SAPPHIRE

I have a special love for John Martyn and his music. He was truly progressive in his genre, though shifting more towards contemporary, slick pop in the early 80's. His music had these jazzy overtones I find appealing. Though he did not always hit the mark, when he did it was magic. Pure magic.

Sapphire was released in the year of 1984. By this time Martyn's music was ever so electronic and synthezised that little remained of his folky past. That is in itself not necessarily a bad thing, just different. When he released "Grace and danger" in 1980 he was spot on and that album remains very dear to me. By 1984 the result was good but not great. Musically Martyn is as professional as ever but the material is not that amazing, though some very good.

The title track starts the album off very well, followed by what is actually a very good cover of "Over the rainbow". The best pieces are "Fisherman's dream" and the magnificent "Mad dog days". The latter is a favorite of mine for several reasons but mainly because it is a great song. "Acid rain" is a sort of ecology-themed track and one that is good aswell.

There are not any bad tracks on Sapphire, which in some ways makes it a really cohesive album. The standouts, though, are not that many in numbers. The album is, however, a charming oddity or testament to a musician's need and willingness to change and progress. By no means his best album it is a great piece of work, solid and well performed. I think it could be that the album has aged not that gracefully, as some albums do. Or maybe it's just that it is an okay album and that is good enough. I like it, anyway. Give it a go. It won't kill you.

It's barely a month since I more than hinted that I was done reviewing JOHN MARTYN for the time being, but i the interim I missed his voice, even his 1980s voice, which to his credit had not slipped in the slightest, anecdotal proof that overindulgence is good for the vocal chords, but I digress. I not only missed him, but I missed hearing something new to my ears, so I took "Sapphire" for a spin.

The title track is a masterpiece of sensuality, and it reeled me right in like a "Fisherman's Dream", the other major highlight here. He continues in the slick pop funk vein of "Well Kept Secret" with nary a guitar solo of note, but this is an album of wall to wall ballads (other than the best forgotten "Climb the Walls") rather than intermittent rockers. The net result from a satisfaction standpoint is about the same unfortunately, a mediocre album that, in spite of itself, offers a few unignorable gems. "Over the Rainbow" is fine and perhaps better live but it's hard for me to be excited about a cover of a number from nearly a century ago that really can never be improved upon, and can't really be re- interpreted because the lyrics, universal though they may be, will be forever pinned to our beloved Dorothy. If I had to name another not terrible entry, it would be "Watching Her Eyes" for its irresistible synth hook.

Falling quite short of being a diamond in the smooth, "Sapphire" does reaffirm Martyn's ability, up to this point and at his worst, to remain redeemable. Well, apart from "The Tumbler" of course.