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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Viva Vegas, 13 Sep 2007
As a songwriter, Martyn Joseph's output is prolific, to say the least. He averages an album a year - sometimes a collaboration, occasionally a live recording, but more often than not a studio effort. In concert, he's generally either consolidating material from the last album or previewing material from the next. This is by no means a bad thing when the material is as varied as we've come to expect. He returns here with a follow-up to 2005's 'Deep Blue', which saw him abandon to an extent some of the folkish influences that were present on his more recent offerings. In terms of musical progression and sheer quality of work, this new album is an absolute winner.
It's apparent that Martyn has spent some time on the other side of the Atlantic, because many of the songs on 'Vegas' have a distinctly American feel to them. The guitar becomes a choir of a thousand (Harry Chapin's description of a "six string orchestra" seldom seemed so apt), piercing and cutting on the high notes and then all at once deep and rumbling, as if to signify a vast open space - you can practically feel the cactus-ridden desert outside your car window in the midst of his earthy twang. The vocals are crisp and clear but always placed just right in the mix, and it really is like having him in the room with you.
None of the ambience would count for anything, of course, if the songs weren't up to scratch, but they're tremendous. There's the joyous, anthemic triumph that is I Have Come To Sing - a future live favourite in the making, one suspects - and the eulogic ambivalence of the album's title track, which serves as a homage to Elvis (musically and in terms of subject matter) and, simultaneously, the condensed life story of an aged taxi driver who presumably picked up Mr Joseph as a fare one evening. Martyn's always been good at writing about what he knows, and it comes across here - it's not hard to imagine him stretching out in his chair, yawning and remarking "You'll never guess who I had in the front of my cab the other day....".
The breathtaking Kindness may have been inspired by observations in Toronto, but its mournful air of love, anxiety and restlessness works so well it could be almost anywhere in the world - it's one of those songs that grabs you by the throat and rips you inside out. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum there's the menacing Nobody Loves You Anymore, which with its obvious political allegory is 'Vegas's most outspoken track, reinforced by the Billy Bragg-like electric (complete with token distortion). Such is the rich tapestry of instrumentation and musical invention contained herein - if some of the sax work sounds like his early 1990s material, it's not to the detriment of the album, contributing instead to a warmly nostalgic sense of diversity.
Stalwart support is supplied throughout by Nigel Hopkins (on keyboards as well as the aforementioned sax) and Miranda Sykes, and Show of Hands' Phil Beer pops in for a song or two. Martyn himself is in tremendous voice - less angry than he has been, perhaps (we'll save that for the live shows) but with a richer, deeper resonance and sense of genuine pathos that cuts through the twinkling guitar. It would be a cliché to say that this is his best album ever, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He has come to sing..., 17 Sep 2007
It's hard to say anything other than "wonderful" about this album. Uncritical? Yes, I'll accept that but, truly, Martyn is one of the most underated singer/songwriters of our time and this album is a compete "tour de force" of not only his songwriting talents (once again brilliantly aided by Stewart Henderson), but also of his vocal and guitar skills. As with his last two albums (Whoever it was...and Deep Blue) there's hardly a bad moment on this recording. The production is of such depth and yet so full of intimacy that it really does sound like he's singing there in the room with you.
OK, I admit it, I'm a Martyn Joseph fan and my judgement is not objective on this, but I am entranced by this new collection of typically serious and powerful songs. I know Martyn doesn't look for fame and celebrity but why he isn't more widely regarded is still a mystery.
Best of all, I know that when I see him on tour soon he'll sound even better. Just buy it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece, 3 Oct 2007
This is a tour de force from a criminally underrated artist, who, even after 20 plus years of making music is still unparalleled as a songwriter.
In Vegas he has produced probably his best and most adventurous work to date, musically, and production wise. To add to his talent vocally and on the guitar he has some great musicians adding their own particular colours to some of the songs.
It transcends alot of what is currently hitting the airwaves and he has raised the bar yet again which Singer /Songwriters like James Blunt can only aspire to from a long way off. From track 1 to 10 Vegas is a real rollercoaster ride that leaves you wondering where the time went.
He is a master at observational and often poignant song writing and this album is packed with subtle life affirming signposts but also touches on our personal and society's frailties and done so succinctly. For all this, which may sound heavy, it is obvious this is an album by an artist who is still soaking up influences and is still having a blast playing music, this really comes across on tracks like Nobody loves you Anymore a brittle electric Billy Bragg like rocker or I have come to sing, just Martyn and a four string Tenor guitar that thumps and rocks along.
It is difficult and frankly unfair to pick a best track because each one is totally different to the previous one and are gems for different reasons. Having said that three I'll highlight are Kindness for its simple beauty, Weight of the world for its lyrical brilliance and superb layers of production and fantastic instrumental textures added by Phil Beer while still keeping that space and The Fading of Light a heart wrenching and damning commentary on war and it's human costs.
If no other album is bought this year get this one.
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