John Martyn


Sometimes you read about an artist that is vaguely familiar to you but you can't really recall much about them. So I read a bit about Martyn and decided to use You Tube at work to listen to 2 of his better known albums...Solid Air and Bless The Weather. Interesting jazzy/folk laid back tunes...I'm digging them. Sounds decent on my crappy desktop speakers. Hope these are well recorded...if done well I can see how I can lose myself in the music. I now know what my next 2 music purchases will be. 
muncybob
Just about everything John recorded is worthwhile and most are available cheaply in original pressings. For me however the stand out is "Live at Leeds" -- probably one of the top 10 live recordings out there, and his stuff is very cleanly recorded in general as well, you will not be disappointed
"Solid Air" is my only John Martyn record but it is not only great musically but sonically as well.  Listening to the title track on a really good system (ok, my system), when the sax comes in I nearly jump out of my seat it is so spookily real.  The microdynamics are very, very nice.  I sometimes play this LP to demonstrate what a good hifi can add to the enjoyment of great music.
I've seen some recent reissues from Universal the Back to Black series...any experience?
I expect the Abbey Roads 1/2 speed LP of Solid Air in about 2 weeks...like waiting for Christmas when a kid!
I own virtually all of John Martyn's albums and was fortunate enough to see him play live a couple of times. I will buy the Solid Air reissue when it is released- it should sound great! Check out One World if you get the chance. 
I'm also a fan - he was a really innovative guitar player as well as one of the stranger (and more interesting) characters in 60s/70s popular music.  He cut across genres in a pretty unusual way and did so with a very quirky approach to his instrument.  I'm not sure that anyone screwed around with altering the sound of an acoustic guitar quite the way Martin did (around the time of "Stormbringer", my favorite Martyn record.). Sadly, he was another artist who struggled with drugs and drink for much of his life.