Box Sets #7 John Martyn - The Island Years

OK it's confession time, I don't actually own this recently released 18 disc box set, finding the £150 price tag a little too steep.. However, due to what I can only assume was a slip up by Amazon, I was able to download the complete 17 discs of music as MP3 files for the princely sum of.... wait for it.....  £1.19!

Yes, that's right, 259 tracks for just over one of the Queen's English pounds.

So OK I didn't get the 18th disc which is I'm sure a very fine DVD and nor did I get the 120 page hard-backed book. However I can live without those having saved myself about £148.

So onto the musical content which features each of John (and where appropriate, Beverley) Martyn's twelve studio albums released by Island between 1967 and 1987. Additionally there are two previously unreleased live concerts from 1972 and 1977 AND a host of alternate takes, demo recordings and the complete recordings for the final unreleased album, 'The Apprentice'.

As is usually the case with such complete releases, there is a fair amount of duplication of songs but for fans of John Martyn's career, this is an absolute treasure trove of his music. And for the casual fan (and I'm assuming if you read this far, you fall into one of the above categories), there is plenty to get stuck into. If you find the repetitions tedious, there is always the 'skip' button you know.

Sadly the £1.19 offer has disappeared but as I write this, I see that the current price is £7.49. Surely this must also be a mistake. I therefore suggest you get it while you can.
Happy listening.