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Baker's Dozen

Beautiful, Beautiful Music: Beth Orton's Favourite Albums
Laurie Tuffrey , October 23rd, 2012 09:17

The singer-songwriter undergoes the "horrible" process of deciding on her top albums

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John Martyn - Solid Air
I first heard him at about 16, and listening to him was like just doing really good drugs, it was like smoking [laughs]... I felt very moved by his music and when I did, it felt like it was just for me, because it seemed like no-one had ever heard of him. No-one really knew of him that well until - I'd often put his record on and blow people's minds with it. I'm not sure what I meant by it being "personal" - it sounds like a good way of not talking about it! - I don't want to repeat myself, but listening to it, I never get bored.

If we want to get into the sound of a record, there's some pretty innovative sounds in there, in a way. I think it was quite an adventurous record, really, for a supposed folk singer and I find his songs very moving. The first song I ever sang was 'Don't Want To Know ‘Bout Evil', I did a version with William Orbit, and then one of the first gigs I ever did was supporting John Martyn. I think it was at Queen Elizabeth Hall - I was so happy, and running around with bottles of champagne and was like "no! He's not drinking them!" He was pretty grumpy, but it seemed to me had different states of mind - this time, he was in a different place.