Glorious Fool
Studio album by
John Martyn
ReleasedSeptember 1981
StudioTownhouse, London
GenreFolk, blues, jazz fusion
Length55:16
LabelWEA
ProducerPhil Collins
John Martyn chronology
Grace and Danger
(1980)		 Glorious Fool
(1981)		 Well Kept Secret
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Melody Maker(favourable)[3]
NME(mixed)[4]

Glorious Fool is the ninth studio album by musician John Martyn. After a long association with Island Records, this was Martyn's first of two albums for WEA. The album was produced by Phil Collins and engineered by Nick Launay and Steve Travell. The album is named for the title track satirizing Ronald Reagan's ascent to the White House as the 40th U.S. President.

The opening track "Couldn't Love You More" is a re-worked arrangement of the song that originally appeared on 1977's One World. The original acoustic version is here re-recorded as a full-band track, featuring a guest appearance from Eric Clapton. Clapton covered Martyn's "May You Never" on his 1977 album Slowhand. When Martyn was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Collins at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards, Clapton sent a message saying that he was "so far ahead of everything else it was inconceivable".[5] "Couldn't Love You More", in its various forms, remained a fixture of Martyn's live performances. Irish Musician Lisa Hannigan has described the song as one of her favourites, covering the song with Faultline in 2006.

In August 1981, "Please Fall In Love With Me"/"Don't You Go" was released as a single.

More mainstream in production compared to Martyn's previous albums, and helped by promotion in the way of a 32-date UK tour, Glorious Fool charted at #25 on its release.[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Martyn.

Side one

  1. "Couldn't Love You More" – 3:59
  2. "Amsterdam" – 5:27
  3. "Hold On My Heart" – 4:39
  4. "Perfect Hustler"– 4:42
  5. "Hearts and Keys" – 7:33

Side two

  1. "Glorious Fool" – 4:58
  2. "Never Say Never" – 4:56
  3. "Pascanel (Get Back Home)" – 3:48
  4. "Didn't Do That" – 4:20
  5. "Please Fall in Love With Me" – 6:07
  6. "Don't You Go" – 4:43

Personnel

  • John Martyn – vocals, guitar
  • Eric Clapton – guitar on "Couldn't Love You More"
  • Alan Thomson – bass
  • Max Middleton – keyboards
  • Dick Cuthell – flugelhorn on "Hold on My Heart", trumpet on "Didn't Do That"
  • Phil Collins – drums, vocoder and additional vocals, piano on "Don't You Go"
  • Danny Cummings – percussion
Technical
  • Phil Collins – producer
  • Nick Launay – engineer
  • Steve Travell – assistant engineer
  • Bill Smith – cover design
  • Eberhard Grames – front cover photo
  • Andrew Douglas – back cover photo
  • Sandy Robertson, Paul Brown – management

References

  1. ↑ "Glorious Fool Review by Brett Hartenbach". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  3. ↑ Steve Sutherland (19 September 1981). "Glorious Fool - WEA K99178 | Big Muff". Johnmartyn.info. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Graham Lock (10 October 1981). "Glorious Fool - WEA K99178 | Big Muff". Johnmartyn.info. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "John Martyn". Telegraph. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "1980s". John Martyn. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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