Search - John Martyn :: Church With One Bell

An inspired collection of covers heralding a return to form

02/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Martyn's spent the last 15 years or so in something of a wilderness with a run of albums that failed to shine and some odd compilations of early material reworked with a plodding band. So it's a revelation to encounter this collection of well-chosen songs by other artists delivered with a passion and power that's been lacking in his studio outings for some time. Let's hope it heralds a return to form. It's an eclectic selection, ranging from a bar-room blues rendition of Randy Newman's God's Song through to a stunning interpretation of Portishead's Glory Box. Martyn takes the songs and crafts them into pieces of work that are so distinct from the original recordings (where there are "originals") that it's hard to belive he didn't have a hand in writing them himself. Stand out track is probably his perfectly-paced version of Strange Fruit. An arrangement stripped to the barest instrumentation coupled with a languid, almost weary percussion track exposes every raw nerve in the song's lyric. There's humour too - this is clearly an album that Martyn had fun making. Hear the manical cackle at the end of God's Song or the deadpan delivery of lines like "very next morning you gonna wake up dead" in Death Don't Have No Mercy. Best of all, just hear the band rip along on tracks such as Feel So Bad or He's Got All the Whisky. Audiophiles will love the engineering on this CD, particularly the powerful and sustained bass playing courtesy of an old Martyn collaborator, John Giblin. Elsewhere, there's enough going on to catch the ear anew without this ever sounding like a "produced" album. To sum up, if you're new to the quirky talents of this Scottish singer/guitarist, this is a good starting point before moving on to some of those earlier gems such as Solid Air, One World and Grace and Danger. If you're already a fan of those albums, you won't be disappointed by this one."

Sexy subwoofer music

Mazzy | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is slow, sexy and deep. If you have a subwoofer connected to your stereo you will feel its beauty and intensity. Martyn captures these songs wonderfully. You must get this CD and play it at 3AM while drinking someting or shagging."

I got 'dem valium-laced blues...

Ray Hovland | Indian Harbour Beach, FL USA | 02/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you believe the cliche that "less...truly can be more"...this CD may be for you. Every note is a perfect...yet...complex blend of liquor-laden vocals...with a restrained jazz-folk-blues musicianship. "The Church with One Bell" is quite simply...an outrageously understated...work of art."