Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Johnny Marr, BMG Music 2021.
Johnny Marr’s place in the pantheon of rock was well and truly cemented as the lead guitarist, and one half of the songwriting team (along with Morrisey) for The Smiths.
The Smiths are rock legends and The Queen Is Dead is regularly listed as one of the most important albums of the last 50 years.
After the demise of The Smiths, Johnny Marr went on to drive the musical direction of bands like The The, The Pretenders, Modest Mouse, The Cribs and as a mentor for fellow Manchester band Oasis.
However, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 is all about Johnny Marr’s solo career and the lead single Spirit, Power and Soul is a long way from the melancholy songs of The Smiths.
In fact, all of Johnny Marr’s solo work is much more positive than the unrelenting misery that accompanied most Smiths albums.
Johnny Marr has stated that he wanted Spirit, Power and Soul to be a clarion call to empowerment, especially since covid impacted all of our lives.
It’s an uplifting song, as far removed from the legacy of The Smiths as you could get.
He’d actually written it pre-pandemic but recorded it during lockdown and said, “there’s something in the spirit of the music, when it hits the chorus, that’s quite empowering.”
One thing that we’ve all been forced to confront as a result of COVID lockdowns is how our perceptions of time have been challenged and this is a theme that Marr has pursued in songs like All These Days which talks about how time dissolves.
It’s a concept that many of us can relate to as we were forced to keep track of time without the regular markers stipulated by work regimes and the usual social gatherings at the pub or dinners with friends etc.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked what day it is since I haven’t been able to have my regular hook ups with friends at the club.
As Marr states “Days dissolve” one into the next.
Fever Dreams is available as four separate Eps. Fever Dreams Pt 1 is out now, to be followed by parts 2, 3 and 4 and released as a double album Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 due February 25, 2022.
