1001 Albums: One World

#381

Album: One World

Artist: John Martyn

Year: 1977

Length: 38:38

Genre: Experimental Pop / Dub / Blues / Jazz-Funk / Rock / Ambient

“Going to get on up and fly away
Go on out for another way
And a new day’s dawn
Going to carry on.”

Small Hours

After I had listened to Steely Dan’s Aja and found myself unsure of what to really say about it, I had a moment where I reassessed how I was listening to music in general. I questioned whether I truly didn’t have much to say because the album didn’t do much for me or because my current listening habits were getting in the way of me truly listening to the album. I’ve become habituated to just listening to as many as albums as I possibly could and having them play whenever I can, which means they would often play in the background as I work or do chores or just chill and relax, that I became more excited about getting to the end of the album to say I’ve listened to it than actually being excited about listening to the album itself. That attitude was definitely hindering my album listening experience.

Seeing as One World was next, I felt I needed to focus more and truly give this album a listen. I really loved John Martyn’s Solid Air and seeing another one of his albums pop up on the list, I figured it would be the best thing for me to actually allow myself to experience the album fully and not somewhere in the background. It’s the least I could, especially since I loved the last one so much, I had to give myself the opportunity that I would possibly love this one just as much. So I did. I sat down and gave my full attention to the album and really tried to focus and listen to it so I can absorb as much as possible. It’s time I change my listening habits.

All pretensions aside, I already knew ahead of time that I wouldn’t be able to decipher any lyrics or be able to analyse them in any way. I always have difficulty fully understanding lyrics when I listen, so I knew that wouldn’t really happen entering this new mind set. However, I definitely let myself lose myself to the music and tried to keep track of any feelings I had through the album. I wanted to make sure I really did take it all in as much as I could. I even listened to it twice to really get a hold on how I felt and I’m happy I did because this was a positive experience.

I loved Solid Air and I can safely say I also loved One World. Entering this challenge, I never expected I would have found myself quickly becoming a fan of John Martyn’s work (mainly because I didn’t even know who he was before starting the challenge) and it seems his style of music is really resonating with me in a deeper way. Somehow it touches me down to my core and into my soul and just tickles it in a way that a lot of other music doesn’t. I find myself just feeling in a good place when I listen to it and this album had a sort of calming effect on me, which is always a plus. It’s hard to define his style of music but the mix of experimental pop and funky folk stylings just works wonders for me in a way that other music in this genre just doesn’t.

The whole album had this sombre yet uplifting feel to it that made me think of driving down the highway in the middle of the night. It helps that the final song is even called Small Hours, which make me think that’s what he was going for. As someone who works overnight, I’ve driven down the highway at 3 am many, many times and the vibes I was getting from this album brought me back to those nights, driving through the misty air, stars and moon in the sky, surrounded by peace with nary a soul moving. The sleeping city passing me by as I cruise down alone on this patch of road. It felt like midnight but the best parts of midnight. When we think of midnight in a nostalgic way, the sky painted a dark blue with sprinkles of street lights guiding the way. It was a good feeling.

One song in particular that stood out for me, Smiling Stranger, fit right into this style of music I like to call Music For Frogs. A style of music that sounds like its made for frogs to enjoy. With watery sounding blurps, croaking timbres and swampy sounds, Smiling Stranger was an incredibly pleasant surprise of Music For Frogs I did not expect to hear on this album. If I knew how to make music, I would love to make an album called Music For Frogs that incorporates these kinds of sounds, and Smiling Stranger would definitely serve as an inspiration of the kind of sounds I’d like to get. I love Music For Frogs and anything that fits into that category becomes an automatic favourite.

It’s safe to say John Martyn is a musician I’ve grown to really enjoy and with this album now on my radar, I think it’s time for me to do a deep dive into his work and see what other gems I can discover. He has this knack of just writing music that sits nicely with me and I can’t deny myself having more of that in my life. That’s just not acceptable.

Favourite Song: Smiling Stranger

-Bosco

Mixtape Monday: Week of September 18th

Weekly Mixtapes based off the albums I listened to in the previous week!

