Small Hours
the spellbinding new novel from the author of ISAAC AND THE EGG

He was a nasty piece of work, the usual boring stuff, coercive controlling wife beater, violent drunk, cokehead, abandoner of his children, wrecker of lives, but I have a ton of his music, most of which is so gentle and beautiful, exquisite melancholy foggy slurrings, heartfelt soulful folky electro......more

The book tells the tale of his life and music well. I'm a casual fan of Martyn's music but always liked what I'd heard was interested to know more. He seems to have been cut from the same cloth as Mark E Smith - capable of great gigs or terrible gigs depending on how much drink had been consumed, so......more

Thomson continues his series of top notch music biographies with the late John Martyn. The word enigmatic seems inadequate to describe Martyn; where the wonderful free-spirited music lives alongside someone way too familiar with the darker side of life. For musical skills, the term 'genius' might hav......more

An excellent biography that gets to the heart of John Martyn who turned out a run of truly stunning albums n the 1970s but struggled thereafter to match that. Thomson is unflinchingly unsparing in detailing Martyn’s many character flaws, his addictions and abusive relationships with women. Complex a......more

Rather than being too academic, this bio relies on interviews. I think it is stronger because of it. it feels more authentic . I am left feeling that Martyn was a product of his time, but the fact that he was a leopard that couldn't change his spots ( Particularly, in terms of alcholism and his atti......more