Glorious fool --- John Martyn --- 1981 (WEA)
John Martyn. The very name conjures up words like “unequalled”, “perfect”, “original” and certainly, like this album's title “glorious”. About as feted as a musician can be, among his peers, critics and fans alike, the world lost a great talent when he died in 2009, but thankfully he left behind him a wealth of music that stands as his legacy and reminds us all of how massive a talent he was. I suppose I could have chosen any of his albums to review, but this one hit a chord with me when I listened to it for the first time, so this is the one I decided to go with. Whichever it had been, there really is no such thing as a bad John Martyn album, but I find this one just a little bit special.
It opens on the ballad “Couldn't love you more”, and immediately you're struck not only by Martyn's distinctive yet understated voice, but also his superlative eye for songwriting. The track is graced
with a guest spot by the legendary Eric Clapton, but such a figure is Martyn that, great though it is to have Slowland on the song, your attention is not drawn away from the dazzling vocals of John Martyn, and it certainly does not become a Clapton song. Backing vocals also contributed by Phil Collins, in addition to his drumming gig. It's a lovely, lazy, smooth ballad with a very simple message, in the same way most of Martyn's songs are crafted.
“Amsterdam” kicks up the tempo and pace a little, with great keyboards from Max Middleton, and Collins enjoying himself on a vocoder. An upbeat mix of jazz and blues, it's a step away from what will become the overarching theme of this album, slow, graceful, at times unbearably beautiful love songs. In places on this track Martyn manages a fairly good Tom Waits impression!
The cool, smooth vibe is soon re-established for “Hold on my heart”, with again great and distinctive backing vocals by Phil Collins, and a really nice line in bass courtesy of Alan Thomson. A truly lovely flugel horn solo by Dick Cutthell really adds to the mood of this song, making it, if such a thing were possible, even smoother. “Perfect hustler” brings a caribbean feel to the album, with some great precussion by Danny Cummings and again that oh-so-cool bass from Thomson. Martyn's voice rises above it all, like a flame jumping from the fire into the night air. And is he having fun!
The longest track then, “Hearts and keys”, a seven and a half minute blues ballad, takes slow and lazy to new dimensions, but in a very good way. It's almost an ambient track, with slow, atmospheric drumming (if you can imagine such a thing), moaning bass and evocative keyboards, Martyn almost drawling the vocal. Amazingly, you realise seven and a half minutes have passed, and the next track is the title one.
It's another low-key ballad, with that excellent bass again leading the way. Never heard an album where bass guitar was used so well, and shaped the mood of the songs so much. A sort of a “scat” vocal from Martyn, very jazz-like, and at times almost inaudible as he seems to be singing into his chest, but that just falls in with the overall mood of the song.
After all these smooth ballads it's a bit of a shock to the system when “Never say never” kicks in, with its opening lines
”Shut up!” repeated, then the heavy drums and Martyn's much more animated vocal taking the song into higher levels. “Pascanel (Get back home)” is a slower, but more forceful ballad, with Martyn taking no chances people are not going to hear him. Some superb guitar from him on this track as well, then we're into “Didn't do that”, the last of the, shall we say, faster tracks on the album.
With a very jazzy beat and a fast tempo, it features a tongue-twisting vocal from Martyn that he handles with the ease of the consummate professional. Dick Cuthell cuts loose with some very fine and jazzy trumpet that helps carry the song, The album closes on two more ballads, and there is a wealth of quality to choose from here --- an embarrassment of riches, so to speak --- but “Please fall in love with me” comes very close to taking the plaudits for standout track. At over six minutes long it's the second-longest track on the album, and is a very low-key and laidback ballad, with again a very simple message.
The drums do a lot to set the mood here, keeping what we would have to call a very Phil Collins beat (it
is him, after all), similar to “In the air tonight” (the quiet part, before the big finish) and taking the song gently along, till he hits them a little harder and the track gets a little louder, a little more insistent and to be totally fair, a little more reminscent of Collins' masterpiece. None of this is surprising, as Collins had only released his debut solo album a few months earlier, and was probably still experimenting with his own individual sound.
And one more flawless ballad to end on, the utterly beautiful “Don't you go”, with haunting piano by Collins, and impassioned and heartbreaking vocals by Martyn as he puts every iota of his being into the tragic and forlorn figure presented in the lyric.
To some, the often hard-to-hear singing might colour reception to this album, but anything that's worth listening to is worth the effort, so just make sure if you're going to spin this album that you're in a quiet room, preferably alone or with your SO, lights low and volume up --- not
too high: this isn't an album you need to play loud, but just nudge the volume up a notch so that you can make out all the vocals and lyrics --- and close your eyes and just drift away on the mellifluous voice that gave us such classics as “May you never”, “Solid air” and of course “Sweet little mystery”. You couldn't be in better hands.
John, the world is a little darker and colder without you in it. May you rest in peace, and to quote your own lyric: May you never make your bed out in the cold.
TRACKLISTING
1. Couldn't love you more
2. Amsterdam
3. Hold on to my heart
4. Perfect hustler
5. Hearts and keys
6. Glorious fool
7. Never say never
8. Pascanel (Get back home)
9. Didn't do that
10. Please fall in love with me
11. Don't you go
Suggested further listening: “The apprentice”, “Solid air”, “Grace and danger”, “Stormbringer”, “Bless the weather”, “Piece by piece”, “One world”.... the list goes on. And on.