John Martyn – Cooltide
After 25 years in the business, and nearly 20 albums, it would seem that John Martyn is destined to remain something of a nearly-man, popping up occasionally on the festival circuit, releasing albums as regular as clockwork, and watching fellow singer-songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s – Eric Clapton (who covered John Martyn’s May You Never), Van Morrison et al – become megastars as he became a well-kept secret. Cooltide, following the relatively successful Apprentice, continues John Martyn’s return to his melodic roots, after the experimental years of the ’70s and ’80s. With his laid-back, somewhat stoned vocals, excellent melodies and calm, quiet arrangements, John Martyn is the master of the slap-it-in-the-CD-at-3am art of songwriting, and although the voice may be gruffer and less sweet than of old, the intelligence and sensitivity are still there in heaps.
Philip Thomas
Q Magazine
1 September 1991
