Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Almost forgot to rate. I do enjoy that first song but that was it, thought I'd like this more but it's more like a 2.8, almost a 3.
I quite like the album cover, and I'd never heard of the guy before, so I daftly allowed myself to get a bit excited to listen to this. I like the jazzy influences that are peppered throughout, but that's about it for the highlights. You can add as many different aspects from different genres as you want, but if you're making a folk rock album, it's going to be boring like all the other folk rock albums. Makes it worse that his voice sounds like shite
Don't Want To Know: what a fucking banger everything else: john don't sing with your mouth full, it's rude as hell
A bit of pre-thereal strikes the list again. Varied and fun here and there, but nothing caught my attention too severely.
First song did not do it for me but the rest was ok.
Yeah, so that's an album. I used to think I had a mumbling problem. Turns out I'm just a rock star. Very different stuff on this one. He mentions it's fuelled by cocaine and mary-jane ... you can kind of tell.
Nice, then boring, then tiresome.
Unbearably boring.
stop mumbling!
Forgettable
It’s alright
dad music, heard this one so many times as a kid. probably liked it more now than i ever did then
2/5 Never heard of John Martyn before plus I don't enjoy singer/songwriter acoustic music. This album seems forgettable, although pretty chill if being used as background music. There's not a single song that sticks out for me here. I'd rather listen to Clapton, America or Cat Stevens, all of them made considerably better music.
okay this is not for me either LMFAO omg jk he started saying "i don't wanna know bout evil i wanna know bout love" and i really felt that damn.... jk this is not good again... jk dreams by the sea is good again. this is giving me whiplash
I won't lie, I struggled to get through the first song. This almost felty comedic with Martyn seemingly babbling nonsense over airy, easy listening production.
Boooooorrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnngggggg
Sonically, this was very enjoyable - great production and instrumentation. Yet, I had to restart it 3 times because I kept getting distracted/more interested in listening to other music. :/
First track sounds like Eric Clapton if he was trying to perform a song while eating a bowl of oatmeal.
The first song wasn't my vibe and the singers voice got really whiny at places but then a more up tempo songs was second and i was really digging it. Then the tempo slowed down again but the singer used a much lower voice as he continued for a few songs. Then back to the start. This album sure was a rollercoaster of ups and downs. A few really good songs, a bunch good songs, and then a some that just dragged my rating way down by how much I dislike them.
Idiot spelled Martin wrong
2.3.
Atmosphärisch, aber überbewertet. Die Mischung aus Folk, Jazz und Blues wirkt stellenweise ziellos. Die Stimme und Echoplex-Effekte sind Geschmackssache. Emotional, ja – aber nicht jeder findet Zugang.
Мимо кассы.
By the fourth track, John Martyn's voice was getting on my nerves so much that I stopped listening to the album. I don't think we're going to be friends. 2/5
2,3/5
Hit and Miss, with many more misses than hits. Didn't really care too much for the straight folk stuff, but the Jazz and Blues influenced songs weren't bad.
No big hitters, but it wasn't unbearable.
Tepid.
Thought I’d like more, maybe we’ll stick better on more listens
Meh. I only really enjoyed this in so far as it was the album immediately after throbbing gristle… Mostly, I think this album is meandering and simply OK..
Right about now the funk soul brother, check it out now the funk soul brother!
Boring
2 - just feels like it’s trying too hard
I wasnt familiar with John Martyn going into this album. It's not really my cup of tea, both in tone and subject matter. The instrumentation was skillful, but I didnt really get any hits I was looking for. Overall- not bad, but not for me. Probably around a 2.5/5
The vocals were distractingly bad. The musicianship and writing deserved better vocals.
Not for me…
This album felt all over the place for me.
It was alright.
se tiver mais um dia de folk nesse site eu vo ficar louco CHEGA
Viitteitä hyvä mausta. Valitettavasti myös viitteitä halusta välittää kuulijoille transsendenttejä kokemuksia.
ehhh
Experimental folk, some of it works, some is just weird. 2
2.5 stars
This album just did nothing for me. It isn't bad per se, but very forgettable.
It's respectful of Nick Drake, but it's definitely not Nick Drake. Appreciation the acknowledgement, but I don't know why it's a top 1000.
Drunk rambling over elevator music doesn’t deserve one spot on this list, let alone two.
Hated the vocals, and the coffee-table-jazz and blues influenced singer/songwriter-music didn’t do much to rectify the situation.
Bang average. Absolutely bang average. Would struggle to remember a single note of this album in an hour.
This didn't do much for me on an initial listen, so I listened to it again, and it still didn't do much for me. I dunno, I'm generally a fan of a lot of types of music, but this felt listless... I suspect people who like it think that it's soulful, but it doesn't have much energy.
