John Martyn - Devil Outside Mix

Earlier this morning I read about someone just having come across the late John Martyn and being totally knocked out by the sounds he wrangled out of his acoustic guitar on the live videos he'd stumbled upon, well yep...astonishing isn't it. 

Above are the songs: 'I'd Rather Be The Devil' solo in 1972, 'Outside In' live in 1975 with John Stevens on drums and Danny Thompson playing bass. As David Cavanagh said in Uncut regarding (the original) Live At Leeds release... (It) began with an 18 minute epic, Outside In, saturated in hypnotic echo, with an organic yet logical structure rising and falling, rising and falling, reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s Dark Star on Live/Dead and he's not wrong. Finally one of the three versions of 'Black Man At Your Shoulder' that have seen the light of the day now and yet the song didn't make the final cut of One World, an LP that has never left MY top ten album list since its release in 1977 

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I'd Rather Be The Devil/Make No Mistake (OGWT 1973)

One World (with Danny Thompson &? OGWT 1977)

One World (1978) 

 

Outside In (Rocpalast Germany 1978)

 

Solid Air (Rockpalast Germay 1978)

 

Couldn't Love You More [cut]/Big Muff (OGWT 1978)

 

Unable to embed the whole gig but you can watch it HERE 

There is also this compilation of various BBC perormance up to 1981 which can be watched at the Internet Archive HERE 

I should mention that after the studio recording of Grace & Danger (which featured John Giblin on bass) that is my old school friend Alan Thomson on bass playing in the band. John's cousin lived next door to me in Glasgow and when I first met John we got on well as I'm sure a lot of people asked him about Nick Drake as indeed I did but I'm not sure many people got into a serious chat about Dudu Pukwana with him especially when they are snotty 15 year olds. I could tell you a few tales as indeed could my sister and funnily enough so can my ex wife who babysat his kids in London before we met. She physically cannot listen to him as although he wrote some amazing love songs there was a very dark nasty side to him which the alcohol and drugs brought to the fore. I remember being at some after gig party with Alan after a London gig and it was amazing how everyone was on tenterhooks wondering which Mr Iain David McGeachy would arrive. 

I should mention that there's an interesting look at the setup of the FX and guitars that he used to get those sounds over the years HERE