Because Island Records didn't feel it was the right time for a live album,
John Martyn independently released
Live at Leeds from his home. The initial release was a limited edition of 10,000 (which Island did manufacture, though they didn't distribute or promote it) that was numbered and signed. Though the album shares its title with the famous
Who live collection, the working title was "Ringside Seat" and photos of
Martyn and bassist
Danny Thompson in a boxing ring were even taken for a prospective cover, though never used. Recorded February 13, 1975 (the sleeve incorrectly states October), at Leeds University in the U.K., this is
Martyn at a creative and performance peak in his career. In
Thompson, he'd found a perfect foil for his increasingly jazzy textures, and their bass and guitar interaction is a particular highlight. Having mastered the echoplex, which was capable of producing waves of echoed and distorted sound,
Martyn was doing things with an acoustic guitar that no one had ever done (or has done since). "Outside In" (all 18:57 of it!) is a tour de force showcasing the otherworldly sounds he could coax from this device, and is worth the price of the album alone. The re-released CD version on Voiceprint/One World includes five bonus tracks ("My Baby Girl," "You Can Discover," "So Much in Love with You," "Clutches," "Mailman") from the show, including the ones
Paul Kossoff of
Free guested on. The sound quality, however, was utterly dodgy in relation to the original LP. [The 2010
Live at Leeds Deluxe Edition, issued by UMGD was thoroughly remastered by
Paschal Byrne, eclipsing all other versions in sound quality. It was also expanded to include a bonus disc. Disc two contains the aforementioned five bonus tracks, and six more cuts from the concert rehearsals: "May You Never," "The Message," "Outside In," "The Man in the Station," "Head and Heart," and "Clutches"; the last of which features Kossoff. ~ Rob Caldwell