January 7, 2025 • 27 mins
Unlock the secrets behind John Martyn's genre-defying masterpiece "Solid Air" as we uncover how Martyn, much like Bob Dylan, reshaped the boundaries of British folk with his bold fusion of jazz, blues, and rock. Ever wondered how an album recorded in just eight days could produce such timeless tracks? We promise you'll gain fresh insights into the album's experimental brilliance and its enduring influence on later musicians. Discover why Martyn's adventurous sound continues to captivate listeners, and why tracks like "Solid Air" and "I'd Rather Be the Devil" remain fresh even today.
Prepare for an intimate look at the emotional core of "Solid Air," a heartfelt dedication to Nick Drake that speaks volumes about mental health awareness. We'll explore the intriguing album cover created with the rare scleran photographic technique and draw unexpected parallels to modern bands like The Strokes with their surprising British flair. As we navigate to the album's second half, admire with us the craftsmanship and musicianship that shine through every note, ensuring this 1973 classic remains a fixture in music history. Whether you're a long-time fan or a newcomer, this episode promises to enhance your appreciation of Martyn's groundbreaking work.
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DISCLAIMER: Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to play pieces of the songs we cover in these episodes. Playing clips of songs are unfortunately prohibitively expensive to obtain the proper licensing. We strongly encourage you to listen to the album along with us on your preferred format to enhance the listening experience.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voiceover (00:18):
It's just the normal noises in here, random, using
the patented Random AlbumGenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
Here are your hosts, jeremyBoyd and John Van Dyke.
Jeremy Boyd (00:46):
Hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm JohnVan Dyke, and let's not waste
any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here, so let's hit thebutton and see what album we're
going to be listening to thisweek.
And the album we're going to belistening to is john martin
solid air.
(01:07):
I think john martin is like um,like a bob dylan type singer,
songwriter kind of guy.
All right, but this is what itsays on allmusiccom.
It says solid air is one of thedefining moments in british
folk, in the same league asfairport Convention's Liege and
Leaf Richard and LindaThompson's Shoot the Lights Out
(01:30):
and Michael Chapman's.
Rainmaker.
Martin stepped out of hiscomfort zone to record and
produce it, including not onlyjazz and blues but rock and
plenty of sound effects andfeaturing Rhodes Piano on some
of the tracks, dismaying somefans while winning a ton more
for his genre-blurringpresentation.
A number of its cuts, such asthe title track written for
(01:53):
Martin's friend Nick Drake Overthe Hill, I'd Rather Be the
Devil and May you Never, remainstaples in his live set until
the end of his life, in his lifeset until the end of his life.
Okay, so kind of a uh shortreview, but uh, interesting, yep
(02:13):
.
So, yes, the the song has um 11, no, nine, tracks on the album
and, uh, it's uh.
Side one has four tracks.
So what we do is we we take apause halfway through to discuss
the album at the halfway mark.
So what we'll do, the albumstarts with the song Solid Air
(02:34):
and side one ends at I'd RatherBe the Devil.
So if you're listening alongwhich we encourage you to do if
you want to take a pause at thefourth track, I'd Rather Be the
Devil and we'll discuss at thehalfway point.
Okay, so here we go.
So here's the first song, whichis the title track Solid Air.
So here we go, okay, endingside one with.
Jon VanDyk (03:15):
I'd rather be the devil.
Yeah, this is reallyinteresting so far.
Yeah, I'm liking it.
Jeremy Boyd (03:17):
Yeah, I think it's pretty good yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm
really liking it too.
I uh, I have heard of johnmartin, I've heard the song over
the hill.
Okay, I think, um, I think, uh,when chris and rich robinson
were doing their acoustic showsback in 2006, they put out a
live album and I think theycovered over the hill, over the
(03:40):
hill, oh wow yeah.
Okay, but yeah, I mean, this isreally somehow I never really
got that into, John Martin thissort of flew under my radar.
Jon VanDyk (03:56):
Yeah, mine too.
I've heard of Nick Drake, I'veheard of his stuff, fairport
Convention.
Yeah, you know some of thesethings, although they're sort of
like you know, satellites in my, satellites, in my experience,
I guess, with with music andstuff like that.
Yeah, john martin seems to haveflown a little under the radar,
(04:20):
but uh, no, I'm.
I'm really liking this,although it was very hard to
understand the words in thefirst song.
Jeremy Boyd (04:28):
it was, but it was good, it was very good it was a
very good song and this almost Idon't know it's.
This came out in 73 and, andyou know, this almost sounds
it's.
It sounds uh, timeless.
Honestly, it's very freshsounding.
Yeah, it sounds brand new, it's.
(04:50):
It could have come out yesterdayand I would have been like,
yeah, I, I believe that, uh, ithas some I don't know, I don't
know quite what to say like ithas the in in a way.
It's it feels very psychedelic.
I mean the last song, it had apretty broad, you know
(05:11):
psychedelic jam sort of sectionto it.
But you know, at the same time,like songs like the first song,
solid Air, or even Don't WannaKnow I mean those two songs they
feel like they could have beenon the radio, like a pop radio,
(05:33):
and I think it's weird that thisnever.
I think maybe this was morepopular in the UK rather than in
North America, the UK ratherthan in North America.