I don't know if it's because of the remastering, but the mixdown was odd. Several instruments were far too present in the foreground. Then his voice was somewhere in the middle. This bothered me more than his vocalization or folk/jazz fusion, which I didn't particularly like.
I’ve previously spotted a genre of music best described as albums to be played during dinner parties in the 80s. Well, this album sounds like the sort of thing that would be played at *those* sort of parties in the 1970s. You know, the ones with men with droopy moustaches and flares, and women in inappropriate kaftans, where they all put their car keys in a bowl at the end of the night. This is weirdly bonkers semi improvised jazz/funk/folk that makes no sense whatsoever.
Over the hill is my favorite on here. The rest was kind of schizophrenic.
Probably not bad if I was alone with a woman but I’m not so ……
John Martyn's "Solid Air" is fundamentally a folk album, infused with elements of jazz, blues, and ethereal rock, characterized by extended instrumental passages. While the album has a decent assortment of songs, showcasing impressive guitar performances and a variety of rhythms and tempos, it is ultimately somewhat bland. I would not choose to listen this album again, not due to its overall quality, but rather because it is just not that interesting.
I'm reminded of a scene in the movie adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs the Word a lot of times while listened to this. Which scene? The part where Brandon Roth's character says "sounds like someone want's to get... funky."
Not really my jam, it’s fine, but that’s about it. Skilled musicians, but overall it’s not very memorable for me.
It's fine? The musicianship is good, though parts of this album do sound similar to early Steely Dan (which is just as bad as later Steely Dan). My biggest issue was the dude's voice. I don't know if it was the cadence or just the sound, but I didn't like it when he was singing. I won't be back to hear this one again.
Not for me. I listened to the entire album, but I couldn't tell you a single thing about any individual song.
Some cool tracks but his mumbling/slurring ruined some for me
1.5 a whole lotta mumbling nothing for me, not bad for some really chill melodic stuff but just kinda boring overall
A bit too odd for me.
Crazy to me that this person managed to get multiple albums in the 1001 album list -- not that they're bad just surprising. Maybe a bias towards 70's artists. Anyway, I didn't like this one as much as the other: 2.5 stars
Low key feel
Eh
No es un cantante muy conocido, tampoco Nick Drake ( a quien dedica el disco) y eso son palabras mayores. Este, su cuarto disco, es el más reconocido de una trayectoria serpenteante. Para escuchar con calma y dejarse llevar. Solid air marca la pauta, sonidos folkies, voz grave y toques jazz. Se anima con Over the hill y Don´t want to know en la línea que seguirán Becker y Fagen. I´d rather be the devil es una muy interesante versión de Skip James con un final brillante. El resto de temas mantienen esas coordenadas (excelente The man in the station) y configuran un disco agradable que en mi opinión no está entre los 1000 mejores de la historia pero que es mejor que algunos de los que están en este listado.
This one gets a 2.5 Some of it is cool and has good guitar. But most of it is meh. I liked one song the rest was not great. I don’t like his voice. When he does the raspy thing… it sounds very forced. If I was rating this just on guitar, it’d get a 3, but his singing ruins a lot of the songs. ⭐️ ⭐️
Šta reći za ovo, nije mi grozno, ne zvuči nešto preloše, samo mi je užasno dosadno, ne radi mi ništa. Dreams By The Sea mi je bila oke, eto. Čini mi se da možda na ovom projektu ima malo previše tih soft albuma kantautorskog djira, nije mi to napeto. 2/5, 3/10
I…just kind of nothing-ed this. I didn’t love his voice, but it wasn’t terrible. I felt like the songs were okay. I dunno. Just not my jam? 2/5
I really wanted to like it because he's nick drakes bestie... but at just isn't as good. Like it aint bad at all. But it can't compare sorry. Some good tracks though, but also some I didn't love
Not digging this. I don't like his delivery, the music itself is a little jazzier than I like. It's not folky, it's just weird.
Dull music. Uninspired sentiment. Had moments when it threatened to be interesting with something funky or jazzy, but the terrible singing and bog standard acoustic guitar kept it all well within the parameters of a typical boring folk slog.
This record's appearance marks the second attempt by the editors of 1001 albums to hear before you die to raise my awareness of John Martyn. Like last time, this is fine but ultimately not for me. The next edition they should cede one of the album slots to a more recent artist. They'll have to do a John Martyn showdown and pick which one stays. And Me? I can't decided which is more important — they're all a little too much the same to my ear so far and I lack the cultural context to know if one is a landmark record compared to the other. It's strange how music that relies on some common forms can still feel so distant and removed from your experience.
