Customer Reviews

The Church With One Bell

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Martyn's spent the last 15 years or so in something of a wilderness with a run of albums that failed to shine and some odd compilations of early material reworked with a plodding band. So it's a revelation to encounter this collection of well-chosen songs by other artists delivered with a passion and power that's been lacking in his studio outings for some time. Let's hope it heralds a return to form. It's an eclectic selection, ranging from a bar-room blues rendition of Randy Newman's God's Song through to a stunning interpretation of Portishead's Glory Box. Martyn takes the songs and crafts them into pieces of work that are so distinct from the original recordings (where there are "originals") that it's hard to belive he didn't have a hand in writing them himself. Stand out track is probably his perfectly-paced version of Strange Fruit. An arrangement stripped to the barest instrumentation coupled with a languid, almost weary percussion track exposes every raw nerve in the song's lyric. There's humour too - this is clearly an album that Martyn had fun making. Hear the manical cackle at the end of God's Song or the deadpan delivery of lines like "very next morning you gonna wake up dead" in Death Don't Have No Mercy. Best of all, just hear the band rip along on tracks such as Feel So Bad or He's Got All the Whisky. Audiophiles will love the engineering on this CD, particularly the powerful and sustained bass playing courtesy of an old Martyn collaborator, John Giblin. Elsewhere, there's enough going on to catch the ear anew without this ever sounding like a "produced" album. To sum up, if you're new to the quirky talents of this Scottish singer/guitarist, this is a good starting point before moving on to some of those earlier gems such as Solid Air, One World and Grace and Danger. If you're already a fan of those albums, you won't be disappointed by this one.

This is simply a beautiful record by a sadly overlooked musician. Made up of impeccably chosen songs by such artists as Randy Newman, Dead Can Dance, Brecht, Elmore James and Billie Holiday. Ecletic, to say the least... And all of the songs are performed with understated elegance and taste by John and his expert band. If you love great music, or any of the artists mentioned in this review, you owe to yourself to pick up this wonderful CD.

It is slow, sexy and deep. If you have a subwoofer connected to your stereo you will feel its beauty and intensity. Martyn captures these songs wonderfully. You must get this CD and play it at 3AM while drinking someting or shagging.

If you believe the cliche that "less...truly can be more"...this CD may be for you. Every note is a perfect...yet...complex blend of liquor-laden vocals...with a restrained jazz-folk-blues musicianship. "The Church with One Bell" is quite simply...an outrageously understated...work of art.

Johm Martyn's best album in years- the best since One World. Simple arrangements of great material and great singing. Just wish he would play that guitar more though. Glory Box is particularly good.

John Martyn brings familiar tunes vividly to life with his unmistakable identity and style. Delicious stuff for any John Martyn connoisseur! Those less familiar with this remarkable artist should first listen to his amazing original work, notably 'Solid Air', 'Grace and Danger' and 'Piece by Piece'.

After a string of uninspired albums in the eighties and nineties, John Martyn returned to form with this collection of cover songs. By this stage in his career Martyn's voice had aged like a fine wine: raspy, soulful, and wearing its scars like a badge of courage and survival. I was impressed not only with Martyn's renewed sense of conviction in his guitar playing and singing on this album, but also with his gutsy choices of songs to cover. I can't say that I can picture any other Scottish man covering Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" and having it come across as effective, but Martyn is the one exception to the rule. He brings his own melancholy spirit to the song, and the sparse arrangement and his world weary vocal are incredible. Martyn also covers Reverend Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy", and nails this song too. Martyn is one of the vocalists that lived the blues long enough to sing them convincingly, and he pulls off songs on this disc that surprised even a die hard fan like myself. His cover of Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying" is another example. I have heard this song butchered by many blues singers over the years, Martyn was not one of them. Martyn's arrangement slowed the tempo down to a funereal pace, and both the production and Martyn's weathered voice are haunting. Also notable is Martyn's guitar playing on his cover of Portishead's "Glory Box". Martyn also covers songs written by Ben Harper, the Band's Rick Danko, and Randy Newman on this disc. Overall, this was a late career comeback for Martyn. While it is a fairly subdued collection of songs, it is perfect for late night listening. Martyn released the excellent "On The Cobbles" a few years after this came out, which contained original material and was recorded while Martyn was in the process of dealing with health problems which eventually led to one of his lower legs being amputated. I was sad to hear about Martyn's passing in 2009, but the more I learn about him the more I am surprised that he lived that long. Such is the price of living the blues and not just singing them. Martyn was definitely not a pretender; one listen to his voice on this album should convince any listener of that.

If the cd is as good as the samples I've listened to here - Thank God it's not vinyl...because I am sure I am going to wear this one out.