In the couple of years before the lockdown, Dom Martin suddenly exploded on to the UK scene from support sets to the likes of Elles Bailey to headline slots at Blues clubs and acoustic stages at festivals. He accrued a stack of awards including 'Acoustic blues artist of the year' 2020 and 2021 from the UK Blues Awards and 'Beast Solo/Acoustic act 2019' at the European Blues Awards.
There ware rumours of him playing in a band setup back in his hometown of Belfast and he often picked up an electric guitar to play a Rory Gallagher or John Martyn number but this gig was the first time people on this side of the pond had seen him with bass and drums behind him.
I actually missed this gig but this release shows exactly what I missed and I’m even more sorry now that I missed it – Dom Martin is an absolutely fabulous performer whether it is just him or as here, with Bass- Dave Thompson and Drums- Laurence McKeown.
Now, Dom Martin (or Dom Martin Savage as it says on his birth certificate) has never made any excuses for his love of Rory Gallagher and John Martyn and as influences there aren’t many better but it is one thing having an influence and a whole other to be able to play to the standards of those masters but Dom Martin does it and he does it within his own sphere so that you get the sound of pure Dom Martin but also get the beautiful guitar playing of Rory and the gruff and intense vocals of JM.
Most of the tracks here are on the long side, with Martin stretching out and jamming with the bass and drums.
There are 13 tracks here and I found myself listening straight through a couple of times before going back and playing individual numbers just to pick out a vocal or a solo that was particularly special – the truth is though that I listened to every track in isolation and then went back and played the whole album straight through again.
Dom Martin is an exceptional talent and this shows him in a remarkable light. It’s a shoo-in for accolades and my guess is that, come the end of the year, it will be in a lot of ‘best of 2021’ lists. Fabulous album