I don't, I don't know.
I honestly don't know.
I don't know much about thisalbum.
I mean it's and and you know,there isn't a whole lot of
(05:54):
information on the album.
Really there's, yeah, I canhear like later in like stuff
that this album influenced.
Jon VanDyk (06:04):
His voice is almost like Tracy Chapman's in some
ways.
Yeah, the one review you readsaid something about the use of
the Fender Rhodes.
Now some people were turned offby that, I don't know.
I think it adds something to it.
Jeremy Boyd (06:23):
I think it gives the album a little bit more
levity yeah, well, I think thatwas maybe more of like a like a
dylan going electric sort ofthing yeah, I, I figure that
probably the sentiment there, um, but uh, I don't know, I mean,
(06:44):
as good as this this stuff wouldhave been.
Jon VanDyk (06:46):
I think sometimes, if, if an album is like purely,
if it's tries too hard to stickto, you know, being like it's
pure into a genre or something,that sometimes it comes out a
little bit flat.
And I think this, when hestarts experimenting a little
bit with other things, it uhkeeps things interesting yeah,
(07:11):
yeah, no, there there's.
Jeremy Boyd (07:12):
There's definitely that sort of that, that folky
jazz kind of thing that I thinkhis fans were sort of expecting
and had gotten used to.
But you're right, I meanthere's definitely an element of
experimentation going on herewhere you know you sort of you
(07:40):
have to keep things fresh andyou know he's obviously he's an
artist and he's not concernedtoo much about what his fans
think.
Really, I mean, you know, so Ithink, you know, I think coming
to this album and and sort ofembracing that sort of more
(08:01):
experimental psychedelic sort ofsound, he's.
He's just, you know, creatingand and it's sort of I know
artists get kind of.
It's kind of a double-edgedsword with a lot of artists.
You, you don't want to getstuck in doing the same thing
over and over and over again,but you also don't want to
(08:22):
completely alienate your fans.
It's not an easy line to walkline to walk.
Jon VanDyk (08:39):
Um, I would hope that most fans, or most music
listeners anyway, understandthat, though that, uh, that uh,
you know, I, I would hope thatuh, most would you know, sort of
approach music as sort of likeaccepting it as it is.
I mean, if something is likereally off-putting, okay, it's
fine to dislike it, but you know, just because a certain
instrument is in it or somethinglike that, and sometimes how
(09:02):
it's used and something likethat, it just doesn't, it
shouldn't be.
So I don't know, some peoplehave a tendency to just like
write something off because theyjust I don't know I, I'm not
100 sure where I'm going withthat.
But, uh, I, I appreciateopen-mindedness when it comes to
you know, appreciate I'm tryingto keep an open mind myself
(09:25):
when it comes to a lot of stufflike this, although this is not
really challenging me that much.
This, this album, actually, tobe perfectly honest, no, it's
not really challenging me either.
Jeremy Boyd (09:38):
I mean it's, but I also understand, like I also
understand, yeah, I dounderstand if, well, yeah, it is
difficult.
It is a difficult thing to be afan of something.
And also, I mean there arebands that I do think maybe have
(10:01):
had like their quality hasdipped, you know, and maybe they
have like one or two reallygood albums and then the third
album was like like, okay, I'mnot really into this anymore.
I won't name any names, but Ican think of a few.
Jon VanDyk (10:19):
Um yeah, um, and I know what that's like, but
sometimes it feels like you knowthe uh, I find that's most of
the time like.
What turns me off is when thesongwriting isn't, is not as
good as it used to be, where itjust suddenly isn't.
You know, the song used to havelike these dynamics and things
(10:40):
going on and then it, justbecause I don't know, for some
reason, they started makingmoney or something like that.
I have no idea what causes it,but a lot of bands and suddenly
their stuff turns out kind offlat.
It can be on like an upperlevel flat or a lower level flat
or something like that, but thedynamics are lost in it and
(11:04):
whether or not that's dynamicsof like sound and something like
that and I'm not even talkingabout the loudness war, that,
and I'm not even talking aboutthe, the uh loudness war, I'm
just saying in general, like the, the music itself just isn't as
good anymore.
Jeremy Boyd (11:18):
yeah, but I I don't think he's having that problem
here.
Jon VanDyk (11:24):
No, he's not no, no, no, no, no, no.
He's his, his, his, his.
I think john martin is actuallya fantastic songwriter, and
I've only heard four songs of itso far.
Jeremy Boyd (11:34):
Well, yeah, I mean that's, that's the thing you
know and I know we always talkabout like what if, like if this
album, a really big indie albumwith fans of just the indie
folk sort of thing, he's kind ofinventing that with this album,
(12:14):
you know.
So I do think it would dosomething today.
I don't think it would becompletely, you know, out of the
realm of possibility that thiswould become like the songs you
would hear like on a moviesoundtrack or something like
that you would hear like on a ona movie soundtrack or something
like that, you know.
Or or in the background of a TVshow or something like.
(12:36):
I think it would, I think and Ithink this album would, it
would have fans today.
