The Worst of Johnny Marr

Just what is it with guitarists from 'classic' UK indie bands after the inevitable break-up over creative differences? What a bunch of underachievers (Marr, Squire, Butler, Guthrie et al).

tip for musicians: never choose yr co-musicians by the qualities you wd look for in a pub-mate => yr music will be pub-rock (or jazz or 12-tone or whatever)

mutual contempt, envy and in-denial homo pashing are the motor-fuel of all great bands hurrah!!

The only time I saw the Smiths live, Marr was. not v. impressive.

how about Pretenders Marr: C/D?

Glad nabisco agrees - Forbidden City / For You / Out Of My League / can't think what the other killer would be, though.

Unsurprisingly, I think Marr's worst tracks are those where he DOESN'T PLAY GUITAR

The other relevant track here is of course THE BOY DONE GOOD - but again, save that for the Best of Marr.

Can this be opened up to Butler / Squire / etc.?

I was pretty tired for most of the panel and struggled to stay awake, but Marr said good things about Low and Godspeed You Black Emporer... which makes sense that he'd be about 2-3 years behind. I _was_ very sad to hear that Marr left the panel to go straight to soundcheck with Haven.

Mary, I don't like Beth Orton's new album too much, and the song she wrote with Marr is far from exceptional. But Johnny doesn't play on the album, does he?

Is it worth any effort at all to seek anything by them? Am I missing out on an amazing guitar band? Or is it all a bit like Oasis/Haven/Embrace, ie. rub as I suspect?

But it's likeable and not bad. Just not that distinguishable from, say, Haven.

I am listening to 'The Boy Done Good', featuring his ecologically-friendly solo.

It is quite effective, and perhaps had an influence on me; but still, he could surely have done a *bit* more than he does during that guitar break. Crikey, he almost seems to have played it while falling asleep.

JtN used to say that this track demonstrated that you could always tell when Marr was playing: he just didn't sound quite like anyone else. I don't know how true that is.

Compare the Smiths version of "Hand in Glove" against the version they did with Sandie Shaw, where Johnny Marr goes off on a way fussy solo at the end. Less is more, sometimes.

I have just realized that I said the same thing, on this thread, on 5 August 2002. This should not surprise me. Except that I'm surprised I was on ilx at all in August 2002.

'Shirley' has just come on - the electric version of 'Greetings' - on which *everything* was supposedly played by Marr. Well, he manages to do on harmonica what he originally did on guitar. And from 2:30 there's a nice chattering 12-string / Chorus phrase. This is not the worst of Johnny Marr.

'Walk Away Renee': another candidate for the best of Marr solo. If only he had overdubbed a couple more guitars ... and ... taken Bragg's vocal off it ... then ... this might have been the best thing ever recorded.

Of course less can be more, and Marr was a maestro of that lesson - but I'm not sure the melodic phrases he comes up with on 'Boy Done Good' are as good as they could be.

I should listen to that Shaw take, though. I don't think I remember a big solo on it.

JtN used to say that this track demonstrated that you could always tell when Marr was playing: he just didn't sound quite like anyone else. I don't know how true that is.

I mentioned this to JM when I spoke to him last year and he seemed quite touched!

I have recently found a place in my heart for the Electronic song "Out Of My League".

Oh, indeed: it has long had a place in my heart - though not a vast place. A park bench, a doorstep, a bus stop - but an expansive, romantic, string-laden one.

The opening drum fill is great - I wonder if Marr even played it himself, as he seems to like doing things that don't involve him playing guitar. He probably played the descending piano phrase, I ... shouldn't wonder.

Haha never saw this thread before. I was playing a few Marr riffs last night, as it happens - always fun to unravel.

But - I haven't heard most of the non-Smiths songs mentioned here. The last Electronic album was pretty awful - way too cluttered and most songs overlong. What JM was playing may well have been worth hearing, but there were too many layers of murk to tell.

The The were always utterly dire, although again JM's contributions may have been fine.

The current Modest Mouse album is pretty fantastic.

If we're having a Marr (non-Smiths) lovefest, I'd nominate the solo in 'Forbidden City'. Just the most beautifully controlled piece of feedback, as Mark said less is indeed more.

Not sure if this belongs in this particular thread, but:

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/20/david_cameron_defies_smiths_ex_guitarist_johnny_marr/

The British prime minister is on a tear: First, he has gone after Hilary Mantel for her comments about Kate Middleton. Now, David Cameron has made a vow to defy Smiths ex-guitarist Johnny Marr, who has “banned” the Tory from listening to music by the Smiths, reports BBC News.

In a story that recalls Paul Ryan’s uninvited and unrequited declaration of love for Rage Against the Machine (and, for that matter, Chris Christie’s obsession with Bruce Springsteen), the prime minister is a longtime fan of the new wave band — who split in the 1980s, and are perhaps best known for their songs “How Soon Is Now” and “Heaven Knows (I’m Miserable Now) — and has said so on many occasions. Marr has voiced his disgust, telling the BBC that this is “not allowed.” But Cameron, who was on a visit to India, declared he’d ”go on and listen,”anyway. In 2006, Cameron chose the Smiths song “This Charming Man” on Desert Island Discs.

This isn’t Marr’s first ban imposed on the prime minister — he repeated the warning in an interview with BBC Radio 4′s Today programme — but this time he was specifically ruling that “This Charming Man” is off-limits. ”I think he likes the song,” Marr told the BBC. “That’s probably sadder than if he didn’t know it, really. He’s entitled to like whatever he likes, as long as he doesn’t say it. It’s a good song,” adding, “I do forbid him to like it. He shouldn’t like us because we’re not his kind of people. ”

Marr isn’t alone in publicly decrying Cameron’s fandom. In 2010, Morrissey has also called on him to please stop proclaiming his admiration: “David Cameron hunts and shoots and kills stags — apparently for pleasure. It was not for such people that either ‘Meat Is Murder’ or ‘The Queen Is Dead’ were recorded; in fact, they were made as a reaction against such violence.” But Cameron, who was a teenager in the 1980s and grew up listening to them, can’t resist expressing his devotion, once even making a fleeting mention of the 1984 song, “William, It Was Really Nothing” during Prime Minister’s Questions.

During a diplomatic and trade-building mission in Delhi, Cameron remained defiant, telling the BBC, “I’ve now got Johnny Marr and other members of the band saying I’m not able to listen to the Smiths. When I’ve got the complete and full set, even then, I’m afraid, I will go on and listen to the Smiths.”

it's funny to me that people act like it's SO WEIRD that a middle aged guy from new jersey likes springsteen

When he sings.

For those familiar with his entire solo career thus far (basically the last ten years), does this look like a good summation/intro?

https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Power-Best-Johnny-Deluxe/dp/B0CJCC2457/ref=tmm_acd_title_1

Has anybody else heard his upcoming Healers album? Not bad at all. Of his post-Smiths work, I've only heard a smattering of Electronic, but I'd be surprised if any of it rates with this new one.
― Curt (cgould), Thursday, 7 November 2002 02:47 (twenty years ago)

Wild noughties opinion right here!

I saw the Healers and feel a bit sad about having done so.

I still think that Healers album is his only good solo record