London Conversation

Martyn’s debut was recorded in less than three hours on a weekend at engineer Tony Pyke’s home studio in Putney. Straight to two-track tape, it famously cost £158, which would be roughly $3,000 now. Only nineteen at the time, Martyn decided to record the bulk of his live set, originals he’d been playing in Glasgow. Released on Island Records in October of 1967, it showed how fluid and fiery Martyn’s fingerpicking had become, and how well that matched with his rosy, dreamy singing. The approach is modified traditional folk, as you’d have been hearing from Davey Graham and Bert Jansch. Martyn adds one song on sitar, “Rolling Home,” one Dylan cover, and some uncredited flute from Harold McNair, who figured more prominently on the next album.