Solid Air

Really enjoyed the songs he didn't mumble over. The title track was ruined by his "singing" Over The Hill Don't Want to Know Dreams By The Sea

Didn’t think I’d like this album but I was pleasantly surprised. Lots of different sounds, it felt like a lounge album overall but with complexities and a complete sound. I’d put it on again while chilling.

Starts off slow but really builds up. You can feel the emotion and depth as you go through the album. The songs also get more creative in musicality and range of voice. However, there weren't enough great songs for me to rate this album very high.

General thoughts: Eclectic but songs really dont stick. Songs with more arrangements feel more alive. Favorite songs: The Man in the Station Cover: So so. Real rating: 3.33

🦶

What even is this? Bluesy folk jazz? I dig it.

This one was difficult. There’s some tremendous songs on here and some that are just not good. His voice goes from really good to what the hell. Taken as a whole 3 stars.

I didn’t know what to expect with this album, but it definitely wasn’t this. It’s got folk, funk, John Denver, psychedelic rock, blues, and lounge music all rolled up in one package. The first song, Solid Air, stands out as the soundtrack for a movie about lonely people, but otherwise it’s just pleasant ambient sound.

Solid Air is a Solid Record

5.6/10. Not too bad to listened to. Overall. Got a little distracted at work so might have to relisten

First song solid air had me feeling like I was in some refined Spanish-esque jazz club and there was clearly trouble approaching but the cops were already on the way Over the hill had mandolin and good vibes I’d rather be the devil- have bob wier voice feels Overall ended up being slightly bored. Has the weather been warm and sunny out I might have a different opinion

soothing atmosphere, liked the vocals and the variety won't be revisting anytime soon though,

Levyn äänimaailma oli aivan loistava, en tiedä miten alkuperäisellä miksauksella toimisi. Työpäivään erittäin sopiva tunnelma ja ehkä aavistuksen olisi kaivannut enemmän menoa useampaankin biisiin. Helppo kolmonen.

Nice combination of folk with other genres. Not incredible, but pleasant throughout

not sure yet

Not bad, but kind of forgettable. Sort of a wanna-be Nick Drake, with a little Neil Young thrown in for good measure.

This album is a perfect example of why I'm doing this 1001 Albums thing. John Martyn is not a household name like Cat Stevens or Lindsay Buckingham, at least I'd never heard of him, but no doubt Cat and Lindsay were very aware. John Martyn seems like one of those hidden gems who was an essential influence for so many artists after. Such a cool blend of folk, jazz, blues, with experimental electronic stuff going on. Now I know who he is 🙏

Bonus star for the guitar work, Songs are rather drab though, and the vocal drawl is annoying.

heeft misschien wat meerdere luisterbeurten nodig. Maar nu was het toch vooral achtergrondmuziek die niet bleef hangen.

Another one I knew nothing about before listening to it here. I don't know that I think it's my thing, but I have not really heard anything like it before, which is cool. It's like if jazz and folk had a baby. I can appreciate that it exists and is important. I lied. "Never May You Ever" also has a high(er) number of plays on Spotify but the same rule applies. It is not very jazzy compared to the other tracks. "Over The Hill" is maybe the best song, and certainly has the most plays by a lot on Spotify, and its definitely the least jazzy song, so that's an interesting observation about how the public as a whole has embraced this jazz/folk thing.

Pretty Solid. "Dont Want You to Know" is a standout

This was good! Especially loved the sound.

This album feels like it was made to be played during melancholy retrospective travel scenes in movies, or at book stores that also serve coffee. John Martyn is not a performer I was familiar with, and this was a cool introduction to him.

solid, but i doubt i would go back to it.

3 Stars (8/15)

Very cool and moody!

One I never heard of. There are some solid songs on here, but a few that were pretty forgettable.

I was told about this album by some random man I got talking to on a train coming back from a gig and he highly recommended it to me as I said I liked psychedelia. Obviously I got home and forgot about it, until now. So finally I've listened to it and it's not too bad. The three standouts are the title track, 'I'd Rather Be The Devil', and 'Dreams By The Sea'. The middle track is immense with that weird Echoplex tape delay effect thing! This gets a low 3 just for those songs. Without them, probably a star lower, as it then would sound like a pretty ordinary 70's psyche tinged folk rock album which I would ignore forever.

