Hirth Martinez

• Hirth from Earth [Warner Bros., 1975] B+
• Big Bright Street [Warner Bros., 1977] B+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Hirth from Earth [Warner Bros., 1975]
Martinez sings like Dr. John out of breath from doing the samba: he is interested in UFOs, not really as stars to guide us but as occasions for metaphorical speculation. Unclassifiable funky objects of this sort used to appear at a rate of about a dozen a year; now they're down to three or four. Thank Robbie Robertson, who produced. B+

Big Bright Street [Warner Bros., 1977]
I like a man whose dream of utopia goes "And they never grew old/And they never caught a cold," and I like this record. Hirth has learned to use his wizened voice more forcefully without relinquishing any of the amateurism that is his special charm, and since John Simon is a relatively reticent and eccentric producer, the funky gloss that so often accrues to El Lay favorites never turns to glitz. B+