Martyn Joseph - Days Of Decision: A Tribute To Phil Ochs (2020)

Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night. He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances. In addition to his 5 top 50 UK hits, the importance of his work has been recognised by programmes such as BBC Radio 2's prime time series on Singer/Songwriters. January 2020 will see Martyn release Days Of Decision: A Tribute to Phil Ochs, who was also, like Martyn, known for his sharp wit, sardonic humour, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and distinctive voice.

Phil Ochs sister Sonny wrote of the project, "My brother, Phil Ochs, died by his own hand more than 40 years ago on April 9, 1976 at the age of 35. He wrote an amazing number of songs - many of which were political in nature and which are still relevant today. The songs are being recorded by many different artists all these years later. I was honored to learn that Martyn Joseph had decided to put out a CD exclusively featuring Phil's songs. Martyn is a performer who not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. Phil would have loved to know him and be his friend! They both show sensitivity to the needs of the underdog. I am very happy with the songs that Martyn decided to record. They show Phil's range of songwriting - topical songs, humor, love songs, songs about individuals, songs to excite a rally, etc. The beauty of this cd is that Martyn gives sparse renditions of the songs. The album is about the songs, not the performer. It's the words and melodies that count. No bells and whistles - just pure respect for the music. The listener is free to listen to the words which are so important even this many years later. Thank you, Martyn, for helping to carry on the legacy!"