5. John MartynSolid Air
I remember seeing John Martyn by accident down at Lancaster University and I was blown away. It was the classic days of smoking spliffs on stage and John would happily light up. Again it’s the soundscapes he employs with the guitar through the Echoplex in combination with his voice. It’s one man who’s able to create such a miasma of sound around him. It’s just John’s voice and the soul that’s in that voice. The pain. That soft pain he manages to wrap up in his delivery is phenomenal.
‘Solid Air’ is one of those lyrics I’ve always wanted to write – the lyric I wish I’d written, along with Joni Mitchell’s ‘A Case Of You’. Those two are just great songs to be sung on your own. John’s voice is like the voice of loneliness, a quiet howl of a voice.
