Solid Air

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

Not for me

Yawn

another one never heard of very slurry big proto trip hop energy 💥solid air 💥don't want to know

is this just one long song?

Meh

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

🤨

Completely unintelligible and boring to boot. Surely this man would fail a sobriety test with the amount that he's slurring every. single. line.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really tried listening to Solid Air, and I genuinely tried to like it. But in the end, it just sounds like yet another folk singer from the UK doing his typical folky thing. It completely fails to stand out and is, quite frankly, boring beyond belief. A hard pass.

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.

Nicht gut

I thought about giving this a 2, because it obviously does have a lot of technical proficiency. But you only live once, and it’s hard to imagine something I would pick this over. Unless I was soundtracking a scene in a movie that was meant to make fun of the vibe of coffee shops in the late 90s. Then I might pick this.

On a streak of albums I really don't care for. I couldn't take his mumbling for very long. On to the next.

# 578 : Solid Air Solid Air – More Like Stale Breeze Clocking in under an hour, the best thing about this album is that it ends. It starts slow and dull—like watching grass grow, but without the beer or the satisfaction of lawn care. Not really my cup of tea, unless that tea is lukewarm and served with a side of confusion. Martyn mumbles through most of it like he’s trying to win a game of musical charades. The vibe? Imagine a yuppie couple dimming the lights and putting this on to set the mood. Now imagine trying to un-hear that. There are moments where I almost dig what’s going on, but they vanish faster than my interest. This album is all over the place, and none of those places are worth visiting. Verdict: ★ for brevity. File under “albums that make you grateful for the stop button.” Best Track (if you must): None worth mentioning. Listened: 29/09/2025

Dull folk- and jazz-inflected soft rock with affected hippy-dippy singing. Detours into some heavy post-"Tomorrow Never Knows" grooviosity on "I'd Rather Be The Devil" but for all of its bluster it leaves little impression.

Nope.

Absolutely loathe this style of vocals and I accidentally did two albums of jazz vocalists in a row, woops. This was perhaps to the detriment of John Martyn's rating. 1.5

This is the 479th album I've listened to, and so far this is my least favorite. Personal enjoyment: 1/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

But too slow. Wasn't really in the mood for it. Might be better with the right mood.

The first song had me cringing and worried that I was going to have to listen to an entire album of that crap. The rest of the songs weren't as bad but honestly the album is not memorable

No thanks, sweet message tho

11/1001 :: John Martyn - Solid Air Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 2 Fav Tracks: Over The Hill, Dreams by the Sea I don’t know… I never heard of this album or artist before. There were some Nick Drake / Amigo The Devil type things going on here but honestly I listen to a lot of music like this and frankly I just didn’t find this one that interesting. Some cool acoustic guitar work with some atmospheric elements sprinkled in but I think if the music is gonna be this sparse the vocal needs to be more captivating. Maybe if I spent more time with it I’d find things to love but I got 990 more albums to go…

First listen

This fella is bad at singing.

Ok. I've listened to it only as I decided to listen to every album. It is truly not what I like. Some of the music was good for me, but his singing was an ordeal as was the experience listening to the album but, hey, I listened through. I hope noone ever invites me to have a smoke and listen to it as I would be stuck in an eternal hell.

Weird shit singer

I don’t think weird ass albums like this are must-listens at all. Felt like a waste of time. There were some slightly interesting parts of very few songs but nothing made me want to ever listen to it again.

Not really my type. Too jazzy

Langeweile in der krassesten Form!

I think I found the first number rap album. I'm digging the ambiance. Ok it's the classic first track doesn't sound like the whole album.It's like experimental jazz had a baby with a folk singer. I get what he is going for but it's not landing for me. Usually albums have a flow to them, this album would be better on random I think. The first track is jarring compared to the rest of it. The B side is far better than the A side for me. Overall this album is just an experiment to experience. It's worth a listen although I don't think I'm going to revisit this album.

I'll be honest, I turned this off halfway through. Nick Drake if you neutered and lobotomized him.

mumbling shite, couldn't get past 3 tracks

this was a spectacularly boring album except for the last song: I'd Rather Be the Devil (Devil Got My Woman) which was pretty fun. but the rest... yikes. 1.5/5 stars.

Not available in my places

He was hard to understand in 85% of the songs! The ones I could understand, I really liked.

Awfull

Not for me. 1/5

Why does drivel like this make the list? Too many ageing hippies who think this stuff is relevant to anyone. Hated it.

This sucks. Easy listening Jim Morrison. Whatever this is trying to do you can find better versions.

i give it 1 out 5 because its boring and i dont like it for first songs dosent hype me up. and for rest songs they really dont hype me up.

Do you like music where you can't understand the lyrics? Then this is the album for you! I don't like anything about this album. I can't understand anything he is singing. I don't like the background music, I don't even like the lyrics. That is why I recommend you DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM!

Not my cup of tea.

Eww no

Boring.

