"In 1993 I found myself opening for the great Irish band Clannad on their N. American tour. On June 11th we played the first of two nights at the Somerville Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts. The following day there was a great review of the show written by Steve Morse in the Boston Globe. Steve wrote glowingly of Clannad’s brilliant performance and at the bottom kindly added ‘Opener Martyn Joseph was a profound experience of his own. He combined edgy protest songs that reached a Phil Ochs intensity at times, but also had a droll sense of humour that kept the audience pleasantly off guard throughout. A fine talent.’
I was more than grateful for Steve’s generous words but had to confess that I didn’t know anything about Phil Ochs or his music. So I started to listen to any of his records I could find and was captivated by his songwriting and live performances. I also sadly learned of his struggle with mental health and his far too early demise at his own hand in 1976. This made his music all the more remarkable for its lack of self pity or navel gazing and showed that despite his personal struggles this was a man of great compassion, empathy and action.
Twenty years after the Boston Globe review I happened to meet Phil’s sister Sonny, a wonderful woman with a big heart who is doing a great job of keeping Phil’s music alive through concerts and on her radio show. With her encouragement, and to play a part, I decided to record an album of Phil Ochs songs. Phil was a great and prolific songwriter. The cannon of songs he left us with is extraordinary and it was not easy to choose the songs recorded here. ‘That Was The President’ floors me every time and captures perfectly the despair and shock of the loss of JFK. Phil sent an early draft copy of the lyrics to Jackie Kennedy. When faced by criticism from some for being pro establishment Phil’s response was ‘systems not men are the enemy’.
I was moved to discover an old radio interview where Phil describes writing ‘Song Of My Returning’ whilst travelling in Wales. It's a more personal lyric but it's the troubadour’s lament and I felt an empathetic connection to it. These are but two of the songs I chose but there were many others I could have drawn on and the idea is that this will whet the appetite and the listener will want to seek out more of Phil’s work. They won’t be disappointed. Phil had a beautiful voice and a gifted way with vibrato and timbre. He wasn’t the world’s greatest guitar player and his sense of rhythm could be a little unique, but that pure lilting vocal along with his ragged meter endears him to my ears even more. Recording was interesting. I decided to primarily strum rather than work on complicated guitar arrangements that might distract and move too far away from the original work. My voice will never be as pure as Phil’s but I tried to meet the commitment that his songs demand. It will require a certain amount of grace from his fans but I hope I’ve done justice to this snapshot of the great man’s opus.
What is most striking to me is how poignant and vital his words remain to our present time. Its uncanny that as you wander through this material there are so many echoes of our current struggle with right wing populism and those who pervade their wares through lies, cynicism and fear. Phil once said that ‘In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty’. He brought and left us with a lot of that ‘beauty’ and it’s been an honour to dwell within it for a while and hopefully give it a small nudge forward"
Track listing is...
I Ain't Marching Anymore
I’m Gonna Say It Now
Days Of Decision
The Ballad of William Worthy
Flower Lady
Knock On The Door
That Was The President
Lou Marsh
There But For Fortune
That’s What I Want To Hear
Cannons Of Christianity
Changes
When I’m Gone
Song Of My Returning
Along with being available from Martyn's online shop, the album will also be on the merchandise table at all the dates on his upcoming UK tour, and eventually will also be on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and all good music shops, both physically and digitally.
Don't forget Martyn will be heading over to The Netherlands in a week's time...starting the tour with a SOLD OUT show at Den Haag. Full details of all the shows are below...along with details of his full UK tour, where you'll get the chance to hear live, for the first time, some of the songs from this album.
Have a great weekend everyone, and we look forward to seeing you at a show soon!
UPCOMING SHOWS
25 Oct 19 DEN HAAG, THE NETHERLANDS Acoustic Alley, Theater In de Steeg, Westeinde 165 a, 2512 GX Den Haag, The Netherlands - SOLD OUT!
