Martin Barre
Stage Left

Years ago, in 1970, during the recordings of Benefit with Jethro Tull, the historical guitarist Martin Barre stated: «I believe Ian Anderson's great strength lies in his ability to make his compositions effective and turn them into a finished product». It was perhaps for this reason that he did not write a single note on any Jethro Tull album until, alas, 1984, the year of the horrendous Under Wraps: what a sad debut!

Still, our "Uncle Martin", despite the premises, did not give up. In 1992 almost by chance, the Jethro Tull guitarist began his solo career with a mediocre charity cover CD entitled "A Summer Band", followed by the good "A Trick Of Memory" (1994) and "The Meeting" (1996). In 2003 his latest effort is simply titled "Stage Left", which is the position the guitarist occupies on stage during concerts. Accompanying him are the two (now former) Jethro Tull members Andy Giddings (keyboards) and Jonathan Noyce (bass). This work substantially rises in level compared to its predecessors, also because of the choice to perform it almost entirely instrumentally, which makes it a remarkable strength.

The package is essential but well-crafted, with a cover depicting the lid of some sort of backstage instrument container. Inside, there is an amusing note from the guitarist for each instrument used in the 14 tracks, of which 12 are different guitars, both acoustic and electric, 1 mandolin (in D.I.Y.) and 1 bouzouki (in Favourite Things). Martin also ventures into playing parts of the flute in the song "Stage Fright", as he did in Jethro Tull's milestone "Stand Up" and often still does live with Anderson and company during "Fat Man". In short, we discover a multi-instrumentalist Martin Barre, endowed with surprising eclecticism and versatility, which perhaps are revealed only in his solo efforts. Stepping out of Ian Anderson's shadow has benefited Martin Barre, allowing him not to be indissolubly tied to the leader but to find his own space and dimension.

There are undoubtedly excellent pieces on "Stage Left", such as "Count The Chickens" and a couple of tracks with Tullian reminiscence, like Nelly Returns, which sometimes recalls a passage from "Part Of The Machine", while "Celestial Servings" seems to come from "Crest Of Knave", as Martin indeed uses the same Knopfleresque Fender Stratocaster here. The only sung track is rather ugly and paradoxically titled Don't Say A Word. Unfortunately, the other pieces are not great, such as "A French Correction", "As Told By", or "Murphy's Paw". However, "Winter Snowscape" is excellent, as Ian Anderson liked it so much that he included it in the Jethro Tull's "Christmas Album" in 2003, adding flute parts but crediting it solely to Martin Barre for the first time in 35 years.

In short, "Stage Left" is a more than commendable work overall, which perhaps would have borne the expected fruits if Martin Barre had not had to adhere to the odious oath of 14 mandatory songs that record labels impose nowadays. Had he limited himself to those 9-10 well-structured pieces, we could have talked about a great album. "Stage Left" is still a good album and shows that Martin Barre is a technically excellent guitarist with a good dose of creativity when it comes to writing guitar solos, not to mention his mastery of phrasing. It's no coincidence that his solo in the song "Aqualung" is considered one of the 100 best solos of all time by Guitar World and Guitar Player magazines. It's a pity that such a skilled performer has such a poor sense of the song in the compositional phase during his solo work, especially regarding the sung pieces. His discography, particularly the one before "Stage Left", may not be essential but not entirely to be discarded, given the excellent guitar insights.

Uncle Martin rules!