Bless the Weather
Studio album by
John Martyn
ReleasedNovember 1971
Recorded17–21 May 1971
StudioSound Techniques, Chelsea, London
GenreBritish folk rock, folk jazz
Length37:32 (original release)
75:19 (2005 reissue)
LabelIsland
ProducerJohn Martyn, John Wood
John Martyn chronology
The Road to Ruin
(1970)		 Bless the Weather
(1971)		 Solid Air
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
Record Collector[3]

Bless the Weather is a 1971 album by John Martyn and marks his return as a solo artist having released two albums with his wife Beverley Martyn. The writing reflects their move from London to Hastings Old Town. When it was released it garnered his best reviews to date, and remains a firm favourite among fans, featuring such standards as "Head and Heart" and the title track. The album is predominantly acoustic, although it does feature Martyn's first real 'echoplex track' in "Glistening Glyndebourne".

Q magazine chose Bless the Weather among the dozen essential folk albums of all time in 1999. According to Q the album was recorded in just three days (but Tony Reeves, the other bass player, has Monday 17 May, 6pm Sound Techniques and Friday 21 May 1pm to 6pm in his 1971 diary). In November 2007 Bless the Weather was included in a list by The Guardian newspaper entitled '1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die'.[4] It was voted number 684 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).[5]

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Martyn except where indicated.

  1. "Go Easy" – 4:15
  2. "Bless the Weather" – 4:29
  3. "Sugar Lump" – 3:43
  4. "Walk to the Water" – 2:49
  5. "Just Now" – 3:39
  6. "Head and Heart" – 4:54
  7. "Let the Good Things Come" – 3:05
  8. "Back Down the River" – 2:40
  9. "Glistening Glyndebourne" – 6:30
  10. "Singin' in the Rain" (Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed) – 1:28

Bonus tracks

  1. "Walk to the Water" (Take 3) (3:34)
  2. "Bless the Weather" (Take 4) (5:37)
  3. "Back Down the River" (Take 1) (2:44)
  4. "Go Easy" (Take 1) (4:39)
  5. "Glistening Glyndebourne" (Take 2) (7:48)
  6. "Head and Heart" (Band Version) (10:17)
  7. "May You Never" (Single Version) (2:45)

Personnel

Technical
  • Steve Mayberry - engineer
  • Visualeyes - design, photography

References

  1. ↑ Bless the Weather at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Dorian Lynskey (4 November 2005). "CD: John Martyn, Bless the Weather | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Euan Andrews (1 January 2006). "London Conversation, The Tumbler, Bless The Weather, Inside Out, Sunday's Child (remastered & expanded) | Big Muff". Johnmartyn.info. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Rocklist.net...The Guardian Best Albums Lists". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 221. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
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