Website: https://acousticalley.nl/wp/
26 Oct 19 AMEN, THE NETHERLANDS De Amer, Amen 20, 9446 PC Amen, Netherlands
Tel: 0031 592 389 271 | Website: http://www.cafedeamer.nl
27 Oct 19 DOETINCHEM, THE NETHERLANDS Het Nieuwe Dijkhuis, Burg. Van Nispenstraat 19-21, 7001 BS Doetinchem, The Netherlands
Tel: 0031 0315-641151 | Website: https://www.hetnieuwedijkhuis.nl/agenda
29 Oct 19 WESTWOUD, THE NETHERLANDS De Schalm, Dr. Nuijensstraat 14 B 1617 KC Westwoud, The Netherlands
Tel: 0228-561880 | Website: http://www.deschalmwestwoud.nl
1 Nov 19 NIEUWENDIJK, THE NETHERLANDS Xinix, Doornseweg 2b, Nieuwendijk, The Netherlands
Website: https://xinix.nl
10 Nov 19 KINROSS Backstage at the Green Hotel, 2 The Muirs, Kinross, Perthshire, KY13 8AS
Website: https://mundellmusic.com
23 Nov 19 ASCOTT-U-WYCHWOOD, Nr CHIPPING NORTON Wychwood Folk Club, Tiddy Hall, Shipton Road, Ascott -u- Wychwood, Oxfordshire, OX7 6AG
Tel: 01993 831427 or 07870 563299 | Website: https://www.wychwoodfolkclub.com
29 Nov 19 CREETING ST MARY, Nr IPSWICH Jubilee Hall, 48-49 All Saints Rd, Creeting St Mary, Ipswich IP6 8NF - FEW TICKETS LEFT
Tel: 01449 720988 or 01449 720740
7 Dec 19 MOTTRAM, Nr MACCLESFIELD Music at Mottram, Mottram Village Hall, Wilmslow Old Road, Mottram St.Andrew, Macclesfield, SK10 4QP
Tel: 07904 072190 | Website: https://www.musicatmottram.com/gigs
26 Jan 20 BUILTH WELLS Wyeside Arts Centre, Castle St, Builth Wells LD2 3BN
Tel: 01982 552555 | Website: http://wyeside.co.uk
30 Jan 20 CARDIGAN Theatr Mwldan, Bath House Road, Cardigan SA43 1JY
Tel: 01239 621200 | Website: https://www.mwldan.co.uk
4 Mar 20 GRAND PRAIRIE, AB, CANADA Details to follow soon!
5 Mar 20 COCHRANE, AB, CANADA St Andy's Rhythm and Roots, St. Andrew’s United Church128 1st St. E, Cochrane, AB, T4C 1Z3, Canada
Tel: 403-932-2585 | Website: www.cochraneunited.com
7 Mar 20 EDMONTON, AB, CANADA Northern Lights Folk Club, Parkview Community Hall, 9135 146 Street NW, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Website: https://www.northernlightsfc.ca
10 Mar 20 PENTICTON, BC, CANADA The Dream Cafe, 67 Colourful Front Street, Penticton, BC Canada
Website: https://thedreamcafe.ca
12 Mar 20 VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA Rogue Folk Club, St James' Community Hall, 3214 W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, Cabada
Website: http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca
14 Mar 20 DUNCAN, BC, CANADA Details to follow soon!
15 Mar 20 VICTORIA, BC, CANADA Details to follow soon!
16 Mar 20 POWELL RIVER, BC, CANADA Details to follow soon!
20 Mar 20 OXFORD, NY, USA 6 On The Square, 6 Lafayette Park, Oxford, NY 13830, USA
Tickets onsale soon.
27 Mar 20 PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA Philadelphia Folk Song Society, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Tickets onsale soon.
28 Mar 20 DENWOOD, MD, USA Moore Music (In The House), Denwood. MD, USA