Johnny Marr announces new compilation ‘Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr’
Johnny Marr has revealed plans to celebrate the first ten years of his career as a solo artist with the new compilation album Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr. The LP is set for release on November 3rd through BMG.
The forthcoming release traces Marr’s solo career from his debut album The Messenger to 2022’s Fever Dreams Pts 1-4. It also includes non-album tracks such as ‘Armotopia’ and a cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘I Feel You’. Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr also boasts two new songs, including the new single ‘Somewhere’.
In a statement, Marr explained how he wrote ‘Somewhere’ while on the road with The Killers and Blondie last year. He said of the track: “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.”
On the theme of Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, the guitarist explained how he intended to capture a certain theme on the compilation. “It’s a conversation I have from time to time with [Pet Shop Boys’] Chris Lowe, about how much harder it is to write songs that you want to listen to in the daytime,” he said.
The guitarist continued: “It’s easier to do something that’s perceived as cool if it’s a bit moody. But, for me, the mission with these records was to make songs that you could listen to on the way to school, on the way to the gym, on the way back from work – you know, in the way that you had with, say, Blondie.”
Additionally, on October 17th, Marr is set to release the new photography book Marr’s Guitars. It includes contributions from Noel Gallagher, Bernard Butler and Ed O’Brien with Marr describing it as “a guitar book for people who wouldn’t usually own a guitar book”.
The former Smiths member will also return to Manchester for two shows at Factory International Aviva Studios in December. For the pair of concerts, he will be joined by a 30-piece orchestra for the first time.
Listen to ‘Somewhere’ below.
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