Jon VanDyk (12:47):
Yeah, it's, it seems to be a bit ahead of ahead of
its time, and not justproduction wise, but uh,
although production wise itsounds very fresh, for sure, um,
but uh, yeah, subject matterwise, it's, um, yeah, it seems
to be pretty timeless.
Jeremy Boyd (13:04):
it doesn't seem to have a lot of uh things holding
it back and you know the criticsof the album were pretty like
they were pretty.
It's like it didn't get a lotof reviews when it came out, um
it it kind of flew under theradar of a lot of people.
It kind of became sort of a uma hit or not a hit, but um sort
(13:31):
of became well-known after thefact.
It's a cult classic.
It's a cult classic, exactly.
Yeah, so well it just.
This is from Wikipedia.
It says contemporary reviewswere favorable with Music
Weekly's sounds, declaring thatsolid air flows beautifully and
shows the entire spectrum ofmusic that John Martin has at
(13:54):
his fingertips.
And you know I can definitelysee that he's kind of seamlessly
.
He's moving through differentgenres in a way that you don't
even notice Like he's like it'sjust it all blends so well
together.
You don't even notice that itall blends so well together.
You don't even notice that I'dRather Be the Devil has got some
(14:18):
really rocking parts, but it'salso jazz.
It's kind of all over the placebut he's able to blend it so
well.
Part of that is also themusicians that are playing on
the album, and a lot of themusicians are from Fairport
Connection.
Jon VanDyk (14:40):
Or Fairport Convention.
Or Fairport Convention, yes,yeah, that's interesting.
Jeremy Boyd (14:44):
Yeah.
Jon VanDyk (14:45):
Okay, that sort of makes sense because they were
sort of a band that sort ofstraddled the line between rock
and roll.
They were definitely.
I mean, when you get enoughpeople in a room it's hard to
sound like folk sometimes,especially when everybody's
playing a different instrument.
How many different instrumentscan you introduce until you're
not playing folk anymore?
(15:05):
Sort of one of those thingswhen a lot of the music has got
definitely definitely roots inlike North America and stuff
like that.
But it's interesting how theBritish sort of take that.
I mean, there's obviously afolk tradition that goes way,
way, way, way, way, way, way,way, way back in Britain and
(15:27):
Europe, but introducing the jazzand a little bit of the rock
and roll and a little bit of thejust just just the way that
they have a tendency to blend italmost better than a lot of
American artists, and maybe it'sbecause of their outside
perspective, I don't know theycan see the big picture better.
Jeremy Boyd (15:48):
I don't know.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know, Idon't know, I, I, it's something
in the water, it's, it's, it'sdone, it's every, every genre
you can tell.
It's like, well, like when thestrokes first came out, people
thought they were british,because, oh, they sound british,
it's like.
What does that mean?
They sound british I.
Jon VanDyk (16:08):
I kind of do know what they were thinking.
They were thinking they sound alittle bit like, I don't know,
something that you would hearlike the Arctic Monkeys or even
Oasis or something like that, oraround bands that were around
in those areas.
People's influences arepeople's influences and you no
(16:30):
longer stick to what's reallyjust immediately around you,
although that definitely willinfluence you as well.
Jeremy Boyd (16:37):
But um, so I didn't .
I wasn't able to find a wholelot of information on the album.
Uh, a whole lot of facts.
The only a couple things that Ifound was the album was
recorded over eight days.
Um, oh, wow, that's prettyshort.
That's a pretty short yeah Forsomething that's as um, yeah,
(17:03):
it's, it's yeah.
Jon VanDyk (17:03):
Professional sounding, yeah, yeah exactly Um,
and the.
Jeremy Boyd (17:11):
the album cover is an example of.
I've never heard of this before.
It's a scleran photography,it's a process of photographing
fluid invented by the Germanphysicist August Topler, and
basically it's to demonstratethe solid nature of air.
(17:34):
I guess it's to represent airis the album cover and the the
title track.
Solid air was dedicated to uhNick Drake, who had died of uh
overdose of antidepressants um18 months after the album, after
(17:54):
the album was released.
So, uh, oh, after the album.
Okay, so, um, so that's kind ofnice that know, he was able to
hear the song, you know.
But I hope so, I hope so, yeah,yeah, john martin says it was.
It was done for a friend ofmine and it was done with very
(18:16):
clear motives and I'm verypleased with it for varying
reasons.
It has got a very simplemessage, but you'll have to work
that one out for yourself.
I I think it's probably a acautionary tale about mental
health, you know yeah, mentalhealth is.
Jon VanDyk (18:35):
I mean I I understand firsthand how bad
mental health can be um and andI haven't experienced the uh,
full brunt of some people nearme have experienced, so that is
true.
Jeremy Boyd (18:52):
That is true, um, so, yeah, so those are just a
few few things I was able to tofind, um, but I guess, so I
guess we'll get back into sidetwo of the album.
But before we do that, let'shear from our friends over at
the Abandoned Albums podcast.
(19:12):
So check those guys out.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Our mission at Abandoned Albums is simple, as
simple as this ad.
Our only goal is to keep therecorded work of artists on the
cultural radar and showcase newartists who should be on the
cultural radar.
Some things in life are trulythat simple, With our tongue
firmly in cheek.
(19:36):
It's why we say AbandonedAlbums is the only music podcast
that matters and it's availablewherever you get your favorite
podcasts.
