Customer Reviews

One World (Dlx)

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Fans of John Martyn have long lamented Island's decision to allow this album to remain deleted from its catalog -- most of us consider it (along with 1973's Solid Air and 1980's Grace and Danger) to be one of John's real masterpieces. Thankfully, it was worth waiting for its reintroduction -- Island has done a very nice job with this 2-disc treatment. The first disc remasters the eight-song album, making John's shimmery, across-the-water (read the accompanying booklet and you'll understand) guitar work sound at once ethereal and immediate. You can also hear, for the first time, some of the really cool dub beats and rhythm tracks (on Smiling Stranger, for example) that got buried beneath hearing on the vinyl mix. Overall, it sounds like you're hearing the album for the first time, and it's a truly great album. The second disc, parts of which have been bootlegged around for awhile as "Another World," has a really nice 5-song live set with John at his most direct and accessible (if a bit out of tune on the acoustic guitar!). The rest is a fascinating set of alternative takes and working tracks that, unlike most such dross, actually enhance one's understanding of the album as released. Really thoughtful and well done. And the booklet is a treasure that explains how the album came to be and some of the recording techniques that give it its unique and path-breaking ambient sound, particularly on Small Hours. If you're not a John Martyn fan, you're much better off starting with the damn-near-perfect Island anthology, "Sweet Little Mysteries," than this reissue. But if you're already part of the club, this is revelatory stuff that brings a truly classic album into much clearer focus.

It's difficult to write how brilliant this record is. Words cannot do it justice, but I'll try:

The standout track "Small Hours" was recorded outdoors in the English countryside, late at night, in an ambient setting. As he plays sweeping, slow chords on an electric guitar, using a volume pedal, soaked with both electronic and natural reverb, you can hear loons in the background whooping in response. It is one of the most touching, brilliant and natural recordings of his career.

"Big Muff" and "Dealer" are brilliant, dubby tracks. "Couldn't Love You More" "Certain Surprise" and "Dancing" are more straight ahead pop, but they share dynamic elements of the more ambient tracks.

The whole CD ebbs and bubbles, an ambient masterpiece that somehow grooves deeply but remains tranquil. The 2nd disc has both live and alternate versions of the album tracks, including an extended, instrumental version of "Small Hours".

This is a complete album - a statement, a cohesive work that will get inside your head and heart. The reissue is superb, for once the bonus material actually expands the enjoyment of the album. You just can't go wrong with this CD if you love muic.