Not a bad album at all, but none of it resonated with me and was quite forgettable
hmmmmm......???? not sure
Not a fan of how in the middle of his songs he re-imagines how it should be played, so it always feels like 2 songs in one. I had high hopes for this album because he used the talents of Fairport Convention on a few of the songs, but it felt Unfinished. Folk rock, but a lot like Nick Drake.... Fucking weird, almost psychadelic folk. As a matter of fact, the song Solid Air is based on Nick Drake. It's an awful song. The highs on this album were high, but the lows were awful. Favourite songs: May You Never, The Easy Blues, Over the Hill Least favourite songs: Solid Air, I'd Rather Be the Devil (Devil Got My Woman) 2/5
If this had some deeper value to it, it went over my head. Overall found it very boring. Like some of the blues songs, but felt mostly like meandering experimental tracks. Raspy voice. Not much that I enjoy.
Never heard of this dude, sounds like some acoustic jams? Wow holy shit this dude swallows his words. Yeah he really just mumbles throughout the whole album. Yeah I didn't like this much, it was all pretty droney, largely because of his voice.
Starts out kind of slow and bring. Then it actually gets better when it gets more experimental, but not enough to elevate the album above "Okay in the background" for me. 2.5/5
This was actually better than I was expecting but admittedly my expectation levels were pretty low.
Marginally better than yesterday’s full fest but still largely uninspiring.
While technically it’s very accomplished and varied, it feels utterly utterly joyless. Somehow, and I suspect influenced by being a wife beater (yet another one on this list), he has managed to bring an air of miserableness, even when it’s attempting to be upbeat, which really makes you want the thing to end as quickly as possible. Also, he often sings like he’s got a mouthful of food on the go, needs to learn some manners. Joyless, and rude.
I only liked 1 song-don’t think I’m in the mood for this today
Another bland middle of the road record. Some tracks are extremely boring so I subtracted 1 star
Couldn't wait for it to be over. The singing is so annoying, almost like he's trying to be someone else? I don't know but this is hardly impressive and shouldn't have been considered for the 1001 list. 4/10.
My confession is that I do not like jazz. And this has a lot of jazzy piano and rifts. I did not enjoy this. Also I feel like he mumbles a lot - for example, on Solid Air I am not even sure what he is saying a lot of the time. Over The Hill Was descent.
Didn’t really enjoy this. I think I just don’t like this style of folk. Couple of parts of songs like the end of Don’t Want to Know were ok. Didn’t like his voice either and the way he mumbled.
I don't have strong feelings on this one. I guess it would be fine as background music, but I didn't really care enough about it after a few songs.
Two good songs
"I'd Rather be the Devil" is an incredible track, from an artist / album that I'd not heard of before. I can only assume that if the entire album was at this level, then *everyone* would have heard of John Martyn. But it's not, so they haven't.
More funk than folk, but still not overly compelling. "I'd Rather Be the Devil (Devil Got My Woman)" was a solid track, but the rest were underwhelming.
Mostly in offensive
Overall a mixed bag and pretty "meh". It wasn't actively bad but I can't say I liked it either. Pretty forgettable once it finished up. 1.59 stars
Meh. Nice enough voice, bit bland overall.
fell asleep halfway through and woke up 35 min later went back to listen to what I missed and honestly they weren't that good
Couldn't take his weird singing, mumbling and odd vocalizings. The music was passable.
This is well done in some ways and all over the map. I did a double take on the jelly roll song. Skillful playing without a doubt and nice to hear experimentation but nothing about this grabs me enough to come back.
Ganz nett... da ist "May You Never" im Original drauf!
Previously rated: One World (2/5) ************************ There were two notable things about this. One, lyrics mentioning cocaine and mary-jane. Two, one of the songs sounded kind of the the Shaft theme song. Otherwise, very unmemorable stuff. Edit: Adding the "previously rated" header now as I had no memory of listening to someone called John Martyn. I called it super boring and forgettable, so not much has changed.
Do you like jass music? Then this album is for you. I don't like this album its pretty bad. The lyrics aren't good, the guy voice sucks, and I don't like their beat. I would not recommend this album it sucks.
have you ever heard a song and didn't like it that's what I thought of the album Solid air I don't understand what he is really saying and only could hear a word or 2 and it sounds like he is speaking gibberish and the instruments aren't bad but they really don't make it any interesting this song is bad and I don't recommend listening to it
i think he is sort of expressing his condition he has in a poetic way. i understand why people like this, but im not one of them. i don't hate it, but i just wouldn't listen to it.
I don´t really like the instrumentals and the vocals are bad. Do not recommend this most people. 2/10
I had apparently previously listened to another album from this artist as part of this list, but I have very little recollection of doing so. This is pretty out there, with traditional jazz sounds being accompanied by interesting instrumental choices such as the use of the mandolin, autoharp, and different types of electric pianos among others. However, Martyn's delivery is pretty unwelcoming and doesn't really complete the musical picture here. File this under: "Immediately forgotten after listening".