Jon VanDyk (19:52):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you, here's side two.
Jeremy Boyd (19:56):
All right, and ending the album with Gentle
Blues.
Yeah, I mean, this is a reallythis is a pretty fantastic album
.
Jon VanDyk (20:12):
There is not a bad song on here.
I don't think.
No, I don't think so either.
Jeremy Boyd (20:14):
Yeah, I'm definitely impressed.
Yeah, I mean I don't I reallydon't know what else to say
about it.
I mean it's it's, it's.
This is a really solid album,no pun intended, but you know
it's, it's, it's.
This is a really solid album,no pun intended, but you know
it's, it's, it's really.
You know the the album.
A lot of the albums that we, wereview, it's like you know it's
(20:34):
some of them.
It's it's like okay, this isreally good, but you know,
there's some stuff that couldhave been better.
I can't think of a single thingthat I would improve on if I
were producing the album.
I can't think of anything thatI would really change.
Um, yeah, I, I there's.
I have no, no notes for this.
(20:57):
I mean there's nothing that Iwould.
This stands out.
That is even like, even likedipping a little bit in quality,
like it's really.
I'm really impressed with thisalbum, you know I me too.
Jon VanDyk (21:17):
I kind of feel basically the same thing.
Sometimes.
I think his enunciation couldprobably be a little bit more.
Well, I think he couldenunciate a little bit more.
I think is what I'm trying tosay, but I think that's like the
only thing I mean.
Other than that, I think, likeit's musically, I can't think of
(21:39):
anything that I'd change.
I think if this, if, if I hadproduced this album or something
like that, I'd be very proud ofit.
Jeremy Boyd (21:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's just yeah.
There's no, there's very few, Ithink, flawless albums where
and you know the crazy thing toois, and you know the crazy
thing too is there's really noLike it's recorded in 1973, and
(22:11):
Well recorded in 72, it came outJanuary 1st 73.
Jon VanDyk (22:16):
Well, yeah, I guess in 72.
Jeremy Boyd (22:18):
I'm just being pedantic.
Well, yeah, around the timeanyway, but um, uh, it it, even
the, the musicians on it, likethere's no.
Nothing comes to mind wherethere's any like uh, mistakes or
like, oh, there's a missed notehere or you know, there's
(22:41):
something off here, like youknow, sometimes you know that's
part of the charm about olderalbums is there's, there's um
sort of these sort of humanelements.
And I'm not saying that thereisn't that here, but what I'm
saying is it sounds so, so wellput together that you know, I
(23:06):
don't I think it's not perfect,but it's, it's near perfect, and
just the level of musicianshipand everything's on in time and
in tune, but it it still hasthat sort of that human element
to it, like I said, and and it'snot, it's, but it's also it's
(23:33):
it's just amazing that theyrecorded this whole thing in
eight days, because it soundslike they labored over it.
Jon VanDyk (23:39):
Um, I guess is what I'm trying to say yeah, um, yeah
, I don't know if I could saythat better um, that's uh,
pretty much puts the nail on thehead, I think.
Um, yeah, this is a very wellput together album.
It's, it's.
It sounds like it was slavedover, but but really they banged
(24:00):
it out.
Yeah, they really did.
It's just interesting.
I mean, I guess the musiciansare just on top of their form.
Jeremy Boyd (24:10):
Yeah, but to learn the song and then record it and
have it come out this good, Ican only imagine I don't know
how they it come out, this thisgood is.
It's like I can only imagine,like I don't know how they would
have recorded this.
But I would imagine that, youknow, they would have gathered
the musicians in the studio, he,he would, then they were going
(24:34):
to record that day and he wouldhave presented the song, he
would have played it on hisacoustic guitar and said, okay,
this is the song we're recordingtoday.
And then they have to learn thesong, come up with their parts
and you know, it sounds like itwasn't done that quickly, even
though it was.
Yeah, you know, like it's notjust playing, it's they have to
(24:58):
learn the song first and thenrecord it, and it sounds like
they just know it.
But with that said, if you cando it, what would be your three
highlights on the album, threefavorite tracks?
Jon VanDyk (25:14):
Yeah, this is tough.
I like Don't Wanna Know, butthat was pretty good.
I think the man in the stationwas pretty good, and then I'm
gonna go with the title tracksolid air, I think yeah, I think
I would probably.
Jeremy Boyd (25:34):
Those are really good choices I think I would go
with.
I would definitely go withsolid air.
I, uh, I really like may younever and yeah, that was good,
and yeah, I think man in thestation as well.
I, yeah, I think those, thosethree songs, those would be my
(25:54):
my picks.
Um, so I think I know theanswer to this, but, uh, would
you listen to this again?
Jon VanDyk (26:02):
yeah, I think I'd listen to this again.
Jeremy Boyd (26:03):
Yeah, I absolutely would, and I think I'm going to
listen to this again for sure.
Yes, yeah, I want to hear somemore of his stuff, so I think
I'm curious to hear what hisother albums are like as well.
Jon VanDyk (26:19):
Yep.
Jeremy Boyd (26:20):
Yeah, so yeah, I'd definitely check that out.
So yeah, I definitely checkthat out.