Meh. He has talent but sounds a lot like the other British indie albums we have heard…

first listen interesting stuff, bit too dave matthews for me

I liked this. Could understand why some dont but it jives with me

fin bluz

This guy does a great cover of Portishead's Glory Box ... much later in life

Reasonably tolerable.

Genre: Folk rock, folk jazz, folk, psychedelia I just heard his One World album last week. That one I think was better, but I have heard it more than this one. 3.5

Nice background music.

Could not stand his mumbling voice and this was a little soft for me - put some guts in it! But musically it was interesting. The guitar was impressive.

Nice bit of variety, bit baleful on the singing but ok.

nothing special, didn't dislike but also didn't love, felt almost generic

starting with the first few tracks, and man, what a start. it's like a breath of folky fresh air. but then, the album takes a turn. it's like expecting a peaceful walk in the woods but ending up at a jazz club. the rest of the tracks are a lot more funky and jazzy which is cool on it's own and from other artists but i prefer when martyn sticks to the folk and don't like this fusion.

Very relaxing and accomplished. Sounds and feels like cool but dated lounge music. 3.3 stars rounded down.

Solid Air is pretty solid. Very artistic album, mixing folk and jazz in nice quantities, but overall being a little too slow and lowfi for me. Also, I'm not a great fan of John's vocal abilities. Average album, nothing special to see in here.

I REALLY enjoy the music with this album. I enjoyed the Nick Drake album I listened to previously, and this style of music is a hidden gem for me; however. The vocal stylings and accompaniment are painful for me. I don't enjoy the ethereal wailing and droning and anything high pitched with this type of music just seems...ill advised. Equally good on music and bad on vocals. Fav track: Over The Hill

muttering much, some good ideas

It was nice, not entirely my thing, but nice. 3.5/5 but on this site it's a 3/5, oh well.

Quire good. Sounds much more modern than 1973

Space folk jazz anyone. Much beloved album from JM which I like but don't love. Its seems so lightweight and unfocused (cept May you Never) maybe that's the attraction.

Solid

Pretty chilled out 70s rock, a little meh for me

John Martyn's "Solid Air," released in 1973, is a folk-jazz exploration that showcases Martyn's distinctive guitar work and husky vocals. The title track, a tribute to Nick Drake, stands out for its emotive depth. While the album has moments of brilliance, its stylistic shifts between jazz, folk, and blues might feel disjointed for some listeners. The production, while capturing an intimate vibe, lacks the polish of mainstream releases. "Solid Air" is an acquired taste, appreciated more for its individual tracks than overall cohesion. It lands a middling 3/5, a commendable effort but not without its uneven moments.

1973, гладкий джаз. Послушал на фоне. Пришлось переслушивать... Ну что сказать, очень, очень ненапряжная музыка, для людей, которые плывут по жизни и являются самыми чилловыми в мире. Мне в принципе нравится. Но на троечкус.

I like this a lot 😊

Good album.

Unique blend of folk, jazz, and blues, the title track is a tribute to Martyn's friend Nick Drake

All around decent. Nothing leapt out at me, but I enjoyed it overall

Listened to this while playing Return to Dark Tower. Such a fun game, even if I lost again! I had never heard any of these songs before...I wasn't familiar with the artist either. I definitely enjoyed this album. My partner immediately asked if the singer had a cleft pallet. Ha ha. He was often very mumbly, but I enjoyed the musical stylings throughout the album. Not my favorite, not my least favorite. I can hear the influence this sound had on other's music down the road. Nice blend of jazzy bluesy stony folk.

More like a 2.5, no outstanding songs like before

Grand, a bit country for more but different sort of album, must listen more

Um.... yeah

I was lulled into a false sense of security by the early folk/americana style, the funk caught me off guard. Very fun and interesting, though not quite enough to get me for the whole album. Favorite song: Don’t Want to Know. 6/10

I don't know anything about John Martyn, but certainly just kind of feels like a poor man's Nick Drake. I'm not so sure this is an essential record at all. It's just fine.

I get this album, see the name John Martyn and look him up. He’s described as a British folk singer-songwriter. I thought great, another Joni Mitchell album (folk is not my thing). Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! This is a good album!

