John Martyn - "One World"

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John Martyn - "One World"

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Don't get me wrong, Solid Air is a decent, fine album; but John Martyn's best? It doesn't come close to One World, which is a total masterpiece and simultaneously the gifted singer-songwriter's most satisfying journey into experimentation and his most accessible too. Rock, folk, dub and ambient all combine to create a luscious, quietly funky, atmospheric and dreamy work which sounds astonishing turned up loud. The lavish, inviting textures of the opening "Dealer" set the scene perfectly; layers of riffs, funky bass and synthesiser gel seamlessly, creating something that's fleet of foot, airborne and stunningly amorphous. Miraculously, the title track is even better; a deeply haunting, strange and beautiful work of wonder, which just slinks and slides into some kind of blissful state of ethereality; listen to it on headphones in the dark and be taken away. "Smiling Stranger" and "Big Muff" are two delightful, inventive detours into reggae-inflected, mutated funk, the latter was even co-wrote with Lee "Scratch" Perry; both are entirely captivating, addictive and things to get lost in. "Couldn't Love You More" and "Certain Surprise" are the kind of simple, purely lovely songs that adorned Martyn's preceding album Sunday's Child; both are wonderful things, full of melodic splendour, but the following "Dancing" is something else altogether; imagine the pop song free from the restrictions of gravity and given full rein to glide into the heavens. This remains my favourite ever John Martyn song and it's one of the most joyous, wonderful songs ever written, the sound of a blissful summer's day. "Small Hours" is an incredible closer; recorded by a lake at midnight, you can almost feel the chill of the night air and the peace and harmony of the country in its washes of ambient beauty. Easily Martyn's most perfectly formed, musically delectable and satisfying album, One World is a wonderful experience.