The Road To Ruin (Remastered, Incl. Bonus Track) (1970)

"Martyn's multifaceted 40-year discography features an above-average proportion of masterworks within it. Key among those is 1970's "The Road To Ruin". This was the second, and final, album Martyn made with his wife Beverley. The original LP release includes one written by Beverley and three jointly composed by Beverley and John, on all four of which Beverley takes lead vocals. It is these tracks, along with Paul Wheeler's "Give Us A Ring", which give the album so much of its affective power. But what made it so adventurous for its time, is the instrumentation. It's a folk/rock hybrid played by an acoustic (guitar and bass guitar aside) jazz lineup. Three of London's ranking jazz saxophonists are heard: Ray Warleigh, Lyn Dobson and Dudu Pukwana, given ample solo space. They are heard alongside Martyn (g), Paul Harris (p), ells Kelly and Mike Kowalski (d), and Rocky Dzidzornu (perc). Three bassists are employed, incl. acoustic player Danny Thompson." (Chris May, AllAboutJazz; volg link voor complete tekst)