Here is the title track from Joe Martin’s forthcoming album, “Alone in Valentine”. Recorded in Nashville last summer, the album was created with the help of Cal Campbell and Cornelius Webb, sons of the country legends Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb. Together, they have perfectly-captured that classic country sound. Martin’s smooth, pure voice – beautifully polished and produced – tumbles through a timeless melody, an easy tune that feels immediately engaging and familiar over his delicate acoustic guitar. In the background, Neil Jones delivers understated, wistful pedal steel, notes shimmering like that Texan sun. Meanwhile, Webb provides bass and Campbell delivers the gently swaying rhythms, as well as taking on production duties. Ben Jarrad provides additional guitar, filling out the song.
Despite coming from the UK, Martin has written a song full of lyrical references that place the narrative in America’s South: Marlborough Lights, ‘Desperado’ on the car radio and specific locations like the Rio Grande. The accompanying video reinforces the unfolding story of a long journey and letting go.
Back in 2024, Martin travelled to Nashville where he happened to share a taxi with Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Steve Anderson, a writer/director of six feature films. Anderson has recently directed a music documentary titled ‘Ten Year Town’, which features nine emerging Americana songwriters., one of whom is Vinnie Paolizzi, Martin’s friend and a co-writer of the single ‘Doesn’t Rain In LA’ that he had released back in 2020. Martin and Anderson set up a co-writing session and a few days later they began work on a song that would become ‘Alone in Valentine’.
Joe recalls: “I just had the line, ‘in a beat up Silverado, through southern Colorado,’ which I took into the co-write with Steve. It very quickly formed into a story of a women traveling from Colorado down to Texas, maybe trying to escape a bad relationship, but it eventually evolved into something much heavier… It was Steve’s line, ‘she’s drinking tequila in the evening, alone in Valentine,’ that hit me like a tonne of bricks. I thought, what a great line! ‘Alone in Valentine’ sounded like it should be the title of an album! That day Steve suggested, half jokingly, that if I returned to Nashville, we should take an actual road trip out to Valentine, Texas to shoot a video and get photographs. That stuck in my mind. When I had the opportunity to record with Cal and Cornelius, I thought I better call Steve!”
“Alone in Valentine” is Martin’s second full studio album. A week after they finished recording, they landed at El Paso airport where they rented a Silverado to take them deep into the desert, to Valentine, population 73. The town took its name from a railway depot that was finished there on Valentine’s Day in 1881. Alongside artist Amanda Bloom, they then spent three days driving around West Texas shooting the video. The end result is rich and full of country warmth. Enjoy.
