Fingerstyle guitar master and folk musician Martin Simpson has never released an album that’s less than top-drawer and meticulously put together, which is why he’s one of the most respected figures on the traditional scene, but his latest album, Some Kind of Jubilee, feels extra special. A double album spanning one hundred minutes, this seventeen-song feast marks a milestone in Martin’s career: a full half-century since his debut, Golden Vanity, dropped on the Trailer label in 1976. To celebrate, Martin has gathered a select elite of musicians, including bass mainstay Ben Nicholls, lapsteel whiz Greg Leisz, guitarists Louis Campbell and Zak Hobbs and cellist Liz Hanks.
What is noticeable from the lineup is a trans-Atlantic link, with Greg Leisz present on many tracks here, but also a generational one, with Martin joining forces with stalwarts like Nicholls and newer talent, like both Campbell and Hobbs, the former a prodigious and prominent guitarist with whom Martin has worked previously and the latter the grandchild of Richard and Linda Thompson. These details matter: the album was recorded in both the US and the UK, the two places where Martin has spent the most time and from where he draws influence, and Martin’s longevity is evident in the range of musical company he keeps.
It’s fair to begin then with Down Where the Drunkards Roll, a Richard Thompson piece first featured on his and Linda’s 1974 I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight album. Martin eschews some of the original’s melancholy for a warm, fingerpicked guitar piece and his signature clear vocals, flanked by Emily Portman and Molly Simpson, with the cello bringing plenty of romance.
Straddling the Atlantic is Victor Jara, a gorgeous song written by English poet Adrian Mitchell immediately after news of Chilean singer-songwriter Jara’s execution in 1973, and adapted by American folk musician Arlo Guthrie (Woody’s son) in 1976. Martin slows his version down, with those wonderful backing vocals present again, Greg’s lap steel bringing rich electric notes and Zak’s baritone adding a lower register. The refrain ‘his hands were gentle / his hands were strong’ is heartbreaking, with Martin’s unpretentious singing voice perfectly suiting such an honest, emotional document.
Neither version of Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child featured here has singing, but that certainly doesn’t stop both pieces from consuming the listener. Martin first heard the song when he was four years old, and he released it as the closing track of Music for the Motherless Child, a 1996 collaboration with Chinese pipa player Wu Man. The PRS Version on disc one has strong hints of Ry Cooder’s Paris Texas music, with Martin playing the piece solo on acoustic slide guitar, and it is spellbinding. Perfectly timed and with expert use of space and string sounds, it is a masterclass in evocative guitar performance and plays as a reminder (like we need one) of Martin’s ludicrous skill. The Santa Monica Version keeps the slide, but drenches it in reverb, bringing a very different, more overtly haunted feel to the music, with Greg’s lap steel adding to the vibe. Man, these two songs blew me away.
A switch to traditional British folk music comes in the shape of Hide, a version of Child Ballad The Wife Wrapped in the Wether’s Skin that Martin came across on Emily Portman’s The Glamoury, a stereo regular during Martin’s daughter Molly’s childhood. For Martin’s take, he brings back both Emily Portman and Molly Simpson for backing vocals, completing a relationship with the song that has lasted many years. Emily’s plaintive vocal is a ghost here, while Martin’s lived-in burr brings a mossier feel to the music. The pace is also fascinating, with a slowed-down melody and gaps of space that give the song an ethereal character, a mood enhanced by Liz’s occasional cello notes.
William is much simpler in arrangement, a Leon Rosselson piece Martin was inspired to learn from his late father-in-law, Roy Bailey. A heart-wrenching tale of overcoming cowardice and posthumous parental pride, this one is played solo by Martin, with just an arpeggiating guitar part framing his honest, unpretentious vocals. The lack of adornment is clever, letting the song’s emotive lyrics come through clearly and adding heft to a beautifully written, well-performed piece.
Another solo number is Survivor, an original piece built around a Martin Carthy-esque picking pattern that appreciates the resilience and quiet beauty of nature. Written as a tribute to an elm tree Martin noticed for the first time after fifteen years of walking the Wire Mill Dam to Forge Dam in the Porter Valley, the song’s narrator resembles a rambling poet, highlighting the simple pleasures of walking and noticing. Working as a comment on the inevitability of change and invasion, as well as an elegy to the once populous elm, ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease, the song and its notes in the booklet (an interesting explanation from Chris Packham on the role of ‘sucker’ branches and their fate) are quietly profound and affecting.
In a similar mould to Skydancers, the title track from Martin’s 2024 album is Toy Soldiers, a piece first heard on Murmurs, a 2015 project Martin completed with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr. A sharp protest song, this one focuses on the vacuous and pointless government-backed ‘sport’ of pheasant shooting, which demands millions of birds be bred for human entertainment, while polluting the landscape and disrupting native species. Martin is a nature lover, and on both this one and Skydancers you can feel the anger coming through, with wearied vocals, a mournful slide line, deep cello, and Louis Campbell’s subtly poignant electric guitar completing a clear, direct piece.
Back across the ocean for another double take, Martin takes on Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, the perfect 1963 break-up song. On the solo version here, Martin uses an upbeat, complex picking pattern to highlight the faux flippancy Dylan brings to the song (his split from Suze Rotolo was actually a real pride-wounder). In contrast, his vocal brings warmth and forgiveness to the song. The alternate version included is a treat for the audiophiles, with Louis Campbell’s gentle electric guitar addition balancing optimism with a touch of melancholy. Just enjoy them both…
As a celebration of skills and songs gathered over fifty years, Some Kind of Jubilee works perfectly. As one of the world’s most respected musicians, Martin is a generous artist, keen to share both the music passed down over the years and his own compositions. Sinking into this album and hearing musicians, both veterans and those relatively fresh on the scene, perform these original, covered and traditional songs is a wonderful experience. The music is rich without ever being overplayed; the vocals are warm and engaging, with contributions from Emily Portman, Molly Simpson and Amy Newhouse Smith enhancing each selection. The crack team of musicians are as on it as you could hope, each supporting Martin’s rock-solid guitar and banjo work. Some Kind of Jubilee is a real achievement; a career highlight after fifty years in the business. Take a bow.
Some Kind of Jubilee (September 25th, 2026) Topic Records
Order here: https://martinsimpson.lnk.to/somekindofjubilee
Tour Dates: https://martinsimpsonmusic.com/gigs/