So yeah, so I guess we'll endthe episode there.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you made it this far, if youdid enjoy the show, don't
forget to subscribe so you don'tmiss any future episodes.
And we'd love if you couldleave us a rating and review, as
it really helps new listenersfind us.
(26:41):
And if you want to support theshow, you can do that by going
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Go to patreoncom slashpolyphonic press.
You can get these episodes, uh,the day before they go live and
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(27:01):
You can also check out thewebsite polyphonicpresscom.
You can get all the updatesthere and listen to all the past
shows and everything, and Ithink that just about does it.
I'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm JohnVan Dyke.
Take it easy, take care.
It's just the normal noises in here, random, using
the patented Random AlbumGenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
Here are your hosts, jeremyBoyd and John Van Dyke.
Jeremy Boyd (00:46):
Hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm JohnVan Dyke, and let's not waste
any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here, so let's hit thebutton and see what album we're
going to be listening to thisweek.
And the album we're going to belistening to is john martin
solid air.
(01:07):
I think john martin is like um,like a bob dylan type singer,
songwriter kind of guy.
All right, but this is what itsays on allmusiccom.
It says solid air is one of thedefining moments in british
folk, in the same league asfairport Convention's Liege and
Leaf Richard and LindaThompson's Shoot the Lights Out
(01:30):
and Michael Chapman's.
Rainmaker.
Martin stepped out of hiscomfort zone to record and
produce it, including not onlyjazz and blues but rock and
plenty of sound effects andfeaturing Rhodes Piano on some
of the tracks, dismaying somefans while winning a ton more
for his genre-blurringpresentation.
A number of its cuts, such asthe title track written for
(01:53):
Martin's friend Nick Drake Overthe Hill, I'd Rather Be the
Devil and May you Never, remainstaples in his live set until
the end of his life, in his lifeset until the end of his life.
Okay, so kind of a uh shortreview, but uh, interesting, yep
(02:13):
.
So, yes, the the song has um 11, no, nine, tracks on the album
and, uh, it's uh.
Side one has four tracks.
So what we do is we we take apause halfway through to discuss
the album at the halfway mark.
So what we'll do, the albumstarts with the song Solid Air
(02:34):
and side one ends at I'd RatherBe the Devil.
So if you're listening alongwhich we encourage you to do if
you want to take a pause at thefourth track, I'd Rather Be the
Devil and we'll discuss at thehalfway point.
Okay, so here we go.
So here's the first song, whichis the title track Solid Air.
So here we go, okay, endingside one with.
Jon VanDyk (03:15):
I'd rather be the devil.
Yeah, this is reallyinteresting so far.
Yeah, I'm liking it.
Jeremy Boyd (03:17):
Yeah, I think it's pretty good yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm
really liking it too.
I uh, I have heard of johnmartin, I've heard the song over
the hill.
Okay, I think, um, I think, uh,when chris and rich robinson
were doing their acoustic showsback in 2006, they put out a
live album and I think theycovered over the hill, over the
(03:40):
hill, oh wow yeah.
Okay, but yeah, I mean, this isreally somehow I never really
got that into, John Martin thissort of flew under my radar.
Jon VanDyk (03:56):
Yeah, mine too.
I've heard of Nick Drake, I'veheard of his stuff, fairport
Convention.
Yeah, you know some of thesethings, although they're sort of
like you know, satellites in my, satellites, in my experience,
I guess, with with music andstuff like that.
Yeah, john martin seems to haveflown a little under the radar,
(04:20):
but uh, no, I'm.
I'm really liking this,although it was very hard to
understand the words in thefirst song.
Jeremy Boyd (04:28):
it was, but it was good, it was very good it was a
very good song and this almost Idon't know it's.
This came out in 73 and, andyou know, this almost sounds
it's.
It sounds uh, timeless.
Honestly, it's very freshsounding.
Yeah, it sounds brand new, it's.
(04:50):
It could have come out yesterdayand I would have been like,
yeah, I, I believe that, uh, ithas some I don't know, I don't
know quite what to say like ithas the in in a way.
It's it feels very psychedelic.
I mean the last song, it had apretty broad, you know
(05:11):
psychedelic jam sort of sectionto it.
But you know, at the same time,like songs like the first song,
solid Air, or even Don't WannaKnow I mean those two songs they
feel like they could have beenon the radio, like a pop radio,
(05:33):
and I think it's weird that thisnever.
I think maybe this was morepopular in the UK rather than in
North America, the UK ratherthan in North America.
I don't, I don't know.
I honestly don't know.
I don't know much about thisalbum.
I mean it's and and you know,there isn't a whole lot of
(05:54):
information on the album.
Really there's, yeah, I canhear like later in like stuff
that this album influenced.
Jon VanDyk (06:04):
His voice is almost like Tracy Chapman's in some
ways.
Yeah, the one review you readsaid something about the use of
the Fender Rhodes.
Now some people were turned offby that, I don't know.
I think it adds something to it.
Jeremy Boyd (06:23):
I think it gives the album a little bit more
levity yeah, well, I think thatwas maybe more of like a like a
dylan going electric sort ofthing yeah, I, I figure that
probably the sentiment there, um, but uh, I don't know, I mean,
(06:44):
as good as this this stuff wouldhave been.
