The John Martyn Project’s first album was one of our Albums of the Year in 2025. The six expert musicians who comprise the occasional collective captured the energy and innovation of their long-standing live show and put it on disc, providing an exquisite rendition of songs that sound great with a rapt audience in front of them.

For The John Martyn Project Volume 2, the band has expanded their vista and ambition, taking the listener on a journey through a wider range of Martyn’s capabilities, but, much more challengingly, they attempt to capture the moods of a man well-known for his extremes of emotion. It is an amazing journey.
Continue reading »

Muggers. Burglars. Aggressive panhandlers. Chris Stein of Blondie and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads were penniless musicians in the New York of the ’70s and ’80s. It was a good day when they were not robbed. However, when they wrote their memoirs (Stein’s Under a Rock and Frantz’s Remain in Love), they did not appear to have much rancor towards those who stole from them, who were just trying to make their way in a city that had its issues. If a drug dealer swindled one of them, and then went on to star in The Sopranos, then that was just the circle of life.

They were also musical and personal partners to astonishingly talented female musicians (Debbie Harry and Tina Weymouth, respectively). They saw behavior that, unfortunately, still plagues the music industry today.  They wished for better morals and supported their partners as they could. They could not speak on behalf of their partners, but in many cases they could understand others wanting to be with their lovers and doing it in a civil way, as they were supremely talented and desirable. There was no ill will towards those who were jealous of them.

Frantz and Stein, along with the many other overlaps and notions of not carrying grudges, were also aligned on one further thing. John Martyn was an unforgivable asshole.

The John Martyn Project are not delicate flowers. Bonding at Music School during late nights of listening to records and enjoying exotic herbs, they bemoaned the fact that such beautiful music came from such a conflicting source. However, it is not their intention to deny the obvious. At their live shows, they often ask the audience to recount their encounters with Martyn. A cheerful nod if you bought him a drink merits a thumbs up. A stream of profane invective, either humorous or threatening, gets an appreciative nod. Actual physical violence from the “Great Man” gets a small round of applause. There is frequently someone in the audience with a story of this latter sort. They are not a “Tribute” band, as they don’t play slavish recreations of recorded tracks, and have no wish to honour the man, but they want to channel his inspiration.

Active as a touring project since 2018 they have now released their first album, The John Martyn Project – Volume One.  It is an amazing refreshing and energizing romp through (mainly) the ’70s highpoints of Martyn’s catalogue.
Continue reading »