JOHN MARTYN No Little Boy (Permanent Perm 014)
The cuddly Cockney Celt with the devil’s voice and angel’s guitar skills has upped to seek his fortune on the golden streets of the USA. The result is Martyn’s most commercial recording in a decade, an unsubtle hybrid of tracks from his last album and reworkings of glorious old favourites. Fanatics may groan at girlie chirrupings on ‘Head And Heart’, a truly chaotic ‘Sunday’s Child’ or Phil Collins warbling on ‘Ways To Cry’, but this is ear-gliding FM friendly AOR at its mellowtastic best. The emphasis is squarely on Martyn the soulful balladeer, but hey, why not? The songs only get richer with time. There’s a gorgeous ‘One World’. a yearning, blissful ‘Bless the Weather’ and old gravel tonsils Levon Helm on ‘Rock Salt And Nails’, reminding us that Martyn wanted to sound like The Band 25 years ago on Stormbringer. Throw in Andy Sheppard s generous big-toned sax, and No Little Boy is the perfect introduction to rock’s best kept secret. For the rest of us it’s like meeting a mad old mate for the first time in ten years. Let the good times roll.
Andy Robson
Vox
1 September 1993
