Martyn Joseph

Item: Far From Silent
Author: James Stewart

Far From Silent

(1999)

Reviewed by James Stewart

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Label Pipe RecordsThe Phantom TollboothNovember 1999

acoustic folk singer-songwriter

Four albums and the end of Martyn Joseph's relationship with Sony is really beginning to pay off. The removal of pressure to release singles quickly freed Joseph's songwriting up and in Far From Silent we have an album that approaches the stripped down passion of his live show.

As an artist that has told us to "Treasure the Questions," that is exactly what Joseph does in his lyrics. Life is laid bare through stark observations but there is always a thread of hope in the bleakness of many of the scenes explored. Like many singer-songwriters Joseph's music is politically aware, but it is justice he seeks rather than a partisan point.

"Celebrity" is a cutting exposé of the cult of celebrity, told in Joseph's familiar first-person style. Its guitar work is simple and serves to accentuate his (in this case) soft vocals; Joseph is more than competent as a guitarist but pays more attention to the completeness of each song rather than any particular virtuosity.

Fashionably turned out
Immaculately churned out
Rehab ripe and burned out
On a short lease destiny
Magazine confessional
An emotional professional
Renowned for being me, me, me

Lyrically this is a very strong album. "People Crazy Like Me" is described by Joseph as his "sermon on the mount ... some principles, not rules". It is perhaps the most straightforwardly hopeful track on the album, looking for simple, perhaps traditional, values with forward-thinking libertarianism.

Perhaps the most poignant piece on the album, "The Good In Me Is Dead," is an affecting tale of a young Bosnian refugee waiting at the border to see whether his family has managed to escape. The tale of the boy's internal struggle between the anger and violence he feels burning inside and his desire to overcome them is filled with empathy and insight. Sympathetically accompanied by a single finger-picked guitar line, the continuing conflicts in Eastern Europe bring this song added impact.

I woke shaking and thinking
About love that's in this world
And if there is no bigger picture
How it's all obscene, absurd
So pass me that revolver
And pass me a book I've read
And pass me a fresh cut flower
And ask me what I dread
That the good in me... is dead

Martyn Joseph is not unfamiliar with the mis-placed labels of "liberal", "backslider," or "sell-out". At Greenbelt he led the crowd in a new track "Liberal Backslider" and it is with this that he closes the album.

I'm a liberal backslider
Been sliding about ten years
People ask me how I'm doing
And I confirm all their fears
I'm swearing like a trooper
And drinking like a bum
I'm a liberal backslider
And it sure is a lot of fun

Beside the light-hearted chorus, and the obligatory references to televangelists, however this song could also serve as a reminder to work out our priorities carefully.

I sing about the hope that's in me
And ask why the poor aren't fed
But if I don't toe the party line
It'd be better if I were dead

One of the UK's finest songwriters, this album shows Martyn Joseph in fine form. Definitely a step forward from its predecessor, this album would be a fine introduction to Martyn Joseph for anyone who likes their music song-driven and stripped back.

4.5 tocks