John Martyn : I'd Rather Be the Devil (Live)

This is another psychedelic folk number, like Jake Holmes, Tim Buckley or American Gypsy.  John Martyn was a British singer who was a pioneer in the folk-rock and blues-rock traditions developing across the pond in the late 60's.  Apparently he was pretty good friends with Nick Drake, another psychedelic folker who you might see pop up in these pages in the next year.

John began working with a jazz bassist for this album, which might explain it's general funkiness and meandering song structures.  They vary in energy from the nice light straight-up folk of "May You Never" to the harder blues edge of Skip James' "I'd Rather Be the Devil" which is the star of the album.  I've selected the live version because it's a little edgier than the album version, but they're both excellent.

The song kicks of with some acoustic guitar played through an echo pedal, which sounds distinctly similar to "On the Run" by Pink Floyd.  Then the bongos kick in and the song launches itself, buoyed by near constant tom work.  It lurches forward from verse to verse, full of tension that rarely, if ever, dissipates at all through the song.  You do get the feeling that the devil is really riding out after him.  John has a unique way of singing, a slurry, sibilant, almost falsetto (see: Nick Drake), that further pushes the song into psychedelic territory.

You can find this live version of "I'd Rather Be the Devil" on the re-release of his seminal 1973 release, Solid Air.  It's a fantastic album, great listening for a dark, rainy night.

[You can listen to John Martyn's "I'd Rather Be the Devil (Live)" by navigating to the post "Song077" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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