#282
Album: Solid Air
Artist: John Martyn
Year: 1973
Length: 34:44
Genre: Folk Rock / Folk Jazz / Folk
“And you’ve been painting the blues
Solid Air
And you’ve been looking through solid air
You’ve been seeing it through
And you’ve been looking through solid air
Don’t know what’s going ’round in your mind
And I can tell you don’t like what you find
When you’re moving through solid air, solid air”
I’m really excited. I’m about to go on an awesome three-album run. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time ever since I first heard it about two years ago, I couldn’t wait until I got to the point that I was actually here, in the moment, at this exact three-album run. It’s honestly one of my favourite three album runs from this whole list as it’s three super solid albums that I absolutely adore and for three different reasons! There’s been so much variety in this list and of course the experience changes from album to album, but I haven’t yet felt such a satisfying three-album run than the one I am about to embark on. So strap yourselves in because I’m about to get really excited!
Solid Air is the first album in the amazing three-album run. Perfect way to start it, it’s slower, chiller and has those jazz lounge vibes that can make you feel cool. My love for this album came from a very unexpected place. By now, following me on this journey, you already know my feelings when it comes towards Folk music. I’m not a fan, I don’t hate it, but I don’t enjoy it either. It’s always been this lukewarm, middle ground, almost apathetic feeling towards the genre as a whole, with some exceptions but those exceptions were Bob Dylan and I feel that doesn’t count because of the powerhouse of an artist he was. John Martyn and his album Solid Air is now one of those exceptions.
Can you believe my reaction, while driving down to Quebec to visit my parents, this comes up in my car and instead of feeling nothing towards it or feeling incredibly meh feelings, I was captivated entirely by it? I couldn’t believe it either. The opening title-track just sucked me in completely. The mix of Folk and Jazz was just so beautifully done I couldn’t keep my ears off it. Follwoed immediately by an upbeat acoustic guitar diddy, I was hooked and it would take a lot for me not to keep listening. Could it be, I was finally loving a folk album? Like truly loving it? Not just appreciating it for what it is, but actually enjoying it with all my heart? This was the one, I told myself, this is it, the folk album I would fall for.
How could I not, it was just one Solid (heheeheh) tune after another. They flowed seamlessly yet still provided enough different vibes from each other to keep it interesting and engaging. I read a review that stated that John Martyn “shows the entire spectrum of music that [he] has at his fingertips” and I feel this couldn’t be more true. Everything he could do with the genre, he does here in this album. Every emotion you can portray, every sound that it offers, every vibe and piece of the folk genre is on full display here and it feels like he not only utilises it all but also pushes the boundaries of what he could do with it too. I don’t know much about the folk genre, but this is definitely the feeling I get when listening to this. He doesn’t let a moment go to waste and just pushes it to it’s max.
This truly feels like an album that has a little bit of something for everyone, and not in a way that is pandering or made for mass appeal, it just has that kind of variety to it as a folk album. It also perfectly sets up the three-album run we are about to embark on. Getting you neatly in the mood to listen to music, chilling you out and creating the right vibes that build up neatly for when the second album on this run kicks in. Strap yourselves in because it’s about to get wild!
Favourite Song: Don’t Want To Know
-Bosco
Bosco's Modern Life 