“I got bored with the folk/acoustic thing,” said John Martyn. “You can’t keep churning that out, it stifles innovation, kills the personal touch.”
Solid Air was certainly a personal album for Martyn, and certainly it was innovative. A moody masterpiece, it blends folk, rock and jazz into a heady and evocative mixture, and marks the point at which Martyn finally wrestled free from his folkie origins into altogether more interesting territory.
The atmospheric title track was written as a tribute to Martyn’s friend and Island label-mate Nick Drake, who by this point was already in the grip of the depression which 18 months later would claim his life. “Nick was a beautiful man,” said Martyn, “buy walking on solid air, helpless in this dirty business, an innocent abroad.”
The song itself makes full use of Danny Thompson’s sliding bass and the delicate wash of vibes and drifting sax, and became a favourite of the chill out set in the 90s, bringing Martyn a whole audience. However, the album contains a wealth of other great tracks, not least the valedictory “May You Never”, which remains a staple of many folk club repertoires to this day, even surviving an assault by Eric Clapton.
Martyn was also becoming increasingly interested in the use of echo and fuzz effects to enhance his signature snapping guitar sound, applying them to great effect on a cover of Skip James “I’d Rather by the Devil”. Elsewhere, songs such as “Over the Hill” and “The Man in the Station” dealt with themes of separation and loss, the latter casting a weary eye over the lot of the traveling musician.
Solid Air was a major hit from Martyn, making him a popular concert attraction at home and in the States. It also allowed him to feed an appetite from excess which has since become legendary. Further great albums followed, including Inside Out and One World, which found Martyn moving further into jazz and rock territory, but Solid Air remains the one the critics – and fans – keep coming back to.
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