For the last two months or so, I started creating weekly mixtape playlists based on the albums I listened to that week. Seeing as I listen to more than 20 albums a week, it made sense to start making playlists which would give way for a varied taste of music (depending on how my listening trends were that week of course). It started as a fun thing to share amongst good friends of mine, but recently my girlfriend, Cristina, told me I should start adding more variety to my blog and thought it’d be a good idea to share my playlists here as well. Seeing as she’s always full of great ideas when it comes to things like this (she does work as a producer afterall), I wasn’t one to doubt this and decided to go for it, why not share music with the world at large and not just my friends?

So here’s to the first one! With every playlist I share, I will also share a little blurb of the every album I listened to!

Playlist:

The Residents – Duck Stab / Buster and Glen
This week I was very much in the mood to listen to music that was more unconventional and experimental in nature. At the beginning of the week, I just had this craving to listen to The Residents, and not being one to stop myself from listening to what I want to, that’s exactly what I did. It definitely scratched that itch I had because The Residents approach to music is incredibly unconventional and at times almost anti-music.
KISS – Dressed To Kill
So the entire week wasn’t just experimental music, that would drive any person insane, but it’s funny how after having that itch for that kind of music scratched, I immediately followed it up with pretty standard rock music. Kiss always had this style and theatrics though to back that up (no matter how divisive they may be as a band). There’s a lot of bands that I have playlists of their discographies with the pan to just listen through them all, Kiss is one of them and just decided to listen to the next on the list. It’s nothing great but still a lot of fun.
The Kinks – Kinks
I adore The Kinks and it was always surprising to me that I had never ventured into a lot of their albums outside of their run from Face to Face to Lola. Their debut includes their big hit “You Really Got Me” which has always been a favourite of mine, so I figured, why don’t I finally check out their debut once and for all. For some reason I was expecting more to sound like their hit, with that fuzz guitar sound, but they felt more like straight-forward 60s rock that was still hanging onto the sound of the 50s, pretty normal for all the British bands of the early 60s. That didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it though.
Killing Joke – Night Time
Killing Joke is one of those bands I enjoy but often forget about, not because they’re forgetful as a band but they don’t cross my mind as much as I’d like them to. I was originally going to revisit their debut but was reminded of Night Time, an album I hadn’t heard in maybe years, even though it has my favourite Killing Joke song, The Eighties (a song I absolutely annihilate in Guitar Hero). I’m happy I did because not only did I get reminded of how much I enjoyed this album but I enjoyed it even more this time.
Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges – Clube Da Esquina
In the last 7 years, I have fallen in love with Brazilian music. My journey through the 1001 Albums challenge has had me discover a large amount of Brazilian musicians and albums but also taught me a lot about their history and culture, which is equally as fascinating (It also helps that I have had quite a few Brazilian friends who have helped me discover a lot of it too). Two weeks ago, I had started a challenge to listen to one album from every country and started with Brazil. There were so many options and this album was right there at the top. I went with Os Mutantes instead, but when the week started I found myself still thinking about this album, so put it on. It’s quite a remarkable album.
Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu is one of my favourite bands and The Modern Dance is in my top 50 favourite albums of all time. My itch for unconventional music was started to reappear again and I just had the sudden urge to listen to The Modern Dance because it had been quite awhile since I had last heard it. “Non-Alignment Pact” still stands as one of my favourite songs and I swear I will learn the bass line to it one day! They have such a unique voice and David Thomas’ vocals are incredibly fun to imitate!
Japan – Quiet Life
The opening notes to Japan’s Quiet Life just do something very special for me. I can’t quite explain what it is but everytime I hear them it just hooks me in and I’m ready for the ride that is this album. It’s dreary, misty and melancholic and at times bitterweet, but always engaging. It’s another I hadn’t heard in a long time and felt I was due to hear it again.
Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom
In my 1001 Album post about Rock Bottom I mention how I find it incredibly difficult to categorize this album. Sure Art Rock might be suiting but it just feels undefinable as an album and hearing it again, my feelings have not changed. It really is a unique experience that cannot be described only heard. I always revisit this one every few months.
