May You Never Forget
This is undoubtedly John Martyn’s most popular album,
following on from Bless the Weather
and including the title track which was written for Nick Drake after his sad
early death. This song and album once again joins the idiosyncratic bass
playing of Danny Thompson with Martyn’s acoustic guitar and equally distinctive
vocal, now beginning to develop a slightly lower timbre – a nuance – but not
the jazz slur of his next album; however, the sax of Tony Coe and vibes of
Tristan Fry hint at the jazzier sounds to come later in John’s career.
Second Over the Hill
returns us to the folk song/sound upon which John established his career and
which graced so much of Bless the Weather,
mandolin, autoharp and violin all played by Richard Thompson on this bright
track. Next song Don’t Want to Know and
seventh May You Never are two of the
most beautiful and well-known songs written by Martyn, the latter probably
having the most covers of any one of his works [a problematic homage in that
John’s originals are so perfect].
I’d Rather Be the
Devil provides another outing for John’s use of echoplex and other effects on
his guitar and it is a dynamic piece of bluesrock with the soloing presaging so
much of the brilliance we would all enjoy over the years, especially seeing
Martyn playing live – listen to the exquisite echoplexed acoustic soundscapes
dancing above Danny’s complex bass lines. Dreams
By The Sea is another rousing rock track and these two definitely produce
more overall variety on this album. The instrumental contribution of Rabbit
(John Bundrick) – reviewed elsewhere on this site – plays a key role in the
jazzier range too. Closer The Easy Blues/Gentle Blues illustrates John's virtuoso playing of acoustic blues, the speed matched by Danny's dueling double bass and it is such a delightful tandem romp. Unforgettable brilliance throughout.
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| Gone too soon aged 60, but never forgotten |
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