Meni nepoznan album. Poslušala sem ga na sprehodu, in ga zavrtela 2x zapored. Sprva se mi je zdel malo enodimezionalen, ampak bolj ko sem ga poslušala, več podrobnosti so ujela moja ušesa. Definitivno se mi zdi kot da bi mi lahko zelo prirastel k srcu, če bi ga še nekajkrat poslušala. Zelo so mi všeč vokali na nekaterih komadih in jazzy instrumentali. Se bom še vrnila k njemu!

Solid Air // Over The Hill // Don’t Want To Know // 3-3.5/5

Amb una mena de folk vaporós, eteri, melangiós, farcit de soul, jazz i altres géneres, aquest és EL disc de Martyn, per damunt del també reverenciat 'One World'. Fantàstic per disfrutar en un relaxat capverpre d'estiu

3++

Really liked half the songs, but the others went something like this: - Mom, can we listen to Tom Waits? - We have Tom Waits at home. The Tom Waits at home:

The Easy Blues aka Jelly Roll Baker earned 3 stars from me.

Sounds way more modern than it is, somehow. But I'm not sure that it's that good - shades of Nick Drake but not as good really? It's good a nice variety to it, all relatively slow and folky but it brings in some jazz in places. And he's quite tricky to understand, which makes music like his (lyric-driven) a bit less accessible. 3/5.

That was a nice and not too sad singer-songwriter record. I enjoyed it a lot!

Can't really get it... but the funny thing is it sounds quite millenial although it's from the 70s

Comparisons to Nick Drake are impossible here so I won't try to pretend otherwise. It's not as good. By a long shot. And that's okay! This is really well instrumented, solid singer songwriter. And it's good. But it's a little uninspired and no single track moves me at all.

Really really forgettable: I seems to remember not loving it but neither hating on it. It seemed refreshing in comparison to the last album but was still not anything to jump and listen to. Overall I just have no clue what happened in this hour or so of my life.

Liked this more than I thought. The jazzy interludes are quite welcoming. His voice is a deterrent which stops this album from being great. Instead it's a decent listen that I might revisit on a quiet chill evening.

I like English folk and I like jazz, but I’m not loving this blend of the styles. Martyn’s vocals are another low point.

This album is like a continuous of Nick Drake.

Not bad

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!

Awful from the first agonizing note of the title track. He parents obviously didn't stress annunciation and never got him singing lessons. I knew within 60 seconds I wasn't going to finish this album. It was like listening to someone who struggles with speech attempt to sing. How in the freakin' world did this make the T1001? Imagine my SHOCK and AWE when I learned that he was an English singer. God, the UK slant on this list is deafening. Never heard of the guy so I looked him up... "John Martyn was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist, widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures to come out of the UK folk scene, even though his sound eventually stretched well beyond folk into jazz, blues, and ambient territory." I blocked him on my Spotify so it doesn't screw my algorithm. No hits, no legacy on this side of the pond, no joy in the music, horrid vocals and boring music. Wouldn't make my Top 2002 and should be removed from this experience. 2 stars.

Eh? I got bored as shit

I think I've heard enough 1970s British Folk for a lifetime.

Not a bad album but just not stirring. Sort of indistinct? I'd give it a 2.5 if that were an option but it doesn't rise to a 3 for me. It is almost interesting and has passages that are compelling but it feels like the sonic equivalent of watching a wave that never breaks only to recede. Disappointing in a vague way but it is conceptually hard to lobby complaints about the ocean overall.

1. air - 2 2. hill - 1 3. uuant - 2 4. rather - 1 5. eazy - 2 6. dreamz - 2 7. never - 1 8. man - 2 9. bluez - 2

ganz gut, recht entspannt, nichts besonderes, kommt high glaube ich krass. 2.41 Sterne

