The back cover foldout doesn’t really clear things up, showing an old “wise man” in a robe proffering another book to the ape bear creature. A book lies off to the side, a bite taken from it as well. The album cover, though, was indeed a mystery – a painting of a large ape-like animal (sort of bear looking also) on a beach tasting the icing from a cake, its lips dripping. It was one of the strongest albums they’d done since the departure of founding member Peter Green, (but still pre Buckingham & Nicks days) and contained Bob Welch’s timeless jazzy blues-pop radio staple “Hypnotized”. Take Fleetwood Mac’s 1973 Mystery to Me, for example. Then there have been bands which did choose their own artwork and maybe shouldn’t have been allowed to.
In general, the new versions don’t match the originals, but on their own merits, they’re an enjoyable and soothing, mellow listen. Honestly, though, his own version of the re-recorded tracks, released the following year as No Little Boy, doesn’t sound all that different to my ears. Martyn did everything he could to sabotage Couldn’t Love You More’s sales, badmouthing the album in interviews (I think at one point comparing the listening of it to being massaged slowly by sandpaper, or something like that). Suffice to say, the child was not even Martyn’s – plus, the title song refers to a romantic love, and is not a paean by Martyn to one of his children. It’s as if the designer got one of those “anonymous toddler” picture inserts used to sell picture frames, and then under the influence of drugs (or perhaps he had double vision problems) put the cover together. This was bad enough, but to add insult to injury, the cover art is wacko. Meanwhile, his record label (the now defunct Permanent Records) went ahead and released the original tapes anyway, without his permission, borrowing the title Couldn’t Love You More from one of his songs. Not satisfied with the results, he went back in the studio to give it another go.
He went into the studio in the early 90s to re-record some of the best songs from his career for a new album. And the journey continues on from Part 1….
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