Not sure why this album is on the list. It just did very little for me. This guy sure loved some jelly.
Not for me
Little jazzy which I liked, but there really wasn't anything special about this album at all. I listened to 4 more songs after the album ended before I realized. Singer didn't do it for me. 2-3 territory, but I'm feeling spiteful for no reason.
Interessant.
Not great.
Solid album.
The folky parts were good but I didn't like the more experimental bits. Middling 2.
2.5
Meh. I understand why it's here and enjoyed it okay, but not my jam.
Some interesting instrumental stuff, but was not a fan of the indistinct, mumbled singing.
Crazy that John Martyn has not one, but two snoozefests on the list. I think I enjoyed this a tad more than One World, but come on.
I’ve already had One World by Martyn on this list - a boring album with a phenomenal closing track. So I’m honestly surprised to see, that he’s got more albums on this list. Solid Air is more bluesy than One World and I don’t really get the point of that. I found him way more interesting, when he experienced with ambient music.
I really love the song Don’t Want to Know, but hated his up and down singing throughout the rest of the album
Didnt like this. Not sure why but it just didnt click for me. Nothing jumped out and it was quite boring
Nette Stimme und auch sonst ganz ok. Aber was macht es besonders? 2,4
The definition of an okay, unremarkable album.
Forgettable
If someone told me this was a favorite of theirs, I would run very far away.
Not bad, but didn’t really connect with me.
Flashes of brilliance lost in a sea of terrible lyrics and vocals of a guy that sounds like he either just woke up or is on heavy opiates. Either way, there was no soul in most of this. The backing band saved it in the parts where it teetered into listenability. I wouldn’t ever listen to this again and I almost stopped listening multiple times.
This album felt a bit all over the place in terms of quality, some songs I could see myself jamming out to whilst others left me underwhelmed. Definitely a bit of a mixed bag.
Ois voinut keikahtaa kolmoseenkin.
Not a fan of the guys voice
Nah
Yawn fine
It's a "mixed bag", as many reviews topping this section point out. The good (moving folk tunes "Over The Hill" or "Go Down Easy" ; the more-mundane-yet-decent "May You Never") and the groundbreaking (the instrumentation of "Solid Air", the airy, experimental conclusion of "I'd Rather Be The Devil"--sounding like nothing else in 1973) are mixed with the inconsequential,("The Man In The Station", which goes nowhere fast ; "Dreams By The Sea", immediately forgettable ; "The Easy Blues", lively but a little empty) and the utterly bad, bordering on muzak, such as "Solid Air"', once again, along with main song "I'd Rather Be The Devil", which are either hackneyed or awkward as compositions... Odd how this tracklisting neither rhymes nor reasons. And this lack of cohesivemess is worsened by one key feature for the jazzy / bluesy cuts. John Martyn was a very skilled guitar player and singer-songwiter--a treat for the folk tunes. Yet for the jazzier tracks, he took on a different persona, inexplicably. And on those tracks, he sings as if he had a potato in his mouth. The result come off as overaffected, and it's mind-boggling to consider no one was in a position to advise Martyn against this very strange choice for his vocal performance. Mixing folk music and jazzy flavours is a delicate endeavor. You need a voice of your own, both figuratively and literally speaking. Joni Mitchelll had such voice. John Martyn had a potato. Number of albums left to review: 165 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 361 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 211 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 268 (including this one)
Interesting music, but the mostly mumble vocals are not to my liking. 2.0
“Can we get Nick Drake?” “We have Nick Drake at home.” Nick Drake at home: Solid Air by John Martyn
This ain’t it 🤣
High 2. Liked it more than I thought I would
Sad slow and kinda snoozefest
2.5/5
It’s okay. He needs to articulate. This reminds me of live Colorado coffee shop music and that’s the only reason it didn’t get a 1. 🙃
The first 80% of this album was SO boring. By the time a few semi-interesting songs showed up at the end it was too late. Good one to doze off to…
Eh, not that interesting for my tastes.
72/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
Blind album and artist. My 2 top songs are also his most played on Spotify. But they are meh, didnt blow me away, and not something seek out. As the youts say... Mid. And the rest of the album was not up to par and bring the album down.
It’s pretty good though I don’t know how often I’d look for it. The sounds reminds me of Jack Johnson meets Mumford &Sons and Nile Rodgers. Over the Hill is my key track. It kind of feels disjointed
I didn't get much from this
This sounds like something that spotify would put on my discover weekly.
Personally did not enjoy this puppy. I respect the vision but it just didn’t tickle my cojones in the right spot. In my opinion, the best Track was May You Never. Whole album had a cool mix of elements from different genres, but I wasn’t a fan of the style of singing. Would go hard in a late night coffee shop for sure.
