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Martyn Joseph would appear to be in a comfortable place at the moment. His last couple of tours have allowed him to play long sets to receptive audiences in some of the UK's finest mid-sized venues and under the banner of his own label, Pipe Records, he's had a chance to release a 'best of' and a live album in quick succession to keep the baying fans happy.

All songwriters aspire to develop their craft and judging by Thunder and Rainbows, the aforementioned best--of, he's grown as a craftsman over the twelve years here encompassed. The album covers material recorded between 1988 and 2000, spread over two discs (not entirely but generally) in chronological order. There are gems throughout but it is clear that recent years have seen Joseph attain a greater level of consistency while his lyrics became more succinct.

The style has changed through the years as well, though changes in production are more notable than in the underlying songwriting. Recent releases have been rather pared down affairs while earlier material had a little more in the way of electric guitars and sax. To these ears the more stripped down material is likely to stand the test of time rather better, with a little of the earlier production work feeling a little too much a product of its time. But it's never so overbearing that the songs themselves are lost. Like a good best-of should, this release isn't simply about showing the artist in a good light but is a good introduction because it shows where he was and the journey he's made, leaving a couple of hints at future direction.

Don't Talk About Love, meanwhile, shows the other side of the music experience, drawing together songs recorded live over the past decade. Most of the material is drawn from a single show in Southampton in December 2000, though there are tracks dating back to Greenbelt '92 and a home show in Swansea in 1993. This is the sort of live album one would expect from Joseph. Effort has been made to select good cuts, but the occasional rough vocal or misplayed chord is still in place to lend some grit to proceedings.

"Grit" fits well with Joseph's varied subject matter, which grapples with a variety of social issues without flinching. That comes across more strongly in the live setting than in a studio as he tosses in references to current affairs, though thankfully the longer rants which sometimes make their way into the live set (and work in that context but wouldn't outside of it) don't crop up here. Spoken introductions are present enough to give an idea of Joseph's onstage persona but don't detract from the music.

So here we have two solid releases which give as well-rounded a picture of Martyn Joseph as CDs could hope to. Neither is perfect.  A one-disc version of Thunder and Rainbows could be fantastic but instead the quality is relaxed slightly to provide more satisfaction and a broader picture but either package is a good introduction to one of the UK's most passionate and committed singer-songwriters.

James Stewart 01/07/2002