John Martyn - Bless the Weather (1971)
EAC rip | FLAC + .cue, log-file | Scans | Rar 3% rec. | 422 MB
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock, Progressive Folk, Psychedelic, Singer-songwriter | Label: Island Remasters, Universal

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. 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 apparently recorded in three days. In November 2007, Bless the Weather was included in a list by The Guardian newspaper entitled '1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die'.

Bless the Weather, the first release following two records with his wife Beverley, is a transitional effort for John Martyn. The Glasgow-born singer-songwriter's third solo album emphasizes a darker, smokier sound built around his increasingly jazzy vocals, plus sometimes aggressive, sometimes gentle acoustic guitar work, and Danny Thompson's double bass, which skirts in and out around Martyn's voice and guitar. It also contains the extended instrumental "Glistening Glyndebourne," which highlights his early experimentation with the Echoplex, a sound that would become a major part of his work in the coming years. Bless the Weather, with songs such as the title cut and "Head and Heart," stands as a fine representation of Martyn's early work.

Tracklist:
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. "Singing In The Rain" (Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed) – 1:28

Bonus tracks Recorded at a demo session, Sound Technique Studios, Chelsea 16 April 1969

11. "Walk To The Water" (Take 3) - 3:34
12. "Bless the Weather" (Take 4) - 5:37
13. "Back Down The River" (Take 1) - 2:44
14. "Go Easy" (Take 1) - 4:39
15. "Glistening Glyndebourne" (Take 2) - 7:48
16. "Head and Heart" (Band Version) - 10:17
17. "May You Never" (Single Version) - 2:45

Personnel:

John Martyn - vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards
Richard Thompson - guitar
Smiley DeJonnes - percussion
Beverley Martyn - guitar, vocals
Danny Thompson - double bass
Tony Reeves - double bass, bass guitar
Ian Whiteman - keyboards
Roger Powell - drums