I was ready to give this album a 1 at first. A very slow start in my opinion with some interesting vocal choices. Not a big fan of the whole moaning mumbling moodiness he’s going for. However was pleasantly surprised by the second half with Dreams by the Sea definitely being a highlight. I enjoy the jazzier parts of the album and less the bluesy. Will definitely revisit that one song but outside of that will most likely not be listening to much John Martyn in the future. If I could give it a 2.9 i would but i didn’t enjoy it enough to justify a 3.
Aika basic-rallatteluu
don't want to know dreams by the sea
Eh
I didn't really enjoy this album, even though the music and instruments was good.
Boring
Some guitar work is interesting, but nothing else is.
Almost skipped entirely during the first track, I'm glad I gave it a chance but ultimately skipped 50% of the album. Just not something I'll come back to, added 1 track to 1001 experience playlist
not a fan of the slappy guitar style but it had a good vibe
Folky, ethereal , trippy 70’s era album that is all over the place. First time listening to this artist. I did save the catchy “Over the Hill” and “May you Never “ to my song list.
- Never heard of this before - Thought it was alright, probably wouldn't listen again
I did not like his voice it’s too mumbly but also kinda nice?? Idk not my vibe too much
Not a bad album. It was nice and chill, but I'm starting to think this list is just a platform for obscure British music.
Not bad just kind of boring
Auto-Play on YouTube Music is broken. This album was alright but I definitely didn't want to hear it twice. Interesting introduction but I doubt I'll ever listen again.
Boring.
Wasn't familiar prior to this listen. Started off slow but the album grew on me a bit. Fun singer/songwriter album with some cool guitar licks. Not exactly my tastes but an okay listen.
There’s some interesting stuff on this album, but the singing is very mumbly and that’s pretty annoying. Over all pretty slow and boring too. 2/5
Folk interessante, bom vocal, mas sem melodias memoráveis.
Great guitarist but I don’t feel his vibe
Very over rated album to be honest, I have tried and tried to hear the genius but also..
This album was ok but didn't resonate with me. Perhaps another listen will do something but I didnt love any of the tracks
This one isnt really hitting for me
Har lyst til å lika da pga albumcoveret e så sinnsjukt fett, men ehhhh. Blei for øvrig overraska at da va fra 1973 og ikkje 2013
Lots of try too hard wankfest. Even when he comes out with a truly excellent piece of funk he souls it with that irritating put on vocal.
We've had three John Martyn albums here and they're all the same; moody mumbling vocals with some okayish Bluesy threads running through it. One album would've been enough.
🤷♂️
2/5 Best: Don't Want to Know Worst: I'd Rather Be the Devil
I wonder if Mumble Rap came from this guy. He's not super easy to understand.
Geeze. Mumble much? There's some real solid guitar, keys, and bass work here but, overall, it's a jumbled, mumbled mess. Unnecessary saxophones and vibraphones knocked a star off the rating real fast. The lyrics didn't help either. I can only take so much of the pseudo-deep, wandering stoner vibe. I was really glad it was over when it was over.
No good
British people shouldn't be allowed to do Blues music
Too folk-ish for my liking
Sounds like elevator music being sung along with; very jazzy. Martyn has a decent, airy voice that isn’t terrible to listen to, accompanied by a variety of well played instruments. “Dreams by the Sea” had a Shaft-like bass line that was an interesting change up from previous tracks. But also, I nearly didn’t notice when the album had finished on Spotify and swapped over to Cat Stevens…I’d kind of tuned out on listening. This album wouldn’t have been a first choice album for me, but if you’re wanting a jazzy, soulful listen, this might be for you.
Aside from Over the Hill and The Man in The Station, very forgettable songwriting. A very soft album, and the various attempt to strike a harder sound (like on I'd Rather Be The Devil) come off as toothless. A style like this relies on catchy, powerful melodies. This does not have that. Many of the songs sound familiar, but not in a good way.
Don’t know what to say about this one. It’s ok. Instantly forgettable though.
the main problem i have with this album is that it’s too schizophrenic. is it soft gentle folk a la james taylor? is it psychedelic rock? is it bluesy? it tries to be all of these and succeeds at being none of these. it would actually be more listenable if it could pick one and stick with it. oh, and the fact that mr. martyn tends to have a serious case of mush mouth. case in point, on the title track, pretty much the only decipherable lyrics are the words “solid air”. however, that might be forgivable if he sang that way in every song… not even that is consistent. some songs you can understand the lyrics. twas a pretty frustrating listen, but that’s ok since it is now over.
Track 1 The air is more solid than his pronunciation. Mumbles McGuitar over here. Track 2 Better. Words and more upbeat. Track 3 Emotive slosh mouth. I don't hate it. Track 4 He tried to get more rocky here. Reminiscent of Jim Morrison. Not bad at the start but it kinda fell flat about half way through and just stayed there. Track 5 Yikes Track 6 Man. This is not good. Track 7 I dunno. My ear drums fell asleep and I gave up about here.
