John Martyn Album Due

Drawn from singer's final recordings

The final recordings made by John Martyn are set to be released on a new album this year.

A vital performer to the last, John Martyn passed away in January 2009 following a lengthy battle with ill health. Leaving behind a stream of unreleased and incomplete tracks the singer was apparently in the middle of a creative period when he died.

Now those recordings are set to see the light of day. Producer Jim Tullio sat at the helm of those sessions, with the desksmith now set to work with co-producer Gary Pollitt on an album bringing the recordings together.

Aiming to put John Martyn’s “last musical testament in order” aim to release an album later this year.

Speaking to The Guardian the producer described John Martyn as “a genius” before adding: “He made music more naturally than anyone I’ve ever met, as effortlessly as the way you and I speak.”

The album contains a host of guest appearances, with Jim Tullio assembling tracks from multiple takes. The producer recruited some of the singer’s “favourite back-up singers” before inviting a number of lead vocalists.

John Martyn had demoed a version of Phil Collins’ ‘Can’t Turn Back The Years’ with the Genesis legend now set to add his vocals to the recording. “After John passed, I spoke with Phil and he really wanted to sing on the track,” Tullio said. “(Phil) said he had always wanted John to record one of his songs. You can hear the emotion in their voices.”

“We didn’t do any editing,” the producer continued. “A lot of the tracks are long – even rambling – but we left them that way, as John last heard them. We knew this was it, so we made a conscious decision to keep everything, every morsel.”

John Martyn ‘Heaven And Earth’ is due to be released on May 3rd.

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