Jon VanDyk (06:46):
I think sometimes, if, if an album is like purely,
if it's tries too hard to stickto, you know, being like it's
pure into a genre or something,that sometimes it comes out a
little bit flat.
And I think this, when hestarts experimenting a little
bit with other things, it uhkeeps things interesting yeah,
(07:11):
yeah, no, there there's.
Jeremy Boyd (07:12):
There's definitely that sort of that, that folky
jazz kind of thing that I thinkhis fans were sort of expecting
and had gotten used to.
But you're right, I meanthere's definitely an element of
experimentation going on herewhere you know you sort of you
(07:40):
have to keep things fresh andyou know he's obviously he's an
artist and he's not concernedtoo much about what his fans
think.
Really, I mean, you know, so Ithink, you know, I think coming
to this album and and sort ofembracing that sort of more
(08:01):
experimental psychedelic sort ofsound, he's.
He's just, you know, creatingand and it's sort of I know
artists get kind of.
It's kind of a double-edgedsword with a lot of artists.
You, you don't want to getstuck in doing the same thing
over and over and over again,but you also don't want to
(08:22):
completely alienate your fans.
It's not an easy line to walkline to walk.
Jon VanDyk (08:39):
Um, I would hope that most fans, or most music
listeners anyway, understandthat, though that, uh, that uh,
you know, I, I would hope thatuh, most would you know, sort of
approach music as sort of likeaccepting it as it is.
I mean, if something is likereally off-putting, okay, it's
fine to dislike it, but you know, just because a certain
instrument is in it or somethinglike that, and sometimes how
(09:02):
it's used and something likethat, it just doesn't, it
shouldn't be.
So I don't know, some peoplehave a tendency to just like
write something off because theyjust I don't know I, I'm not
100 sure where I'm going withthat.
But, uh, I, I appreciateopen-mindedness when it comes to
you know, appreciate I'm tryingto keep an open mind myself
(09:25):
when it comes to a lot of stufflike this, although this is not
really challenging me that much.
This, this album, actually, tobe perfectly honest, no, it's
not really challenging me either.
Jeremy Boyd (09:38):
I mean it's, but I also understand, like I also
understand, yeah, I dounderstand if, well, yeah, it is
difficult.
It is a difficult thing to be afan of something.
And also, I mean there arebands that I do think maybe have
(10:01):
had like their quality hasdipped, you know, and maybe they
have like one or two reallygood albums and then the third
album was like like, okay, I'mnot really into this anymore.
I won't name any names, but Ican think of a few.
Jon VanDyk (10:19):
Um yeah, um, and I know what that's like, but
sometimes it feels like you knowthe uh, I find that's most of
the time like.
What turns me off is when thesongwriting isn't, is not as
good as it used to be, where itjust suddenly isn't.
You know, the song used to havelike these dynamics and things
(10:40):
going on and then it, justbecause I don't know, for some
reason, they started makingmoney or something like that.
I have no idea what causes it,but a lot of bands and suddenly
their stuff turns out kind offlat.
It can be on like an upperlevel flat or a lower level flat
or something like that, but thedynamics are lost in it and
(11:04):
whether or not that's dynamicsof like sound and something like
that and I'm not even talkingabout the loudness war, that,
and I'm not even talking aboutthe, the uh loudness war, I'm
just saying in general, like the, the music itself just isn't as
good anymore.
Jeremy Boyd (11:18):
yeah, but I I don't think he's having that problem
here.
Jon VanDyk (11:24):
No, he's not no, no, no, no, no, no.
He's his, his, his, his.
I think john martin is actuallya fantastic songwriter, and
I've only heard four songs of itso far.
Jeremy Boyd (11:34):
Well, yeah, I mean that's, that's the thing you
know and I know we always talkabout like what if, like if this
album, a really big indie albumwith fans of just the indie
folk sort of thing, he's kind ofinventing that with this album,
(12:14):
you know.
So I do think it would dosomething today.
I don't think it would becompletely, you know, out of the
realm of possibility that thiswould become like the songs you
would hear like on a moviesoundtrack or something like
that you would hear like on a ona movie soundtrack or something
like that, you know.
Or or in the background of a TVshow or something like.
(12:36):
I think it would, I think and Ithink this album would, it
would have fans today.
Jon VanDyk (12:47):
Yeah, it's, it seems to be a bit ahead of ahead of
its time, and not justproduction wise, but uh,
although production wise itsounds very fresh, for sure, um,
but uh, yeah, subject matterwise, it's, um, yeah, it seems
to be pretty timeless.
Jeremy Boyd (13:04):
it doesn't seem to have a lot of uh things holding
it back and you know the criticsof the album were pretty like
they were pretty.
It's like it didn't get a lotof reviews when it came out, um
it it kind of flew under theradar of a lot of people.
It kind of became sort of a uma hit or not a hit, but um sort
(13:31):
of became well-known after thefact.
It's a cult classic.
It's a cult classic, exactly.
Yeah, so well it just.
This is from Wikipedia.
It says contemporary reviewswere favorable with Music
Weekly's sounds, declaring thatsolid air flows beautifully and
shows the entire spectrum ofmusic that John Martin has at
(13:54):
his fingertips.
