It was like going back in time thirty years when singer-songwriter John Martyn played his classic 1973 album 'Solid Air' at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. Support for the evening came from songwriter and guitarist John Smith. John proved he is a rare talent. In a set that included both his own songs and covers, his bluesy drawl of a voice and deft playing won the audience round.
 | | John Martyn |
Highlights included the upbeat 'Matchbox Man' and the forlorn love song 'So-so' whilst his performance finished with the melodic but incredibly demanding 'Winter' which threatened to steal the show. John Martyn Now confined to a wheelchair, John Martyn started his set with a newer song, before dedicating 'Glorious Fool' to George W. Bush. The band was really hitting their stride by the time they played 'Couldn't love you more' with its trademark jazz pop style. John's gruff voice is still as fluid as his remarkable guitar playing. The singer-songwriter was accompanied by session stalwart Spencer Cozens on keyboards, as well as a rhythm section of drums and bass and much of the soloing was handled by Tenor Saxophone.
 | | John Martyn |
Although it is now nearly 34 years old, 'Solid Air' is one of those timeless albums, that just seems to get better. It's blend of jazz, blues and folk with ambient and electronic effects made it groundbreaking when it was first released. Re-recorded Many of the songs have been recorded in different ways over the years, with these performance seeking to emulate the vitality of the original release while still retaining the ideas from later treatments. Songs such as 'Solid Air' were more jazz like and ethereal with the keyboards and saxophone helping to provide many of the effects, spaces and timbres. While 'May you Never' - probably one of the most heartfelt prayers to platonic camaraderie written - started of as an acoustic folk ballad, and then became almost country, before becoming pure folk rock at the close of play.
 | | John Martyn |
'Over the Hill' and 'The Easy Blues' gave John Martyn the chance to show that his playing has lost none of its vitality, while the reprise at the end of the second song allowed for extended blues playing from the whole ensemble. 'I'd rather be the Devil' and 'Dreams by the Sea' used the echoplex sound that John Martyn has made his own, while 'The Man in the Station' and 'Don't want to know' were the pure written ballads they were in 1973. 'Solid Air' is a classic album, that deserves a place in every record collection, and this gig showed just why that remains the case today. | 
