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Martyn Joseph

Venue: The Met
Town: Bury
Date: 26/11/14
Website: http://www.martynjoseph.net/

With a commitment to the road and playing over a hundred gigs a year, it's no surprise that Martyn Joseph can walk straight on stage with one of his best songs and hit the ground running. It's what they term being 'gig fit'. A month long trek round the UK with a set honed and refined by his constant round of road trips in the UK, Europe and North America, whatever the place, the passion and zeal remain the same.

And don't worry if you arrive late and have no way of sneaking in quietly as your seats are on the front row; Martyn will give you a resume of what you've missed should you have been caught up in traffic or found it difficult to grab a parking spot - not the first time I've seen him do this (and would bet that he quite enjoys it!) The appeal of the between song banter was slightly tempered by a little road hoarseness; despite the fact that he irreverently uses the "Martyn Joseph makes Leonard Cohen seem like Julie Andrews" quote, he does himself a disservice and underestimates his impact with his humbly self-depreciating style. Although he sings of "Cul-de-sac signposts down the yellow brick road" there's nothing downbeat or miserable - more thought provoking, marking the occasional moment which makes the audience stop and think for a minute.

The opening trio of 'Dic Penderyn'. 'Feels Like This' and 'Let Yourself' pretty much summed up the range of what he delivers in spades. The feel of a traditional song of an innocent man hanged, a bright ska rhythm and a gentle ballad and then the gorgeous picking of 'Seahorse'. Probably as much quality in the first half of the gig as you'd get in twice as long in the mainstream. The songs are all powered along by the brooding intensity of his acoustic guitar channelled through an impressive pedal board whose effects and loops and echoes add depth and richness to the single instrument.

He took the chance to branch off and tell the tale of being stuck on the M25 listening to 'Frozen' during Children In Need (with seemingly a few 'Let It Go' fans in the audience) - a long story leading to the rumour that Martyn would be recording an album of Disney covers. Not that it would happen, but there were the esteemed Bruce Springsteen covers - 'The Ghost Of Tom Joad' and 'Blood Brothers' - and the story with the "has Bruce called you yet?" punchline. Of course, there was the plug for Martyn's worthy Let Yourself Trust (and here's another one if you follow the link to letyourself.net) which resulted in the composition of the driving major new-ish song 'Luxury Of Despair'. Another couple of new songs also got airings - 'Bobby' specifically about Bobby Kennedy inspired by the film about his widow 'Ethel' plus another which strangely for him started life as a musical rather than lyrical idea. A driving and rough around the edges work but one whose potential and promise sounded very much as if it was going to become something significant.

Constantly acclaimed as one of the nation's most thoughtful and foremost songwriters, he shows no sign of letting up in singing his song. With an integrity and honesty to match he's a rare breed and one of those musicians who is a genuinely and undeniably compelling performer.

Words & Pictures:Mike Ainscoe

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