Posted by - George Paul
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September 21, 2023 \
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Johnny Marr has announced Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr for release on November 3 via BMG. The album is a personally curated collection of tracks from the last ten years of the singer/guitarist's solo career plus two brand new songs produced by Johnny Marr with his co-producer James Doviak, titled “Somewhere” and “The Answer.”
The artist wrote "Somewhere" while on tour with The Killers, and Blondie, in 2022. Speaking about the track, Marr said: “I’ve played a lot of arenas over the years, and in terms of songwriting, there’s nowhere to hide. For a song to work, it has to be a banger. I know it’s almost uncool to think in those terms, but I grew up in a house where my parents listened to Motown, where you couldn’t get a song released if it wasn’t full of hooks.”
STREAM “SOMEWHERE” HERE
Spirit Power encompasses songs from across four UK top ten solo albums (2013’s The Messenger, 2014’s Playland, 2018’s Call The Comet, 2022 double album Fever Dreams Pts 1-4), non-album single releases “Armatopia,” “The Priest” (with Maxine Peake), two new songs, plus a cover version of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You,” released for Record Store Day 2015.
The Deluxe CD edition of Spirit Power will feature five previously unheard demos and rarities, “Hi Hello” (Demo), “Somewhere” (Demo), “The Answer” (Crazy Face Version), “The Messenger” (Demo), and “Speak Out Reach Out” (Crazy Face Version).
The upcoming publication of Marr’s Guitars - a new photography book - is set for release this fall. Following his 2016 autobiography "Set The Boy Free,” Johnny describes Marr’s Guitars as “a guitar book for people who wouldn’t usually own a guitar book.” Featuring contributions from Noel Gallagher, Bernard Butler and Ed O’Brien, the book looks into the relationship between Johnny and the guitars that have informed his sound from his time in The Smiths until now.
With personal reflections and insights written by Johnny Marr, foreword written by Hans Zimmer and photographs shot by Pat Graham, each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion for songwriting.
Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr will be released on November 3rd 2023 on heavyweight 2LP, CD and a limited Deluxe 2CD featuring additional material. Independent record shops have a limited gold 2LP while HMV will carry a limited Cobalt blue 2LP. Preorder
here. An exclusive limited double picture disc plus merchandise bundles will be available from the official Johnny Marr store
here.
Deluxe 2CD Track Listing:
Armatopia
New Town Velocity
Easy Money
Spirit Power & Soul
Hi Hello
Somewhere
The Messenger
I Feel You
The Answer
Dynamo
Spiral Cities
Night and Day
Sensory Street
Walk Into The Sea
Candidate
Tenement Time
Hi Hello (Demo)
Somewhere (Demo)
The Answer (Crazy F Version)
The Messenger (Demo)
Speak out Reach Out (Crazy F Version)
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