Skip…Skip…Skip… 2/10 for one good song

Dill just does nothing for me

This sentence made me throw up in my mouth a bit... "Solid Air is the fourth studio album by Scottish folk singer-songwriter John Martyn, released in February 1973". Everything about that screams RUN! RUN NOW! PURE SHITE! I was mostly right. Dreams by the Sea and the "Jelly Roll" part of The Easy Blues are good. As for the rest... well you know... RUN! RUN NOW! PURE SHITE!

Barely better than his first album on here. Actually, not really. Very dull. Amazing he gets two listings and others get none.

This was poisoned before listening by sharing a name with one of my least favorite people. I also hated it.

Mumbly, droning, dull singing-songwriting. This is the sound of one of the forgettable background musicians in Inside Llewyn Davis, except for the excellent reverberting live version of I'd Rather Be The Devil at the end of the album. Apart from that, I couldn't wait for this album to be over.

Not my style

A bit boring to me. I didn't understand what makes it something in the 1001 albums list.

Not particularly anything.

I don’t have the bandwidth to listen to this

thanks i hated this too

The perfect soundtrack for falling asleep in an MRI tube or filling out a questionnaire at the doctors office.

I don't understand why I keep trying these fucking albums. This is so goddamn terrible...how can anyone think this is vital listening? This site makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

This is why punk rock was started.

Did not listen to it completely.

smooth, slow, boring

I'm not really sure what to make of this. I'm not a big fan of the sound of his voice. Is it folk? Is it funk? Pop? It makes me feel a bit uneasy.

First impressions not great. Track one just sounded like a drunk mumble. But that might be ‘jazz’. Never understood it. Warmed to the next couple of tracks marginally but lost complete interest soon after. Reading wiki I just can believe this fella has recorded so many albums yet I’ve never heard of him. Not saying I know everyone and everything, but if I’ve not come across him in all my years on the planet then maybe there’s a reason.

I can appreciate the fusion of folk, jazz, and funk and the clear impact he had on many musicians. However I can’t help but think maybe someone did it better? Or before him?

J'aime pas du tout.

From the first song I think I’ve heard every John Martyn song. I think I have an irrational dislike of him and Joni Mitchell. Don’t understand it. I suspect it’s because he must take himself wayyyy too seriously. Far too earnest.

This album was jus boring did not really have much to keep me interested

I didn’t initially think I’d ever come across this guy before. I have a deep dislike for singers with lazy enunciation which I had to try to put aside in order to listen objectively. This is, in essence a good collection of songs that I probably would have liked more if sung by someone else. It just feels like an English guy trying too hard to sound American blues-y Too much affectation for the sake of it, too much twangy guitar. I realised when I got to ‘May You Never’ that I had in fact heard it before, it wasn’t my thing then and it still isn’t. That being said that is probably the best song on this album. Overall, really irritating but at the same time bored me to tears.

Lahmer britisch Folk.

Det här var uruselt.

Yeah it’s a mood, right? Masterful guitar picking, just nothing I’m going to crave at a later date. I was distracted away from the album multiple times by other songs that I wanted to hear more.

Meh.

Man, what is that singing on the first song? It's nearly appalling. In fact, this whole album is kind of torture. It's so BORING. Usually that'd be a two star, but this album has zapped motivation from me for the rest of the day, it was that bad. Haven't had an album that boring since all the way back with my first one star. God, I'm falling asleep just thinking about it... zzz....

Yawn

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: not really just too somber and quiet for me Favourite song: didn’t have one

Listened to his top 3 off the album and decided to pass

Seems I've tapped into an especially rich vein of middling sonic crap given the past few days of records. Who will break this cursed streak of unremarkable junk? This mush-mouth mumbling motherfucker just isn't doing it for me.

Boring

1/5

I listened to this album a few separate times over the weekend and I swear I don’t remember it at all.

What is up with that singing voice? Yeesh. The music didn't grab me either. Couldn't wait for it to be over. Never again.

Good god. Wth early 70s? Listen John, enunciate! What a mumbled! This was first album I couldn’t finish, a feat neither Roxy music or napalm death couldn’t claim.

Un poco inaguantable

Not great

Could have sworn this was a parody.

Remember Chantelle and Preston, the celebrity super couple from the 00's? How can you not? Big Brother and the Ordinary Boys were box office and made many a man cry from their penis. Anyway, this record by John Martyn reminds me of the time Preston stormed off Never Mind the Buzzcocks in a glittery cardigan because his wife's book was so fuckin' stupid and he couldn't handle it. I wonder where they are now

Nope

Niet te doen. Als je je album vernoemt naar het eerste nummer op de plaat dan snap ik de artiest niet. Maar goed, vast dat er fans zijn

Did not like

In some placed bad, but mostly just not for me.

Not something I would come back to. The album didn't flow well in my opinion. So many different styles

Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood but the album just kept drifting into the background for me. Not sure when I would be in the mood for this but it’s not Tuesday evening.

Meh.

not for me

Meh

paia

Brilliant

Not my favorite. A little too experimental for my taste.

Smooth, jazzy at points, strong voice yet soft when necessary. Didn't grab my attention right away but still vaugely enjoyable at some points 5/10