And you know I can definitelysee that he's kind of seamlessly
.
He's moving through differentgenres in a way that you don't
even notice Like he's like it'sjust it all blends so well
together.
You don't even notice that itall blends so well together.
You don't even notice that I'dRather Be the Devil has got some
(14:18):
really rocking parts, but it'salso jazz.
It's kind of all over the placebut he's able to blend it so
well.
Part of that is also themusicians that are playing on
the album, and a lot of themusicians are from Fairport
Connection.
Jon VanDyk (14:40):
Or Fairport Convention.
Or Fairport Convention, yes,yeah, that's interesting.
Jeremy Boyd (14:44):
Yeah.
Jon VanDyk (14:45):
Okay, that sort of makes sense because they were
sort of a band that sort ofstraddled the line between rock
and roll.
They were definitely.
I mean, when you get enoughpeople in a room it's hard to
sound like folk sometimes,especially when everybody's
playing a different instrument.
How many different instrumentscan you introduce until you're
not playing folk anymore?
(15:05):
Sort of one of those thingswhen a lot of the music has got
definitely definitely roots inlike North America and stuff
like that.
But it's interesting how theBritish sort of take that.
I mean, there's obviously afolk tradition that goes way,
way, way, way, way, way, way,way, way back in Britain and
(15:27):
Europe, but introducing the jazzand a little bit of the rock
and roll and a little bit of thejust just just the way that
they have a tendency to blend italmost better than a lot of
American artists, and maybe it'sbecause of their outside
perspective, I don't know theycan see the big picture better.
Jeremy Boyd (15:48):
I don't know.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know, Idon't know, I, I, it's something
in the water, it's, it's, it'sdone, it's every, every genre
you can tell.
It's like, well, like when thestrokes first came out, people
thought they were british,because, oh, they sound british,
it's like.
What does that mean?
They sound british I.
Jon VanDyk (16:08):
I kind of do know what they were thinking.
They were thinking they sound alittle bit like, I don't know,
something that you would hearlike the Arctic Monkeys or even
Oasis or something like that, oraround bands that were around
in those areas.
People's influences arepeople's influences and you no
(16:30):
longer stick to what's reallyjust immediately around you,
although that definitely willinfluence you as well.
Jeremy Boyd (16:37):
But um, so I didn't .
I wasn't able to find a wholelot of information on the album.
Uh, a whole lot of facts.
The only a couple things that Ifound was the album was
recorded over eight days.
Um, oh, wow, that's prettyshort.
That's a pretty short yeah Forsomething that's as um, yeah,
(17:03):
it's, it's yeah.
Jon VanDyk (17:03):
Professional sounding, yeah, yeah exactly Um,
and the.
Jeremy Boyd (17:11):
the album cover is an example of.
I've never heard of this before.
It's a scleran photography,it's a process of photographing
fluid invented by the Germanphysicist August Topler, and
basically it's to demonstratethe solid nature of air.
(17:34):
I guess it's to represent airis the album cover and the the
title track.
Solid air was dedicated to uhNick Drake, who had died of uh
overdose of antidepressants um18 months after the album, after
(17:54):
the album was released.
So, uh, oh, after the album.
Okay, so, um, so that's kind ofnice that know, he was able to
hear the song, you know.
But I hope so, I hope so, yeah,yeah, john martin says it was.
It was done for a friend ofmine and it was done with very
(18:16):
clear motives and I'm verypleased with it for varying
reasons.
It has got a very simplemessage, but you'll have to work
that one out for yourself.
I I think it's probably a acautionary tale about mental
health, you know yeah, mentalhealth is.
Jon VanDyk (18:35):
I mean I I understand firsthand how bad
mental health can be um and andI haven't experienced the uh,
full brunt of some people nearme have experienced, so that is
true.
Jeremy Boyd (18:52):
That is true, um, so, yeah, so those are just a
few few things I was able to tofind, um, but I guess, so I
guess we'll get back into sidetwo of the album.
But before we do that, let'shear from our friends over at
the Abandoned Albums podcast.
(19:12):
So check those guys out.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Our mission at Abandoned Albums is simple, as
simple as this ad.
Our only goal is to keep therecorded work of artists on the
cultural radar and showcase newartists who should be on the
cultural radar.
Some things in life are trulythat simple, With our tongue
firmly in cheek.
(19:36):
It's why we say AbandonedAlbums is the only music podcast
that matters and it's availablewherever you get your favorite
podcasts.
Jon VanDyk (19:52):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you, here's side two.
Jeremy Boyd (19:56):
All right, and ending the album with Gentle
Blues.
Yeah, I mean, this is a reallythis is a pretty fantastic album
.
Jon VanDyk (20:12):
There is not a bad song on here.
I don't think.
No, I don't think so either.
Jeremy Boyd (20:14):
Yeah, I'm definitely impressed.
Yeah, I mean I don't I reallydon't know what else to say
about it.
I mean it's it's, it's.
This is a really solid album,no pun intended, but you know
it's, it's, it's.
This is a really solid album,no pun intended, but you know
it's, it's, it's really.
You know the the album.
A lot of the albums that we, wereview, it's like you know it's
(20:34):
some of them.