· Frank Zappa – Make a Jazz Noise Here
Frank Zappa is one of my favourite musicians of all time. I love the unique approach he has to music, the wide experimentations he does, the explorations of genres and of course, his witty, dark and sardonic sense of humour. For years I kept trying to listen to his entire discography (which is vast) and kept failing because I would forget which album I had last listened to. This year, however, things have changed thanks to me finally starting to catalogue everything I listen to, I can never lose my spot and this is the farthest I’ve made it into his discography. The finish line is near!
· David Boring – Unnatural Objects and Their Humans
In my new challenge of listening to an album from every country, I was doing research to find an album from China. Out of all the bands I was given, two had stood out to me, this being one of them. I went with the other but this band still remained on my radar and I decided, what the heck, let me check them out. I didn’t know what to expect going into it and I still don’t know how to feel about it coming out of it. It definitely fulfilled that desire to listen to more experimental and unconventional music but sometimes teetered on the edge of those styles that end up being more obnoxious in a bad way (And that’s saying something from me because I love a lot of obnoxious music and a lot of noise rock).
· The Only Ones – The Only Ones
Another Girl, Another Planet is a wonderful song and is usually the main reason I come back to this album as a whole. If it wasn’t for that one song, I probably wouldn’t revisit it as much as I do. Not to say i don’t like the rest of the album because I do, but I often find myself just forgetting it pretty easily, which isn’t a reflection of the band and the album but more a reflection of my own personal experiences with it. I always find myself enjoying though, so that’s definitely something. At least I remember that.
· Kajagoogoo – White Feathers
I was rewatching old episodes of this VH1 show called Bands reunited. A lot of bands from the 80s that I love are featured on this show and it’s always a fun watch to see these members get back together after not having seen each other sometimes in over ten years. One episode was on Kajagoogoo. After watching it I wanted to revisit their album White Feathers as I hadn’t heard it in over 8 years (which is funny seeing as I own it on vinyl). I’m happy I did because I always remembered the album being pretty corny 80s pop fluff, fun pop fluff though! But it wasn’t that at all, other than their song Too Shy, it was some delicious New Wave music with fun bass lines and great synths. I’m kind of shocked I left this one in the shadows as much as I did.
· Andrew WK – I Get Wet
I reached album 700 of the year and I always love to celebrate those milestones by listening to something special. It only made sense to me to listen to the party rock anthems of the great I Get Wet, one of my top 10 favourite albums of all time. This is definitely one of my most listened to albums in the last few years and every time it just gets me going. It’s pure, raw, positive energy perfectly packaged into 30 minutes of pure adrenaline fuelled bliss. I will never get tired of this album.
· Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets
I found myself perusing through the recommended section of Spotify, looking for something new to listen to. What I always find funny is how it always recommends me albums I’ve already listened to, but that being said, if they didn’t do that, I’d probably forget about some albums I enjoyed and not have a chance to revisit them. This is a case of that. I don’t know how much I would have thought about this album on my own terms, but it’s a shame I don’t because I like Brian Eno and the music he produces, he really should be on my mind way more. I mean, he’s produced a lot of my favourite albums, but I’m always mainly thinking of the main band and he becomes an afterthought. This album is one of those that basically set the blueprint and foundation for the post-punk and new wave genres that I love so dearly. I’m sure Brian Eno will forgive me.
· Camel – Breathless
My best friend, Vishesh, and I have this running inside joke about camels, which would be too long to explain here (but just know they are the most beautiful creatures to exist). So, of course, when I stumbled upon a band called Camel and their album cover showed a majestic camel smiling on the desert, I just had to check it out. What started off as a joke though turned into a fun experience as I was met with some wonderful Prog Rock music I did not expect! I feel bad I only listened to it due to a joke but then again sometimes those absurd things lead to fun discoveries.
· Adam and the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier
Kings of the Wild Frontier is in my top 5 favourite albums of all time. This album holds a special place in my heart as 4 year old me had listened to it on repeat over and over and over again. It meant something profound to me in those days and it’s a feeling that has stuck with me up to today. In my pursuit to listen to new music and all the music, I realised I hadn’t heard this one in awhile and put it on. Those feelings haven’t changed, it still means a lot to me.
