Review of Nicholas Martin's "At Home & Abroad" DVD

Organ and Keyboard Cavalcade Review by Ian King

Issue 347 – November 2016

(DVD) Nicholas Martin – At Home & Abroad
Running Time 1 hour 43 minutes – Price £13.95

Nicholas Martin - At Home & Abroad (DVD) — Nicholas Martin – At Home & Abroad (DVD)

This is Nick Martin’s first DVD release since “Shrewsbury Revisited” in 2014 and was made available to his fan club members earlier in the year. It’s a compilation spanning 2006-2015 and has been taken from several of his self-produced DVDs, plus one from the OS Digital/Valentine label, “At Home With…”.

If you have all of Nick’s commercial DVDs, there is still something for you as there is material from a DVD, “Wersi Cavalcade” released to his fan club members in 2009. That featured tracks on the Louvre he had for a couple of years, other video of which previously made an appearance on “At Home With…”.

There is also a medley recorded at the Shrewsbury Buttermarket Wurlitzer on April 19th 2015 which makes its inaugural appearance here. This is not to be confused with his two commercial Buttermarket DVDs released in 2009 and 2014.

Onto the DVD and each section starts with a still of the DVD and the year of release. There is a good mix of venues including the Blackpool Opera House, the Shrewsbury Buttermarket, The Wolverhampton Civic Hall Compton, The Kirk of Dunedin in Florida (The ‘Away’ part of the title). For the electronic fans we have the Wersi Louvre, Hammond A-100 and Technics FA-1. For the ‘confused’ people who can’t decide, we have some tracks on the four-manual George Wright ‘Signature’ Allen Digital Theatre Organ.

Nick has only plucked one or two medleys from each of the DVDs, apart from “At Home With…” where he’s taken three sections, although only one from each of the three organs used on that DVD; the Wersi Louvre, Technics FA-1 and Hammond A-100.

Compilation CDs and DVDs are always difficult to stock and review. They are great for introducing people to an artist, but not so good for someone who has most of the material already. Still, this is a nice one for the collection and shows what Nick can do ‘across the (pedal)board’ on various organs, which is pretty impressive.

FULL TRACKS: BLACKPOOL OPERA HOUSE (WURLITZER): Hey Look Me Over / Beside the Seaside / Let’s Face the Music… / Puttin’ On The Ritz / Top Hat / Change Partners / Alexander’s Ragtime Band • AT HOME (Wersi LOUVRE): As Time Goes By / My Own True Love • ROYAL EVENT (GEORGE WRIGHT ALLEN): Phantom of the Opera / Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again / Music of the Night • Wersi CAVALCADE (LOUVRE): The Trolley Song / Laura / Wind Beneath My Wings / Leicester Square Rag • FROM THE BUTTERMARKET (WURLITZER): Ashokan Farewell / Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet / The Story of a Starry Night • AT HOME (TECHNICS FA-1): James Bond Theme / Finlandia / Tiger Rag / Widor’s Toccata • LIVE AT THE KIRK (WURLITZER / ALLEN): Fascination / Skaters’ Waltz / Kiss Me Again / Gold & Silver Waltz / Merry Widow Waltz / Nuns’ Chorus • AT HOME (HAMMOND A-100): When You’re Smiling / Happy Days Are Here Again / I’ll See You in My Dreams / The World is Waiting for the Sunrise • HAPPY WANDERER (COMPTON): Romance (Gadfly Suite) / Second Waltz • AT HOME (FA-1): Bb Minor Piano Concerto • BLACKPOOL OPERA HOUSE (WURLITZER): La Marseillaise / C’est Magnifique / Poor People of Paris / La Vie en Rose / I Love Paris / If You Love Me / Windows of Paris • Wersi CAVALCADE (LOUVRE): The Holy City • ROYAL EVENT (G.W. ALLEN): Cumana / It‘s Magic / Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps / Sway / Tico Tico / Hey Look Me Over.