Since John Martyn's passing in 2009, the genre-hopping singer-songwriter has been honoured with a star-studded tribute album (which came out in 2011), and soon he will remembered with a hefty box set. The Island Years is out in September through Universal.
As the title indicates, the set will cover Martyn's years with Island Records. This spans 20 years from 1967 to 1987, amounting to a whopping 17 CDs, plus a DVD.
The set contains 12 studio albums, including two records with his then-wife under the name John and Beverley Martyn. There's also concert album called Live at Leeds, which was originally a mail order exclusive. Other goodies include never-before-shared outtakes, two unreleased solo concerts from 1972 and 1977, and the compete demos for the album that was to become 1980's The Apprentice.
In total, there are five discs of obscure and unreleased material, plus additional rarities, spread across the 17 discs.
As for the DVD, it features television appearances and an expanded version of the live film Foundations (which appears on DVD for the first time following its prior VHS release). The DVD contains more than three hours of footage. There's also a hardbound book containing an essay, photographs and memorabilia.
You can pre-order the set here. According to the listing, the collection will arrive on September 9.
As the title indicates, the set will cover Martyn's years with Island Records. This spans 20 years from 1967 to 1987, amounting to a whopping 17 CDs, plus a DVD.
The set contains 12 studio albums, including two records with his then-wife under the name John and Beverley Martyn. There's also concert album called Live at Leeds, which was originally a mail order exclusive. Other goodies include never-before-shared outtakes, two unreleased solo concerts from 1972 and 1977, and the compete demos for the album that was to become 1980's The Apprentice.
In total, there are five discs of obscure and unreleased material, plus additional rarities, spread across the 17 discs.
As for the DVD, it features television appearances and an expanded version of the live film Foundations (which appears on DVD for the first time following its prior VHS release). The DVD contains more than three hours of footage. There's also a hardbound book containing an essay, photographs and memorabilia.
You can pre-order the set here. According to the listing, the collection will arrive on September 9.