Relish Now ! - May 2007

In My CD Player: Johnny Marr

Thursday, May 3, 2007

By Ed Bumgardner

Johnny Marr, superstar. The journeyman Marr would recoil at the suggestion, but to music fans who came of age in the 1980s, Marr is as close to a guitar god as it gets.

He’s a great guitarist - his tasteful, melodic, almost orchestral playing is a one-of-a-kind proposition. He’s also a pleasant singer, but it was his much-praised songwriting in league with Morrissey in The Smiths - a vastly influential batch of work that traversed much of the ’80s - that catapulted Marr to legendary status, first in his native England, then in the United States.

Since acrimoniously parting company with Morrissey, Marr has led his own band, The Healers, worked and/or toured with Electronic, Oasis, The The, Beck, Neil Finn, The Pretenders, and is now a key member of Modest Mouse, which will perform Friday at the Special Events Center at Greensboro Coliseum.

As Marr headed toward Greensboro, he did relish the honor of giving us insight into five of his favorite CDs.

Iggy & The Stooges, Raw Power : “I grew up in the biggest council housing project in Europe - miles and miles of concrete bunkers, but low-rise so there was the biggest pitch-black sky above a lot of the time. I got this record in the winter when I was 15, and it turned the dark and danger into beauty and excitement. James Williamson’s guitar playing became a big influence.”

T. Rex, The Slider : “T. Rex was the first band that was ‘my band.’ The Slider came out at the peak of the band’s success. It has ‘Telegram Sam’ on it, and ‘Metal Guru.’ It’s riffy and odd and absurd - but beautiful. Perfect.”

Matt Johnson, Burning Blue Soul : “Matt’s first record before he became The The. He made it on studio down-time that he managed to bag, and he played most of the instruments. I think he was 17. The music is genuinely psychedelic, and not in a 1960s, oil-wheels way. It was ahead of its time. Still is.”

Bert Jansch, Bert Jansch : “(His) first solo album, recorded in a kitchen in London, on a borrowed guitar. Pretty much defined blues folk-guitar playing, I think. I got into him in my teens, and he was the only player whose stuff I ever bothered to try and work out. He and I have done some recording and some shows together - and he’s still as good.”

Various artists, The Trojan Box Set: “(Jamaica’s) Trojan Records imported so many great (reggae) singles to the U.K, and reissued all of them on box sets a few years ago. All of the tracks are gems, great songs played by cool musicians. Simple greatness.”