Customer Reviews

Stormbringer

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

 

 

If John Martyn is so great, why haven't you heard of him? Good question. I hadn't heard of him for a long time either. The fact that he's still alive is a miracle. He still performs live, when well enough, suffering from poor health and in a wheel chair after having his leg amputated, due to his alcoholism. He never got the fame that he darn well deserved and still does, much of the limelight being hogged by Bob Dyalan and Van Morrison, two artists this genious could certainly stand up against any day of the week now, let alone in 1968.

Any of his albums from 1968 to 1980 are very much worth your time and money. But Stormbringer is definately one of his best and also the first one that really threw me. This is one of two albums that he recorded with his talented wife Beverly. The gorgeous picture of the two of them huddled together against a beautiful Woodstock sky defines the album's entire premise. Beauty, sadness and worrying that something more is on the way from the oncoming storm ahead.

Hearing this music is to be transported back to a time of simplicity, hope and dreams. But it also has much disappointment and disillusionment in the music. Martyn's voice was already developing his trademark growl and eclectic guitar work. I can't really do it justice to describe it. Beverly Martin's songs are equally as beautiful and have a quiet distinctiveness that makes one feel like they're swimming under water. But it turns out that Martyn steals the show.

The only other artist who comes close to John Martyn's style would be the late Jeff Buckley. The much hailed Nick Drake also does, not surprising, since the two of them were close friends. But I would urge anyone who is a fan of either artist to listen to this phenomenal musician.

And you really should start with this album.

This is the first of two albums made by the Martyns in America, circa 1970. Warner/Reprise (their American label at the time) and Island (where Martyn was then a folkie fixture) thought this Scottish/Brit husband/wife team would really take off in the states and set up them near Woodstock, where they forged friendships and recorded with members of The Band and their proteges. But this album, and the slightly better "Road of Ruin," failed to catch on, and the duo, whose edgy marriage soon fell apart, went home. Beverley dropped out of sight, and John moved on, increasingly drawn to blues and jazz. This isn't quite as strong a collection as "Ruin," but the music has held up well over the years -- an enchanting, ecletic mix of folk and rock tinged with blues and jazz. As on "Ruin," the Martyns mostly perform their songs separately, as though they were using the sessions as platforms for solo careers. John has remained in the public eye (at least in Europe) and has given us much memorable music since. Beverley, sadly, has not been in the catalogue since these two releases, to my knowledge. She has some terrific songs here, including the haunting "Can't Get the One I Want" and "Sweet Honesty," sung in a voice mesmerizingly unique. John's numbers include the comic come-on "Traffic Light Lady," sardonic "John the Baptist" and gently folkie "Woodstock," which makes the U.S. town overrun by hippies seem like a quiet Scottish village. The finale, "Would You Believe Me?," introduces the Echoplex guitar technique that would figure prominently in Martyn's music of the 70s. The CD transfer is fine, with a sound much the same as the original Warner/Reprise analogue pressings.

Stormbringer (1970.), John and Beverley Martyn's first studio album

'Stormbringer', John and Beverley Martyn's first studio album, released in 1970 is the first of two folk-jazz orientated albums by the Martyn couple. Many listeners think of John Martyn, the solo artist but reality is that before that, he and his wife Beverley put together two excellent and often overlooked albums. These ultimately kick-started John Martyn's career and allowed him to be more noticed when he began his solo work.

Drawing on being set up in the US and being part of the Woodstock '69 festival, John and Beverley Martyn cut this studio album. John himself, after the production of the follow up, still thought 'Stormbringer' was the better album, saying it to be much ahead of its time. I personally think they got better and peaked as a duo with their second effort, 'Road To Ruin', which for me is much more cohesive. Still though, this album is excellent and will more than likely hold your attention for its duration. 'Stormbringer' was the first real introduction to both John and Beverley. This is our first real and sadly penultimate album encounter of Beverley Martyn's excellent, flowing unique voice which is really underrated. This album is also the first studio album effort by John who, over the years has grown to become one of the great and sadly underrated alternative music acts out there and this album is a great opener to his creative genius.

'Stormbringer' is a solid effort overall. 'Go Out and Get It' is a country styled acoustic opener and is followed up by 'Cant Get the One I Want' with a passionate vocal performance by Beverley with a guitar and string quartet background. 'Stormbringer', is a solid folky styled track and 'Sweet Honesty' is an 8 minute epic from Beverley who commands the track right through amazingly. The mouth organ finish makes a great exit. 'Woodstock' is a short acoustic piece with fast, storytelling vocals. 'John the Baptist' has the couple harmonising together with a nifty piano part footing the track. This is my personal favourite on the album. 'The Ocean' is a bit more experimental, with a hammond organ at the start before Beverley sings out the track beautifully, over an orchestral backing again. 'Traffic Light Lady' and 'Tommorow Time' are both excellent acoustic tracks before the album finishes off with 'Would You Believe Me' with some bluesy playing on the guitar. The closing track is really atmospheric.

'Stormbringer', like the followup album is not known to many people and is often overlooked which is sad becuase it is a very good album which deserves more credit than it is given. John and Beverley Martyn made a great duo and produced two excellent works and it is a shame that's all they did, due to later pressures from the record company for John to go solo. Highly recommended - if you see it on a shop shelf, buy it - its a great album that is not always that easy to obtain.

As a devout John Martyn fan, I have a special fondness for the early John & Bev material. This one is the real highlight of the two. Their style of alternating the vocals track by track (rem. Lennon / Yoko - but so much better IMHO)truly works and there's a real energy to the way they combine. This early work shows the folk roots of Johns acoustic guitar playing, his voice coming over less 'sleazy' than in later works. Bev's haunting vocals make the hairs in the back of the neck stand up! If it ever comes available again - and it should (it's available in the UK without too much trouble) - I can only say buy it.

...not so much in terms of subject matter, but more in the the way the album itself is structured: A John tune followed by a Beverley tune, followed by a John tune, etc.

As a result, I end up programming out Beverley's tunes. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Beverley's tunes or voice. It's interesting to note that producer Joe Boyd approached this project as a Beverley solo album with John as a session player. Boyd was/is not a big fan of John or his music and wanted to record Beverley solo. John ran away with this project, as well as J&B's followup, ROAD TO RUIN and, subsequently, with Beverley's career, and that ended Joe Boyd's association with the Martyns.

Having said all that, John has some very good tunes on "Stormbringer." The opener, "Go Out And Get It," is a terrific folk rock tune, as are "John The Baptist" and the album's closer "Would You Believe Me." The backing musicians, pretty much the cream of early-70's Woodstock, NY, are excellent, giving "Stormbringer" a Dylan/Band sound.

So, here's what I did: I basically "created" a new John Martyn album by combining John's tracks from STORMBRINGER and ROAD TO RUIN onto a single CD. Now THAT is a five-star album.

It's kind of sweet how Martyn split two whole albums with his wife Beverley, even though she was a horrible, warbly folkie type. I guess she would have been OK putting out something on her own, but paired up with the gorgeous, sublime material that HE was doing at the time, her stuff seems like an irksome distraction. Still, this album is worth checking out for gems such as "Traffic Light Lady", one of Martyn's best ballad. They trade off evenly through the whole album -- his stuff is great, her stuff makes me grind my teeth.