Chris Nickson preaches the gospel of John Martyn and in my case he’s preaching to the converted. His love for the big man is evident and he writes from the heart with a simple, direct and conversational approach. I’m dead envious…this is the book I would love to have written about one of my heroes.
Nickson’s analysis of each track on every album is both insightful and unflinchingly honest; he certainly doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to assessing some of John’s shortcomings, musically or otherwise. But overall I think the Guv’nor would probably have agreed with some of the sentiments (assuming that he had been feeling suitably amenable).
John’s forty-two year recording career spanned sixty-nine albums if you include all of the many compilations and live albums, and his career had more trajectory curves than a test-match bowler. However Nickson manages to get beneath the skin of the man and paint a comprehensive portrait that goes far beyond the usual lazy canon of stories and reminiscences.
I have a couple of other biographies of John (Lee Barry and John Neil Monroe) but I feel that this version is better than either of those because it feels more personal, more heart-felt. However the fact that Nickson seems to love the songs that I do (Just Now, Hurt in your Heart, Spencer the Rover and the obvious Solid Air) probably helps the connection.
In his acknowledgements Nickson says that “this is a book I’d always imagined writing, but I never believed anyone would want to publish”. Well from my perspective this is a book I’d always imagined reading but couldn’t believe anyone would ever write. From the bottom of my heart my thanks go out to Chris Nickson.
Many thanks for your review, Ian. You're right - even though he had his musical troughs, John is one of the few artists I've stuck with through thick and thin, even if some of his albums have never received more than a single airing. I was lucky enough to be at his 1975 Leeds concert, and even had a signed copy of the LP - now long gone - and I've seen him several times over the years, including two solo appearances in Seattle in the '90s. His music is something I'll carry with me until I die.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Chris. I nearly fell over that I had finally received a comment from someone, having survived the world of blogging for nearly two months with the ignominy of only having my sister as a follower! As you probably gathered I was impressed by your writing....so much so that I thought it only fair to try one of your novels now.
DeleteYou were very lucky to see John at Leeds in 1975. I've been trying to remember the first time I saw him. I think it was in 1977 about the time of One World at Loughborough University. I saw him dozens of times over the years both as a solo artist, as well as with Danny and a full band. One particular highlight was seeing him as a support artist at the "Six of the Best" Genesis / Peter Gabriel reunion gig at the opn-air Milton Keynes bowl. It had been pissing with rain all day and John (Bless him) came on and sang "Singin' in the Rain", complete with drunken impromptu tap dance. He was fantastic although I'm sure only about 5% of the crowd had ever heard of him.
One of my favourite gigs was seeing him at The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone in front of about 200 people where I was able to stand about three feet in front of him...it's probably the only gig where I was able to work out all of his banter and stories in that wonderful instant switch from broad Glaswegian to "posh" Surrey!
Keep the faith, and keep on enjoying his music. Thanks again for a really great biography. All the best, Ian