Well here it is. The cd that was going to be called “Flowers to the Desert” after the track that has been streamed on the web already and received a record number of plays. Three decades of songwriting craft and instrumental skill-building come together on this latest collection, a rootsy mix of original songs and instrumentals with pure acoustic arrangements. This set adds a new exclamation mark on a career that shows no signs of slowing down, with Eddie emerging here as both a tender folk artist alongside the tough blues artist we know. His 11th album features a slew of tunes stripped down to their essence, shining the spotlight on a Londoner’s transatlantic touring experiences and musical development, which combines Delta-hardened slide with pretty finger-picking dexterity in the Jansch-Graham tradition. Alone in the studio with his engineer son, the album was recorded live with no overdubs in just three days. This, not-to-mention the fact that Martin wrote and played everything, produced and even did the artwork, begins to account for the honest, personal nature of the album. All this combines to draw the listener in to a simple, yet emotionally powerful musical landscape, upon which his blues and folk-fuelled narratives and tunes are painted. The album also captures the engaging vitality and humour of his one-man-band live shows, especially in the “whooping” solo harmonica piece. It features 12 original compositions including 3 instrumentals which spotlight the master