Quite samey throughout, alright for a 2or 3*
Probably could've done with more listens. If I get a chance I'll revisit.
Just because you can play the guitar real good doesn't mean you should also sing.
Bits of this are quite nice, good for a bit of sampling, but sometimes the vocals go full Tom Waits and I suffered.
'Solid Air.' Mumbling, that's the first thing that hits me. Then... more mumbling. Okay, what the fuck, is this a joke? Who is this guy and why is this album listed? It's got some smooth instrumentals, but that's it. Second song is better. More enunciation. Louder. I thought things would stay good, or at least tolerable. Then 'I'd Rather Be The Devil' came on and we were back to step one with the mumbling and moaning. I don't want to put in this much effort to listening. There's also not great falsetto. Just a mash-up of things I don't enjoy.
2, acoustisch, iets te traag
Thiz dudez inziztenze on zinging like thiz was zuch a turnoff. The muzic was often cool, though.
Snore! I’m not remotely interested in this album after listening to it.
Mumble jazz folk, not for me.
Dreary. John Martyn could sap the energy out of a 10 year olds birthday party....... at Disneyland. Like many a drunkard could do.
- again, just not my style
I don't think I've yet been as torn with a rating as with this album! I HATED the first song and then LOVED the second and continued to oscillate between the two emotions for the length of the album. The music was great but everytime he started doing that mush-mouth, lazy singing style I wanted to plug my ears. Ultimately I think it boils down to inconsistency
Some interesting sounds. Not sure I would pull this out to listen again.
Tried 3 different times to listen to this. Nothing bad about it just didn’t grip me in ANY way.
Do not really like much of the vocals here, but did enjoy bits of the instrumentals.
I listened to this twice and can't remember anything from it.
I got a little bored, but it's decent background music. There's a song or two that brings in some more interesting musical parts. John's a chiller.
Not for me. Honestly I got bored while listening and my attention drifted away. Can't rate more than this
This album is uneven. The opening track is a muddy slog. The next song, aptly named Over The Hill, is somewhat better, and it's up and down the rest of the way. The funky vibe on the first half of I'd Rather Be The Devil is fun. There are bright spots in many of the songs, but diction sure isn't one of them. Considering the album as a whole my primary reaction is irritation.
Just ok. Didn't do much for me, honestly. I wouldn't choose to listen again. 2.49/5
I stopped listening pretty early into this. Didn’t give it a fair shake but it just didn’t keep me interested.
I didn't listen to the whole thing but what I heard was pretty but boring.
A conventional acoustic album that doesn't do much to reinvent the wheel, but instead focuses on noodling on different hooks and music motifs. Overall, this is easy listening personified, but there is no sticking power with the music or lyrics.
I never realized Jack Johnson knew jazz chords.
The first mumble rapper.
Solid Air? .. more like Solid Fart.
De man met zijn gitaar. Doet hij niet slecht, maar is wel een beetje saai. **
One of those albums that I listened to and was mostly unaware that I had.
Over the hill slapped. Man in the Station was a vibe. Too bad the rest was garbage.
Over the hill was good, the rest I found to be pretty forgettable
Not good
Prefs: Solid Air, I'd Rather Be the Devil, May You Never Moins pref: The Easy Blues
mehhh 2/5
early 70s jazz not pop but clearly meant for more mass appeal 2.5
I had never heard of this guy before. Love the mando, sax, Rhodes keys on various songs. Very Nick Drake-y when just acoustic. All the improv and jazzy stuff. Wow. Can tell he had drugs central to his life. So glad this one turned up!
Interesting and unique style but not my cup of tea
Experimental, textured and folky with weird elements of jazz. The songs aren't great to start with, but any potential for enjoying them is ruined by the slurred mumbled and drawled vocals. This isn't 'awful' awful but is very hard to like for a casual listener. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Over The Hill Date listened: 11/11/22
Dull. Sorry.
I am becoming more cynical with these albums. Nothing memorable here.
Not impressed
A bit of a drag. Some of the tunes were okay, but the vocal delivery and shoddy production really bog it down . 4/10
Wasn’t sure what I would make of this, as it’s a name I know a bit but not much. Quite enjoyed it. The tempo and instrumentation was varied enough that it didn’t all sound the same. Not a big fan of Martyn’s voice, but it was interesting and different. This didn’t bowl me over, hence not having much to say about it, but I did really enjoy the live track at the end. Had a bit more oomph and was a nice close to proceedings.
Like Simon and Garfunkel but without the talent
I can hear the quality, but it doesn't do it for me.
