Various Artists
Johnny Boy Would Love This:A Tribute to John Martyn
(Hole In The Rain)

Tribute albums are typically a mixed bag, and this one’s no exception. But these 30 artists have been influenced and touched by the late under-the-radar Scottish singer/songwriter John Martyn. His slurred, often hoarse vocals were only part of the innovative guitarist’s idiosyncratic music that combined folk, blues, electronica, rock, pop and jazz in ways no one had before, or since. A handful of high profile ringers (Beck, Beth Orton, the Cure’s Robert Smith, Phil Collins, Snow Patrol) join less recognizable names interpreting Martyn songs in versions that will hopefully encourage listeners unfamiliar with his work to seek out his bulging catalog of inspired originals.