JOHN MARTYN Heaven And Earth - 2011 CD

JOHN MARTYN Heaven And Earth - 2011 CD


Format: CD
Condition: New
Year of Release: 2011
Cat. No.: 4010
Label: Liaison Music (USA)


The album starts off with a bang with "Heel Of The Hunt" which is a wild oddity of a track, in some ways seeming to encapsulate JM's whole career in a few minutes. The backing vocals on "Stand Amazed" sounded a little out of place to me, maybe too high on the mix, but that is a very minor quibble. "Heaven And Earth" is the first true standout track for me, with beautiful sax and reassuring vocals from JM that brought the first of many tears. I began to feel that JM was using this album to say goodbye. "Bad Company" is a real stonker of a track, such a tragedy we will never see that one live. "Could Have Told You Before I Met You" has a vibe almost redolent of the "Well Kept Secret" era. A reminder that on top of everything else, John Martyn wrote GREAT pop songs. This is a favorite, with a lovely laid back guitar break. "Gambler" features the trademark growl and is positively FUNKY. Then it happened. That John Martyn moment where you hear a song of his for the first time and it immediately steals your heart. It first happened for me almost forty years ago when my school friend Chris Collings first played me "Head And Heart." John tells us that he can ..."Turn back the covers, turn on the light, but I can't turn back the years." "Can't Turn Back The Years" is a beautiful song that ranks among his best, both in theme and content. I have not read anything to confirm this, but it sounds like Phil Collins on the backing vocals. "Colours" is another strong one, as is closer "Willing To Work", a sprawling workout which has a similar feel to opener "Heel Of The Hunt".

As the tracks continued, I began to get really drawn in. It began to feel like a mellower, slightly looser follow up to "And..." in many ways. After five hearings over twenty four hours, I think this is the strongest studio album since "And..." I think I prefer it to "On The Cobbles" and "Glasgow Walker". It is hard to be objective given the circumstances. Getting to hear this album felt like John was back with us somehow, only to realize as "Willing To Work" was fading out that this wasn't the case. It was like losing him all over again. He did leave us his great body of work though, and he left us this, his way of saying goodbye. There is a sense of finality about many of the lyrics on "Heaven And Earth." Is this the greatest album by John Martyn? No, but there are enough sublime moments here for fans to treasure. If this was John's chosen method of signing off, it was a noble, beautiful one. Love light and peace JM.

Review by Karmen Cardova


TRACKLISTING:

1. Heel Of The Hunt
2. Stand Amazed
3. Heaven And Earth
4. Bad Company
5. Could've Told You Before I Met You
6. Gambler
7. Can't Turn Back The Years
8. Colour
9. Willing To Work
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