John Martyn Story, The

Singer/songwriter/guitar legend John Martyn's unique fusion of early American blues and jazz with British folk gets the deluxe treatment on Universal's The John Martyn Story. The 34-track anthology is culled from the Scotland-reared multi-instrumentalist's 1967-1996 catalog, with emphasis on both fan and artist favorites, as well as B-sides and key album cuts. Folk classics like "Woodstock," "Solid Air," and "Fairy Tale Lullaby" endow disc one with the mystical bent of Pentangle-era British folk-rock, while disc two relies on his more genre-bending offerings like "Smiling Stranger" and "One World" -- like many folkies, Martyn seemingly morphed from Ralph McTell-esque troubadour into Michael McDonald sometime around 1977. Some of these later tracks, like "Fisherman's Dream" and the dreadful slow jam "Angeline," suffer from the slick, synth-based production of the times, and like fellow picker Leo Kottke, Martyn is a far better player than singer, but as far as comprehensive overviews go, this handsomely decorated hardback anthology, complete with a 24-page booklet, is as good an introduction to this multifaceted performer as one is likely to find. ~ James Christopher Monger|