The Apprentice

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The wild man of folk dies aged 60". The Independent. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022 . Retrieved 9 July 2020. Live in Dublin (with Danny Thompson at Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, for RTE TV, Ireland, June 1986) (February 2005) Beaudoin, Jedd (30 October 2011). "Various Artists: Johnny Boy Would Love This… A Tribute to John Martyn". PopMatters . Retrieved 16 August 2018. WITH TWO ADDITIONAL CDs AND A DVD OF A CONCERT RECORDED IN MARCH 1990 FEATURING GUEST DAVID GILMOUR. denotes a release that did not chart. Note: the 2009 reissue of Solid Air reached 88 in the UK chart.

UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Songwriter Martyn dies, aged 60". BBC News. 29 January 2009 . Retrieved 16 August 2015. Self-penned, bar Foster Patterson’s Patterns In The Rain, The Apprencice itself was superior to his preceding Island output, without quite supplanting the magnificence of his glory days. The synth wash dates it, but Martyn’s vocals are clear, and the songs are carefully crafted. He’s unusually upbeat in Live On Love, but he’s quietly angry on Income Town and Upo glides serenely, propelled by his trademark hidden, nagging melodics. In Autumn 1989, he joined Julia Fordham’s band for the Porcelain Tour and recently did the U.S. launch of her album. Recent work also included working for Thames TV on theme tunes and recording for his own project. Relying increasingly on his Gibson S.G. electric guitar Martyn’s playing was highly inventive and beguilingly controlled style reminiscent of Thelonious Monk’s revolutionary musical phrasing, and his distinctive vocal delivery and painfully honest lyrics, “Grace And Danger” became a stunning exposition of confusion, heartache, love and remorse.John signed to Permanent Records and The Apprentice was released. A confident and fresh sounding album of varied material from the fierce funky disco beat in Deny This Love with crashing synthesizers and samples, to the more understated instrumentation on The River, Send Me One Line, Look At That Girl and the vastly underrated The Moment (only available on CD having been left off the vinyl release). Look At The Girl is written about John’s now grown up My Baby Girl Mhairi and Income Town, apparently live from the mythical The Green Banana in Toronto is in fact dubbed. Typical of the man’s sense of humour! A spellbinding album of love, hope and reflection, with a modest sprinkling of rage and disbelief at an inequitable world. More Sorcerer than Apprentice! At the moment I am having lots of fun writing music with Spencer and friends and am looking forward to this tour with John.” The first thing to comment upon, as I popped in the first disc to play, is quite the reasoning behind Island’s rejection. It seems they had high hopes for cross-over, seeking to manufacture a worldwide star from this never more idiosyncratic performer. (Chris Rea being their template!) Given stardom usually necessitates conformity and standardisation, I can certainly see how that may have sat with Martyn. Now I haven’t, maybe I should, listened to the Island tapes, given they are available via the 2013 UA release of The Island Years, but these songs, as presented here, seem astonishingly commercial. That is, in the 1980s sense of the word, full of the tropes of the era, gated drums, shimmery synthesisers and lots of echo, and, of all people, the sound feels most akin to Stevie Winwood’s work of a similar vintage, when perhaps Island were seeking a star of him, then duly delivered. In the late 1980s, Martyn cited Grace and Danger as his favourite album, and said that it was "probably the most specific piece of autobiography I've written. Some people keep diaries, I make records." [17] The album has since become one of his highest-regarded, prompting a deluxe double-disc issue in 2007, containing the original album remastered.