· John Martyn – Solid Air
Sometimes I find myself listening to a lot in the same realm of music, which makes sense we all gravitate towards a specific flavour because that’s just what our tastes happen to be. When I catch myself doing this I try to find something that is different in style just to give for some variety in my listening but also to explore more outside of my tastes. Solid Air was a safe choice because I had already heard it before and knew I had loved it, so I wanted to listen to it again! It’s just such beautiful psychedelic folk that you don’t need any drugs to trip on.
· Pere Ubu – Dub Housing
When I started doing these playlists I tried really hard not to listen to more than one album from the same band in the same week but this time, I just couldn’t resist. I listened to The Modern Dance and all it made me do was really want to listen to Dub Housing as well. Both a continuation and an evolution of their sound from their debut, Dub Housing just crashes and rages with industrialness and crunchy guitars. David Thomas wails and screams through these soundscapes and avant-garage has never been more satisfying than it is here.
· OMD – Architecture and Morality
I was reading through one of those top album type lists and Architecture and Morality happened to be on it. I had remembered listening to it long time ago but never revisited it because it was a version of it disjointed on Youtube that would play with ads between each song, not the most pleasant experience. Recently though, Spotify had added a bunch of albums that were previously not on there, and this was one of them, so in my excitement I put it on! I always remembered it as being way more experimental in nature than it turned out to be but was pleasantly happy with how synth-poppy it was in the end!
· Yellow Magic Orchestra – Yellow Magic Orchestra
18/19 year old me had his world turned upside down when he discovered the electronic genius of Yellow Magic Orchestra. That same kid would also be disappointed to see how much his older self has forgotten about them and not listened to them in ages.
· Yellow Magic Orchestra – Solid State Survivor
To make up for this disappointment, his older self has listened to not one but two Yellow Magic Orchestra albums in a row to appease that young kid. I hope he is happy now.
· Depeche Mode – Violator
I always wonder if Depeche Mode were theatrical in the perfect way or were too brooding and melodramatic for their own sake. Regardless what these dark synth goths in bondage clothing do for you there’s no denying Violator is a monster of an album for them. I’ve personally always preferred their earlier synth pop days over this but it fit nicely into y search for more experimental sounding music and Depeche Mode were definitely experimenting with darker synth sounds and vibes in this album. Ehhhhh… Whatever.
· Gigi D’Agostino – L’Amour Toujours
This was a case of choosing an album based on one song I absolutely love. The Riddle has been in my rotation and favourites playlist since I was in High School and I never checked out anything else by the man known as Gigi. After listening to The Riddle for the trillionth time, I figured why don’t I check out the album it originally came from, not realising the album was also over 2 hours long. Nothing against long albums but over 2 hours feels excessive.
· Suicide – Suicide
Now, this isn’t an album you would listen to everyday, and if you do then, well, good for you. But it is an album that sticks with you long after you’ve heard it and keeps drawing you back to experience it again. This album is hauntingly terrifying at times and is actively aggressive towards the listener, something the band aimed to do in their live shows and recreate on the album. I absolutely adore this album but it always takes some time before I find myself in the mood to listen to it, they happen though, and this was one of those times.
· Snakefinger – Chewing Hides the Sound
My week was coming to an end and I felt I hadn’t sufficiently scratched that experimental itch I had so I went onto the profile of The Residents and clicked on similar artists to try and discover something new. Snakefinger immediately stood out to me and boy did it ever scratch that itch I had. It book-ended the week perfectly as well because not only was this guy good friends with The Residents but The Residents also played on this album, and it does sound like they did. This was definitely one of my favourite newest discoveries I made.
Tuxedomoon – Desire
Tuxedomoon is an interesting case with me. They had been on my radar since I was 18/19 but for whatever reason I never actually sat down and listened to a full album by them. I had heard very few songs, songs I had enjoyed, but still never sat down to listen to an album. Which is odd because back in those days, when I was 18/19, I had downloaded a bunch of Tuxedomoon albums with the purpose of listening to them and… never did. It’s about fucking time.

-Bosco

1001 Albums: Solid Air

#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
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”
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