161. Solid Air - John Martyn (1973) 8.2.26 Variety: 2 Adequacy: 4 Listenability: 3 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 2.4 rounded down to a 2 "When Gabriel blows his horn/ I'm going to rise from my grave/ For your sweet jelly roll" After a run of albums that I'm very familiar with we finally get one I know absolutely zilch about other than I think I've seen his name pop up in my reading a few times. Maybe in regards to this album? So this one is up in the air. THE TRACKS Side one "Solid Air" - Very tastefully put together, jazzy prog folk. Not my thing, but I've heard some similar stuff before. This was pleasant enough but I'm immediately not a fan of Martyn's vocals. The quality of it's fine enough, but he's got the delivery of a man who is several pints deep, and struggling to string together anything more than a run of vowels punctuated by the very occasional consonant. Not a big fan of the freer than it should have been mellow saxophone. "Over the Hill" - The folky acoustic guitar here is mush more my speed, and this reminded me a tiny bit of a reedier voiced, more energetic Nick Drake, with maybe a touch of the Faces from around the same time. Martyn semes much more focused here as well and he's not wandering in and out of consciousness while he sings. Loved the mandolin playing "Don't Want to Know" - There's an electric piano on this one that comes in and out and adds a bit of a dreamy feel to things, but otherwise seems like a pretty bog standard bit of jazz folk. Maybe if Steely Dan got really into Pentangle. "I'd Rather Be the Devil" - I think someone spiked the herbal tea with acid at a drum circle where Martyn dared ask "what if I took a Skip James song and reimagined it as a Billy Preston inspired blaxploitation soundtrack clavinet jam?" and then proceeded to misremember more than half the lyrics. Interesting stuff, but seemed to circle round and round a little musical cul de sac, without any sense of purpose. Side two "Go Down Easy" - this one did not. More Nick Drake vibes, and some cool playing but still not a big fan of Martyn's delivery. I wonder if it would sound any better if his mic wasn't up his nose. The reverb on the guitar was more than enough, I didn't need his mumbly warbling to be vibrating my skull. "Dreams by the Sea" - Ooh, funky. What if on the Truck Turner soundtrack, Isaac Hayes had opted for some English bloke to contribute a track? It might have sounded maybe a little like this. By far the best thing on here so far, even if he did milk that ending. "May You Never" - Was not expecting any James Taylor vibes on this thing, but here we are. A jumpy bit of acoustic , optimistic, singery songwritery stuff. This was ok for that sort of thing. Just not my bag. Richard Thompson could do this sort of thing with a much harder edge, and had a better delivery in my opinion. "The Man in the Station" - More jazz feels, and the electric piano returns for more barely awake vocals and some fine, but very boring playing. "The Easy Blues" - Oof. I've heard a lot of embarrassing, overplayed white dude blues in my time. This is up there with some of the worst latter day Eric Clapton has to offer. To top it off this is as unsexy a song about sex that I've had the displeasure to have heard. Eww, sir, I do not need to hear you singing about such things. Leave that to people who know what they are doing, like Bessie Smith. HIGHLIGHTS - "Over the Hill" - "Dreams by the Sea" MIDLIGHTS - "Solid Air" - "Don't Want to Know" - "Go Down Easy" - "May You Never" LOWLIGHTS - "I'd Rather Be the Devil" - "Go Down Easy" - "The Man in the Station" - "The Easy Blues" FINAL THOUGHTS Much like Martyn couldn't be bothered to give more than a 30% effort into pronouncing most of the words on this, I could barely be bothered to write more than a sentence or two about each one of these tracks. Overall it left me with a feeling of "meh" that is amongst the worst kind of these listening experiences. I'd almost rather have a true piece of offensive garbage that incenses me enough to want to fill up long paragraphs detailing the ways in which I was aggrieved, rather than something that elicits the textual equivalent of a shrug. Aggressively mediocre stuff, and so forgetful that I'm glad I write these in real time as I'm listening, otherwise I'd be at a loss to remember any relevant details. Even the two standout tracks are not anything I'd want to revisit by choice. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - You can keep all of this FURTHER LISTENING - Basket of Light by Pentangle - Bryter Layter by Nick Drake - Pour Down Like Silver by Richard and Linda Thompson - Rickie Lee Jones by Rickie Lee Jones - Gaucho by Steely Dan

This is almost super generic, yet it has this weird edge that makes it just about the next tier below generic. On the surface this is just a super standard folk album of its time, but when you really listen there's something a bit more to it, which unfortunately makes it just a little bit worse. At least the slight added quirkiness made stopped this from being a completely boring experience, which is something. But I still found very little here that held my interest, in a good way or a bad way.

Sounds like he was making it up as he went. I think the mood was supposed to be melancholy but it really didn’t evoke any emotion other than annoyed.

So bland it actually started to annoy me.