John Martyn – The Man Upstairs: In Concert In Germany 1976 (Music Video Distributors/Voiceprint DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C-     Extras: C     Concert: B-

 

 

With a unique combination of Folk, Rock, Jazz, Blues and even experimental forms, singer-songwriter John Martyn has been in the business for over forty years now and yet, most have not heard of him before let alone seen him in concert.  The new DVD release of The Man Upstairs: In Concert In Germany 1976 is a good opportunity to see the artist at his early peak performing a very strong set of music that more than demonstrates why he has enduring popularity.

 

The songs include:

 

1)     One Day Without You

2)     Outside In

3)     Bless The Weather

4)     Certain Surprise

5)     Big Muff

6)     Couldn’t Love You More

7)     Small Hours

8)     Solid Air

9)     May You Never

10)  Seven Black Roses

11)  Singin’ In The Rain

12)  I’d Rather Be The Devil (listed as bonus)

 

 

This is a Rockpalast TV series recording, but unfortunately, it is not in the best of shape and hopefully does not represent the best available copy.  The 1.33 X 1 image is soft, fuzzy and looks like at least second-generation analog video, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is very harsh, shrill and digitally harsh to the point of being often unlistenable.  Extras include that extra bonus track and a colorful booklet inside the DVD case with some lyrics and notes on the artists work.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo