Although he has recorded for a variety of other labels, John Martyn is one of last great undiscovered gems in Island Records back catalogue. His gravel rough, sugar sweet vocal delivery, expressive guitar playing and the folk jazz ambience of the majority of his work make him ripe for reappraisal. His run of albums between 1971 and 1980 can all be deemed masterpieces.
Born lain David McGeachy on 11 September 1948 in New Malden, Surrey, but growing up mainly in Scotland,
Chris Blackwell of Bob Marley fame picked him out and signed him to the label.
John Martyn was a big six footer who was never comfortable with himself. He pioneered some techniques, like that whole echoplex delay thing going back in to itself again. He did it first and he did it with an acoustic guitar, so he gets kudos for that.
But he was a bruiser. Beating up some of his fans at the bar (so the story goes - don't know if it's true). A very delicate man. Not able to take criticism. Of any kind.
He was a serious drinker. He had to have half of his leg chopped off because of his 'indulgence'. He wasn't kind to those around him, yet they still loved him deeply. There's a documentary about him if you want to know more.
He hung out with Phil Collins when he was having his divorce.
Great voice, great guitarist, great songwriter.
Flawed human being?
Not for me to say...
This is one of my most cherished things by him:
If you are ever stretching, and need some kind of pussy magnet, dig John Martyn out of the draw. He's got it all.
Gonna get on up and fly away
Go on out for another way
And a new day's dawn
Going to carry on
Keep on loving while your love is strong
Keep on loving 'til your love is gone away
Gonna get on up and fly away
Go on after another way and a new day has dawned
Gonna carry on
In the small hours...
When you face that dark night of the soul...
And you are reaching out...
Even if you find friends...
Some things are beyond words...
Just take solace in the fact that you are not alone...
And be brave in the face of the fact that you are very much alone...
Utterly alone.
It's ok.
Few men make it back from this side of the lines.
But those that do...
Sometimes fly kites.
Silly me.
Frank Zappa:
“Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.”
Saw this guy preform live and it was absolutely the most fun and had the most energy of any concert, show, festival, ect I've ever experienced.... the music he was mixing was so diverse from 60s jams to the red hot chili peppers to jay-z and it was flowing together.
I woke up the other day after the strangest dream.
It was John Denver, singing this -
I get this thing when I dream, where I actually have auditory hallucinations, so I can ACTUALLY here the whole song in my head. Not imagine it, but actually hear it! It's pretty weird, but you get used to it.
Nothing unusual there, but the way it hung in my head for the rest of the day...
I mean, I like the song, but...
I'm going to stay with my folks over Easter.
I've had terrible problems with my parents.
They inverted the whole parent/child relationship from a very early age.
Some kind of trait of their Narcissitic Personality Disorder. Re-parenting? Is that the word for it? Let me check. No, got that one wrong. Oh well.
Whatever it's called, it's a quite well known phenomenon.
Imagine if you are a responsible parent, but your kids just won't listen to you. They go out all times of the day and night taking drugs, being irresponsible. Nothing you do will make them listen to you. They hate you.
That is the inverted relationship I have with my parents. The fact one of them is dying only makes it worse. Narcs never give in. They kick and scream till their dying breath. I feel them taking me down with them. But yet, I can not abandon them.
I recognize all the signs: codependency - stockholm syndrome. All that.
And I have even grown distant from them. No love given. No love received. There is nothing left now. I've come to terms with it.
Yet I will still go and help them.
And the narc cycle continues: them being nice for the first few days. Then it's coldness, aloofness. Indifference. Before the outright abuse starts. Again.
I'm not looking forward to it. I'm dreading it in fact. I tell myself: this will be the last time. But my compassion and deeper understanding gets the better of me.
Interestingly, there is no full lyrics of this song on the net.
But these will do:
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long way from home, a long way from home
Sometimes I feel like I'm almost done
Sometimes I feel like I'm almost done
Sometimes I feel like I'm almost done
And a long, long way from home, a long way from home
Sometimes I wish I could fly like a bird up in the sky...
A little closer, to home...
Motherless children have such a hard time alone...
Been listening to Russian Orthodox Church music, mostly anything related to melody, Znamenny chant, Old Slavonic chant, etc. in honor of my late father during this Easter week.
Video description: "Published on Mar 28, 2010. Penitential verse of king Iosafat. Ancient Russian Znamenny chant with musical arrangement.
From album "Receive Me, O Wilderness 2006"
Video description: "Video sequence from the film "Viking" with shots of the solo performance at the St. Vladimir's festival "Enlightener". Balaam. 07/29/2017
Composer - Igor Matvienko."