Saturday 4 January 2014

John Martyn, Spencer the Rover; Beverley Martyn, The Phoenix and the Turtle



Prompts

John Martyn’s version of traditional song Spencer the Rover, from album Sunday’s Child, is one of his most beautiful, and that comes from such a richness of others. As John Hillarby writes here in his detailed and excellent review of the remastered SC album, ‘John later dedicated this song to his son Spencer’. You can listen to a live performance here [watch for the early duff note and John's giggle. Lovely, as is the subsequent singing and playing].

I was prompted to think of this today when reading Uncut and a short article on Beverley Martyn’s imminent album release The Phoenix & The Turtle. She is quoted as saying, in commenting on one of the album’s songs Women and Malt Whiskey, ‘there’s a verse about our son, who is a bit wild. He didn’t have a good father’s hand, John didn’t teach him good things.’

In one sense it is sad to read observations like this, but in another it is widely documented that there was considerable unhappiness in their marriage [and thus eventual split] and one has to respect her thoughts and feelings. Indeed, and not wishing to make light of the comment and her experiences, there is another quote from Hillarby’s review which is attributed to John as stating his own father taught him ‘how to fish and fuck and ride a bike’, and this certainly adds probable credence to Beverley’s tart observation.

Whatever, readers of this blog will know that I revere John, and in terms of his recordings, the two albums he made with then wife Beverley will always be favourites, serving very much as my introduction to John as an outstanding artist.I would have been delighted had they recorded more together.

You can preorder Beverley’s album here, as I have just done, and by doing so you will on its release receive a signed copy.

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