“Small Hours” by John Martyn is one of my favorite songs of all time. And hey, I love that Martyn guy too. But the road to finding him and maintaining my long-term fandom has been a weird and challenging one. I would like to invite you on over to the wondrous Bandcamp to read “Stealing, Feeling, Rolling, and Reeling: John Martyn’s “Small Hours” where I recount the tale of theft, noise, and heartbreak that led me to the ethereal majesty of John’s music. Roaches, mixtapes and rollerskates await you (that’ll make sense once you read it).
Check it out at the link below:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/resonance/john-martyn-small-hours-essay
PICKING UP ROCKS 
Another great read, Hope. Coincidentally, my first introduction to Mr. Martyn was Glorious Fool. I had not long started working in a record store and this was the first John Martyn album that was released during my very early days. Couldn’t Love You More…I could listen to that on a loop for weeks and never tire of hearing it. I also have a great fondness for Well Kept Secret (Could’ve Been Me, You Might Need A Man). Both albums suffer slightly when listened to today with their ’80’s production sheen, but still probably my two fave Martyn albums. And more than a hint of Robert Palmers (he needs a Rating The Albums feature!) early albums about them too.This is probably sacrilege to those who adore the Island albums, but I guess it’s just that these two came along at a great time in my life and they bring back fantastic memories. And yes, not a particularly nice man if the stories are true. But he did leave a fine library of soulful tunes. Thanks again.
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Thanks so much, Dave! Yeah, I’m an outlaw rebel too, meaning Glorious Fool and Well Kept Secret are both in my top five Martyn albums list! And the two tracks you mention are two of my absolute faves. And “Couldn’t Love You More” was literally my first favorite JM song, just gorgeous (still). But yeah, as Glorious was the album that introduced me to John’s music, I too feel a stronger attachment to that and WKS than I do Island stuff, like say Inside Out or One World (where I tend to favor a particular handful of songs between them). I’m going to discuss Robert Palmer with Matthew, that could be interesting (though I suspect you will like the next one and that’s all I’m saying about that)! :)))
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