Proto-buttrock
Pretty one dimensional Not a fan of the voice Acoustic sounds are nice, more than just guitar Breakdowns are disappointing
Did not vibe. Maybe was in pissy mode but it irritated me while working
The closest comparisons I could think of from what I know are Nick Drake and maybe Cat Stevens. The album does have range; "Dreams by the Sea" introduced electronic and jazz elements that I wasn't expecting. It has a rambly, mumbly quality that I found off-putting but was apparently deliberate by the artist to sound different and organic. All a matter of taste, I suppose.
I have gone back and forth while listening to this. Still not sure if I like it or not. I did enjoy the guitar throughout, cello? and the jazz musical elements. Not so much the funk.
Liked the blues stuff but not my cup O' tea.
I was a little bored by this album but I do think it has it's place as a background type of experience rather then something you put on and sit and listen to with full attention. I like how moody it is, and I think his voice has a coolness to it that makes the overall sound attractive. Overall though for me it's a 2/5 and I'm not completely sold that it has a place on this list.
I have to reaaaaally be in the right move for this album. 10/10 album arouth though!
Kind of boring
recommended for: happy hour at whiskey bar. serving smoky whiskey. smokey whiskey that makes you sound like john martyn when you talk. a little mumbly. This was pretty good. I'd definitely stop and listen if John Martyn was playing in a cafe or bar, but wouldn't be blown away. The Man in the Station was the only song that really resonated. 2.5 / 5, (mixed) rounding down to 2. Cuz I gave The Band a 2 and like that more in retrospect.
If I was on a farm in Sonoma County I think I would be into it. 2/5
Not gonna lie, this was pretty boring. Talented guy, just not very interesting for me.
Didn't love it
Random British folk.
za nudne żeby tego słuchać
Not my thing. The singer's voice and the heavily folk/blues-influenced song-writing do nothing for me. I believe it's good for fans of the respective genres. For me it's 2/5.
singer songwriters very rarely do it for me.
The best thing about this was learning that... 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.
On paper, given the genres, I should have liked this album. But I didn't. Could it be the result of the mumbling for singing? Or is it the overall boring presentation? I don't know, but it's yet another album I'd rather pass.
I liked maybe 2 of the songs on this. Not my cup of tea sadly. While I do love folk music and and others that sound like this, this was slurry, repetitive and just uninteresting overall for me.
Promedio
I can applaud the craft and there are a couple of great songs, but his voice just doesn't vibe with me, like he's singing while swallowing at the same time.
Not feeling this guy as a singer. Need more rock. Maybe come back and listen to this guy when it’s not Friday afternoon.
I think there is more to be appreciated in the skill of the acoustic guitar that I can’t quite tap into with this one.
The instrumental work in this album was perfect for focusing on work. Smooth and easy. Martyn's voice, however, was less refined. Been listening to Nathaniel Rateliff and also Jake Xerxes Fussell. Their level of rough around the edges still blends right into their musical style. I did not feel the same with Martyn. In an album that lets you sink in, a singer being just outside that feeling leaves you unsatisfied. Also, the lyrics felt like poems a friend of my mom's would put into a Hallmark card. Sentimental, nostalgic and over the top cheesy.
The first track I thought I'd write more notes about John Martyn as it was the only one I hadn't heard of and I really wanted to know why it made the list. And, I wanted to avoid accidentally listening again in the future needlessly. 1. Title track Solid Air I read to listen to the album with headphones. I think that's a great call. The atmospheric qualities of the song just aren't going to mesh with today's background atmosphere well. This seems like it would have been an amazing song for hippies in their 30s to early 40s to get a little high too and have sex in the mid 1970s, perhaps after a party with some aging hippy friends who are trying to find a more permanent home in the folk jazz rock ambient scene as the hippie scene begins to age. 2. Tracks 2,5, 7 sound like background music for a reasonably enjoyable but completely forgettable Indy movie. 3. Tracks 3, 4, 8 and 9 sound like a very mediocre college Doors cover band. 4. Track 6 Dreams by the Sea has Bob Dylan potential in the sense that others who cover it would likely make a good song even if the original was ok. I could see a lot of groove forward bands (Soulive, Phish, MMW, String Cheese Incident, etc) turn it into a respectable jam. 5. Track 10 is just on there to remind you that many bands, like many sports, are more fun in person than listening at home.
Not super interesting
Bit dull
Something about this guy just bothers me.
I did not recognize the artist or any of the songs. It was uninspiring. No need to listen to it again.
Upee kansi. Levy kuulostaa loppumattomalta introlta ja jättää mut jatkuvasti odottamaan sitä että ”joku alkaa oikeesti”. Hämmentävä folk/jazz meininki. Hyvii elementtejä mutta jään kaipaamaan jotain vielä enemmän... 2/5
MEH.
2/5 not my liking
I kinda fw the vocals on it. But not my vibe.