It's it's like okay, this isreally good, but you know,
there's some stuff that couldhave been better.
I can't think of a single thingthat I would improve on if I
were producing the album.
I can't think of anything thatI would really change.
Um, yeah, I, I there's.
I have no, no notes for this.
(20:57):
I mean there's nothing that Iwould.
This stands out.
That is even like, even likedipping a little bit in quality,
like it's really.
I'm really impressed with thisalbum, you know I me too.
Jon VanDyk (21:17):
I kind of feel basically the same thing.
Sometimes.
I think his enunciation couldprobably be a little bit more.
Well, I think he couldenunciate a little bit more.
I think is what I'm trying tosay, but I think that's like the
only thing I mean.
Other than that, I think, likeit's musically, I can't think of
(21:39):
anything that I'd change.
I think if this, if, if I hadproduced this album or something
like that, I'd be very proud ofit.
Jeremy Boyd (21:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's just yeah.
There's no, there's very few, Ithink, flawless albums where
and you know the crazy thing toois, and you know the crazy
thing too is there's really noLike it's recorded in 1973, and
(22:11):
Well recorded in 72, it came outJanuary 1st 73.
Jon VanDyk (22:16):
Well, yeah, I guess in 72.
Jeremy Boyd (22:18):
I'm just being pedantic.
Well, yeah, around the timeanyway, but um, uh, it it, even
the, the musicians on it, likethere's no.
Nothing comes to mind wherethere's any like uh, mistakes or
like, oh, there's a missed notehere or you know, there's
(22:41):
something off here, like youknow, sometimes you know that's
part of the charm about olderalbums is there's, there's um
sort of these sort of humanelements.
And I'm not saying that thereisn't that here, but what I'm
saying is it sounds so, so wellput together that you know, I
(23:06):
don't I think it's not perfect,but it's, it's near perfect, and
just the level of musicianshipand everything's on in time and
in tune, but it it still hasthat sort of that human element
to it, like I said, and and it'snot, it's, but it's also it's
(23:33):
it's just amazing that theyrecorded this whole thing in
eight days, because it soundslike they labored over it.
Jon VanDyk (23:39):
Um, I guess is what I'm trying to say yeah, um, yeah
, I don't know if I could saythat better um, that's uh,
pretty much puts the nail on thehead, I think.
Um, yeah, this is a very wellput together album.
It's, it's.
It sounds like it was slavedover, but but really they banged
(24:00):
it out.
Yeah, they really did.
It's just interesting.
I mean, I guess the musiciansare just on top of their form.
Jeremy Boyd (24:10):
Yeah, but to learn the song and then record it and
have it come out this good, Ican only imagine I don't know
how they it come out, this thisgood is.
It's like I can only imagine,like I don't know how they would
have recorded this.
But I would imagine that, youknow, they would have gathered
the musicians in the studio, he,he would, then they were going
(24:34):
to record that day and he wouldhave presented the song, he
would have played it on hisacoustic guitar and said, okay,
this is the song we're recordingtoday.
And then they have to learn thesong, come up with their parts
and you know, it sounds like itwasn't done that quickly, even
though it was.
Yeah, you know, like it's notjust playing, it's they have to
(24:58):
learn the song first and thenrecord it, and it sounds like
they just know it.
But with that said, if you cando it, what would be your three
highlights on the album, threefavorite tracks?
Jon VanDyk (25:14):
Yeah, this is tough.
I like Don't Wanna Know, butthat was pretty good.
I think the man in the stationwas pretty good, and then I'm
gonna go with the title tracksolid air, I think yeah, I think
I would probably.
Jeremy Boyd (25:34):
Those are really good choices I think I would go
with.
I would definitely go withsolid air.
I, uh, I really like may younever and yeah, that was good,
and yeah, I think man in thestation as well.
I, yeah, I think those, thosethree songs, those would be my
(25:54):
my picks.
Um, so I think I know theanswer to this, but, uh, would
you listen to this again?
Jon VanDyk (26:02):
yeah, I think I'd listen to this again.
Jeremy Boyd (26:03):
Yeah, I absolutely would, and I think I'm going to
listen to this again for sure.
Yes, yeah, I want to hear somemore of his stuff, so I think
I'm curious to hear what hisother albums are like as well.
Jon VanDyk (26:19):
Yep.
Jeremy Boyd (26:20):
Yeah, so yeah, I'd definitely check that out.
So yeah, I definitely checkthat out.
So yeah, so I guess we'll endthe episode there.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you made it this far, if youdid enjoy the show, don't
forget to subscribe so you don'tmiss any future episodes.
And we'd love if you couldleave us a rating and review, as
it really helps new listenersfind us.
(26:41):
And if you want to support theshow, you can do that by going
to pay our patreon.
Go to patreoncom slashpolyphonic press.
You can get these episodes, uh,the day before they go live and
, uh, you can even pick an albumfor us to review and, uh, you
can also check out the websitepolyphonicpresscom.
(27:01):
You can also check out thewebsite polyphonicpresscom.
You can get all the updatesthere and listen to all the past
shows and everything, and Ithink that just about does it.
I'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm JohnVan Dyke.
Take it easy, take care.
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