Martyn, a Scottish-born folk singer-songwriter, had been absorbing more and more disparate influences as his career had progressed. A lot of blues, rock and jazz touches had begun to appear in his sound, and this sense of musical adventure reached its peak on Solid Air.
The end result was an album of powerful, frequently weightless beauty – occasionally verging on anger, but never losing its gentler, sensitive side. Recorded during a period in which Martyn was struggling with alcoholism, this is a deceptively dark, slow-burning classic.