I’ve heard talented buskers play in the train stations. Now i wish I’d given them a few extra bucks because they were better than this without the benefit of a studio. This artist’s voice is too affected for my taste. A 2.

Moderately interesting music, awful singer

Music for the background where you won’t have to devote any mental energy as it is so mellow as to become ambient with whatever environment you are in. This is essentially music for libraries. You’re not going to crank the shit out of this. Drink your tea. Read a book. Title says it all: solid air. Take a nap. 2/5

Probably a2.

I don't get it. . . There's obvious musical talent here. Someone went to the trouble to write lyrics - only to have the singer slur and mumble through them. Was actually surprised when "The Easy Blues" started playing and I could understand and appreciate the lyrics; however, that changed to a completely different song about 2:16. The lyric execution is so bad, so distracting, that I have no reason to come back to this even though the music is, sometimes, worth listening to in isolation. Just a notch above experimental.

Levyssä ei sinänsä mitään vikaa, ei vaan oo mun juttu. Tykkäsin laulajan rouheammasta laulusta, sitä tosin oli vähän. Soitto oli 70-lukulaista progeen vivahtavaa.

Solid Air drifts slow Warm voice, but songs fade away— Half-clouded sunrise.

idk man

por mais que eu não tenha curtido tanto, é incrível como esse álbum parece TÃO atual. não sei se foi o excelente trabalho de remasterização ou ele já é assim msm, mas parece que eu estava ouvindo um álbum de 2010, não de 1973. a produção brilhou aí!

2.5 - Didn't dislike it but it never fully grabbed my attention

Not much there for me.

Nicht so meins

Some songs reminded me of Michael Hedges exploring guitar combinations.

First song seemed like all mumbles and mostly annoyed me. Things cleared up after that it was alright. Nothing especially rememberable aside from song about jelly

Might have pushed it to a 3 if he hadn’t mumbled the entirety of the lyrics

The guitar effects were cool, but overall it's pretty forgettable.

Pretty much like the other John Martyn album. Interesting, but nothing that moves me. 2.5/5

A little too low-key for me. Nothing to return to in the future. Not bad, just not appealing.

meh

I mildly hate this guy