Eh
another british rocker I never needed to hear. Smooth music but give me something new and exciting plz.
Cierto estilo rollinga. Buen sonido y ritmo.
If the word vanilla is used to connote absolutely plain, basic and uninteresting, what would be one notch under that? I'm trying to rectify how something can be totally unlistenable but not terrible. This is music, yes. And, I imagine that there are some people that enjoy this, but I couldn't find any music worthy of discussing here. I suppose, since I have to pick something, Easy Blues is a positive that I'll extract from this. It is the one song that doesn't belong here. I'm going to take a stab at how the term 'vanilla' would fit into the 5-star breakdown. 1 - Shit / offensive 2 - ? 3 - Vanilla / meh 4 - Doughnuts and Cronuts 5 - ? Well, that didn't work... to be continued...
Remember when I said jazz wasn’t my thing? This feels like guitar jazz. Is he saying words? Is he skatting? Who can tell.
Really solid middle, but the beginning really let it down. I liked the last song on the album though, I feel it ends with a bit of a bang
I will give it a 2, it was OK but seemed to go on a bit too long for me
Somewhere between jazz fusion and folk. Little blues thrown in there as well. Inoffensive. Kind of boring. Favorite track: "May You Never"
Pretty chill not my favourite
Yeah the British bias of this list is showing up again here. This is some weird sort of funk folk rock that sounds like the doobie brothers trying to be country.
Not enough here to generate substantial interest from a singer-songwriter standpoint. Most tracks abandon any interesting improvisation in favor of rehashing the chorus on a loop, but even then the style isn't strong enough to differentiate it from the crowd.
It was alright, but can’t see it being good enough to make this list. I did like how a lot of the tracks had different sounds than each other. I listened to part of the album which driving in the rain and the music did mach that ambiance.
It was alright.
kinda cool iguess
ganz gut, aber dann doch nicht.
Unclear. Wasnt bad. Just. I was. Unclear.
Found this pretty boring, not gonna lie. I appreciate the blending of genres but Martyn doesn’t seem to do anything interesting or engaging with them, he just embodies the sound without any refinery to his songwriting to draw us into these sounds.
Meh
-nick drake, arthur verocai, neil young, astral weeks -"Dreams by the Sea" is a funky hit, "Gentle Blues" has a cool synthy sound at the end -wait he was friends with nick drake and dedicated it to him this is a nice fine album but for this sound I would probably go to everyone listed above before I go to this again
decent acoustic guitar stuff, didn't really catch my ear
jazz/folk just isn't my jam, couldn't get into most of the songs
Singer/songwriter, jazz-inspireret, akustisk
Super inconsistent from one song to the next. Some really nice guitar work, but not usually enough to elevate a boring tune. This guy sounds like he doesn't move his jaw when he sings. Best track: Over the Hill
High 2
I had no idea what this man was singing about. Was this English?
If its older, there is a good chance it is British folk. If its newer, there is a good chance its British electronica. Either way, its a good chance its crap. 1
Really didn't like this. Way too boring jazz/blues LAMEO
🤨
Irritating.
Well if there is one thing I've learned in the last couple of days it's that I really don't like British folk music.
No, I did not need to hear this, and now I’m unhappy that I did.
Boring
The author of this list probably thinks “all lives matter.” The worst part of lil pink skinned singer/songwriter & folk crud mixed with that wannabe black artist bullshit this list seems to love. I’ve mentioned Skip James in a review before with another wannabe black musician & this guy covers a Skip James song! Skip James is not on this list. Listened to that afterwards to get the bad taste out of my mouth. Then I relistened to Nick Drake again after reading the first song was dedicated to him. Probably glad he kicked it before he had to hear that piece of shit song. Getting this album right after Nick Drake probably really hurt my take on this.
What a let down compared to the last Nick Drake album, especially since this guy was doing a tribute
I've never heard this before, and I won't be coming back. It's mostly dull. Somehow sleepier Nick Drake. I gave "Pink Moon" 2 stars and I think I liked it a fair bit more than this. The only song that I didn't dislike was "Dreams By the Sea" which had a tolerable jazzy tune. Then it went into a song that would feel right at home performed for an open mic night at a decent coffee shop near a medium sized midwestern college. My clapping would be half hearted. I can't see a single reason to include this album on the list. I actually listened to most of it twice to see if I was missing something, still don't see it.
I found this to be quite boring.
who let that drunk guy on the stage?
Not memorable enough for my review
BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This guy again? Wikipedia says he’s been on all kind of lists but honestly this is the most annoying kind of acoustic folk singer songwriter I’ve ever listened to. I hate the vocal styling and the arrangements are annoying and the bass lines are stupid. The album actually gets progressively worse adding all kind of ear piercing sound effects. One star. Negative stars.