In Session (August 2006) (BBC sessions, recorded for John Peel and Bob Harris, between 1973 and 1978) Due to his father’s involvement and love of jazz, the first music Miles listened to was jazz. Later influences developed more specifically in bands and players, like Miles Davis, Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, Al Jarreau, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and the late Jaco Pastorius. Angeline" / "Tight Connection to My Heart" / "May You Never" / "Certain Surprise" / "One Day Without You" (Island 12 IS 265, February 1986) If 1990s The Apprentice was a landmark for John Martyn, it was primarily because Island Records’ rejection of it even after he had re-recorded it at his own expense marked the end of his two-decade tenure at the label. With hindsight, it’s hard to fathom why they passed on a record later seen as a return to form after some decidedly uneven 80s output, but John Hillarby’s liner notes for this three CD plus DVD clamshell box reissues are revealing. Apparently,the label had designs on re-styling Martyn as the next Chris Rea – a fool’s errand, really, given his notorious recalcitrance and reputation as a stylistic moving target. Mike Harding introduced an hour-long tribute to Martyn in his BBC Radio 2 programme on 25 February 2009. A tribute album, Johnny Boy Would Love This, was released on 15 August 2011, comprising cover versions of his songs by various artists. [18] [34]Left technical college in Newark in July 1983 and spent a year self-employed building flight cases and speakers. Moved to London in 1984 and joined guitarist’s Dominic Miller’s band ‘Iguaza’. Played on his album ‘Iguaza’ and did the Edinburgh Festival with the band which included playing on BBC Radio 2, Brian Mathew’s ‘Round Midnight’. While The Apprentice was a turning point for Martyn’s career, it’s not exactly a landmark gig, even with the inclusion of Gilmour. With its less-than-great picture quality, it’s in no danger of overshadowing the handful of alternatives available at the moment. John signed to Permanent Records but unfortunately this proved to be a far from happy and permanent arrangement. However, the album is confident and extensive use was made of synthesizers and samplers on the fierce disco beat Deny This Love which achieved a good amount of air play. More subtle blends and instrumentation were evident on The Apprentice, Send Me One Line and the vastly underrated The Moment (The Moment is only available on the CD version). Look At The Girl is a song about John’s now grown up daughter Mhari and Patterns In The Rain features John’s acoustic guitar playing for the first time in many years. Income Town is apparently live from The Green Banana in Toronto but this is in fact dubbed. Martyn now played electric guitar almost exclusively and his acoustic guitar and echoplex only featured in a small selection of his stage show, something a lot of fans took some getting used to. It was a conscious decision: “I didn’t want to be just another geezer playing with a repeat echo, so I had to change.”

Martyn later said that it was “Probably the most specific piece of autobiography I’ve written. Some people keep diaries, I make records.” However, only after extreme pressure from Martyn did it finally achieve a release in October 1980, and give him the exorcism he needed. In the late 1980’s Martyn would cite this album as his favourite even though it had been difficult to make. Dealing with “Live At Leeds” and excessive touring drove Martyn to take a sabbatical for most of 1976, spending 4 fruitful months in Jamaica (“Like Glasgow transported to paradise!”) where the Island Records connection was utilised and Martyn recorded with Burning Spear’s Max Romeo and dub master Lee ‘Scratch Perry.’ John Neil Munro, Some People Are Crazy: The John Martyn Story (2007), 2011: foreword by Ian Rankin, ISBN 9781846971655 Then, one lashing-it-down rainy weekend in 1982, at the Genesis reunion that was Six of the Best, held at Milton Keynes, I saw the John Martyn band for the last time. I was with that same old school friend, Gary, and so many things beyond the concert made it such a perfect day. But, I decided, I’d seen Martyn at his zenith by then, I needed a rest. My life had moved on considerably, good and bad, and the man’s songs sometimes reflected too many emotional similarities not to hurt upon hearing. With time having passed, I replayed his vinyl records, and the likes of ‘May You Never’ and ‘Couldn’t Love You More’ found favour with the woman who’d become my wife. We went to see him at Birmingham Town Hall, alongside Roy Harper – Both sets had them solo, voice and acoustic, no effects. My better-half enjoyed Martyn immensely, for me it was somewhat bitter-sweet but I was so glad I had gone. Martyn died on 29 January 2009, at a hospital in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, [30] from acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had been living in Thomastown with his partner Theresa Walsh. Martyn's health was affected by his life-long abuse of drugs and alcohol. He was survived by his partner and his children, Mhairi, Wesley and Spencer McGeachy. [31] Tributes [ edit ]

Credits (12)

His obituary in The Times states that "The record's dubby, echoing soundscapes have been claimed as the forerunner of the 'trip-hop' style that emerged in the 1990s."