John Martyn / The Best of the Island Years: 4CD box set

Many of you will recall the John Martyn Island Years box set from last year. The 18-disc collection was memorable as much for the scale of the undertaking as for the amazing deals/pricing errors (delete as applicable) that came up on Amazon. At one point this massive set was available for around £30!!

Those deals are now a distant memory and you have to pay over £150 at the moment to pick up the big bastard of a box.

Cue then, The Best Of The Island Years, a new set described by Universal as a ‘four-disc digest’ of the definitive 18-disc collection. The 56 tracks here are culled from outtakes, unreleased and rare live recordings – basically best of the box – and includes the three unreleased songs included on the daddy set; Hi Heel Sneakers, from the Grace And Danger sessions; Love In Your Life from Sapphire and Lifeline from the Apprentice sessions.

The Best of the Island Years is set for release on 4 November 2014. Will update this post with track listings as soon as they are confirmed.

• • UK Pre-order: The Best Of The Island Years