JOHN MARTYNS MUSIC at the GFT

From the blurb on the GFT website entry to the concert one gets an odd expectation for this memorial commemoration of the late John Martyns Music , especially information that we are to get songs written by Davy Graham , Sandy Denny and Nick Drake.

The blurb goes on to say:

"It was with extreme sorrow that we all heard of the loss of John Martyn in January 2009. His powerful and often lamenting songs, his seductive guitar style and enigmatic voice have drawn a devoted audience spanning two generations. Keith and Rick have performed hundreds of successful concerts, of both the music of Nick Drake and the poetry of Lorca, in the intimate format of voice, acoustic guitar and double bass. They were approached by countless fans of both their work and John’s, along with many venues across the country, to play some concerts of John’s music. It is with a humble heart and a profound sense of responsibility that this concert is presented."

Certainly no complaints there , makes for an evening in which the poignancy and richness of the music may be enhanced as it is deconstructed from the clutter of too many instruments.

Reassuringly on Keith James website we get a more precise picture , namely:

"For the past 40 years the ingrained body of music and somewhat tempestuous life of John Martyn OBE has been ever present in all of us who have appreciated the work of acoustic singer songwriters.

It is not surprising that a significant amount of Keith & Rick's audience, John Martyn's audience and music venues across the UK gave voice to the possibility of Keith & Rick performing concerts of his most beloved music in its original format: that of voice, guitar and double bass.

It is therefore, with the most personal respect and the humblest of hearts that this series of concerts are presented. The focus will be on the central integrity of the songs in their pure form on acoustic instruments only. Also included will be music by Davy Graham, Sandy Denny, and Nick Drake."

In his later years live performances by John Martyn were very much a hit or miss affair , depending on the various states of his tempestuous and shaky relationship with the ever empty solace found in a bottle.I had the pleasure of seeing him at the Renfrew ferry a few years back on scintillating form , one of his best performances before ill health really took the best out of him , a deep and profound mix of emotion from the very heart along with a soultouching reverie emanating from his dexterous cultured guitar.The only regret that night was he did not perform my very favourite , The Hurt in your Heart , and no wonder , it is such an emotionally draining song he himself said he could only perform it on very rare occasions , it just took so much out of him.

The Concert was a wonderful eclectic mixture of fine acoustic guitar with an evocatively haunting double bass accompaniment.

The first song was Bless The Weather:



The highlight of the evening was an acoustic version of Angeline , stripped of all the mid-eighties clutter of synths and drum machine , to bring out the depth and feeling only a live acoustic version can bring.



The evening was interspersed with beautiful musical adaptions of the Poems of Lorca , with Diamond and Going to Santiago being especially brought to a new ethereal life.You can get a little background of the eventful tragic life of Lorca in the documentary below: