BigRedJed
8/11/2006, 06:23 PM
Maybe a few of you have seen this, but the first I heard about it was in George Lang's column in The Oklahoman this morning. Here's an article in Filter ( http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.3403.html (http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.3403.html) )
For the first time in over 15 years seminial British guitarist Johnny Marr is now a full-time member of a band he didn't form. According to a recent Rolling Stone interview with Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock, Marr is now "not pretty much. He's a full blown member of the band [Modest Mouse]. It's really ****in' nice."
Previously it had been reported that Marr was merely involved in the recording of the album, however this is the first confirmation that he will be touring with the band as well.
"He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, 'okay, let's tour too,", Brock said.
The Seattle outfit's forthcoming album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank was recorded in Mississippi and produced by Dennis Heering (Good News For People Who Love Bad News), it's due in stores this fall.
It is not clear what this will mean for Marr's 2nd Healers album which he is said to have been currently recording.
Here's a link to Lang's column: http://www.newsok.com/article/2828836/ (http://www.newsok.com/article/2828836/)
Guitarist’s addition may let Mouse roar
By George Lang
The Oklahoman
Mergers and acquisitions in rock ’n’ roll are usually best described by the title of Modest Mouse’s last disc: “Good News for People Who Love Bad News.” Established musicians pooling their “Q-Factors” usually means the formation of the much-feared “supergroup” and the inevitable creation of stunningly mediocre music. They usually look promising on paper, but the phrase “less than the sum of their parts” was practically invented to describe Audioslave or Velvet Revolver.
But when it was announced last week that former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr had officially joined Modest Mouse, no red flags appeared. Marr replaces on-again, off-again guitarist Dann Gallucci in the group, which is now mixing its follow-up to “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” tentatively given the Liars-like title, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” For now, it is set for a fall release.
Granted, this is not the alliance most people would pluck out of their dreams: Marr is 12 years older than Mouse head Isaac Brock, and at least on a superficial level, he is a prime example of a much different musical sensibility. The man practically invented modern Brit-pop, and his mellifluous guitar work over the past 22 years would not normally suggest compatability with the Brock’s deeply idiosyncratic vision.
Dig deeper and the differences aren’t quite so mammoth, especially given the recent musical trajectory of Modest Mouse. The jangle on “Float On” and the glissandos on “Ocean Breathes Salty,” the two radio hits from “Good News,” share commonalities with Marr’s classic sound, and Brock seems to be thinking more in terms of classic pop structures these days. Brock is a talented and distinctive lyricist — Marr has experience with these types — and working with Marr could add a new dimension to Mouse. For one thing, Marr can write amazing bridges, adding complexity and nuance to Brock’s riff-based melodies.
Despite his legacy and skill, Marr never fulfilled his post-Smiths promise. It has been 20 years since the release of the best Smiths record, “The Queen is Dead,” and nearly that long since that classic Manchester group announced its breakup. In the ensuing two decades, Marr’s activity has mainly centered on session work, playing on records by Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, Beck (on “Midnite Vultures”) and Oasis. In addition to sporadic work with New Order’s Bernard Sumner in Electronic, Marr did some amazing if largely forgotten, playing with Matt Johnson in The The on the grossly underrated 1993 disc, “Dusk.”
Those are all perfectly respectable resume bullets, but Smiths fans expected Marr to channel the energy of the sun, turn water into wine and cure cancer with his playing. Marr finally recorded his own album in the early 2000s and released Johnny Marr and the Healers’ “Boomslang” in 2003. It was an underwhelming and disconcertingly mild record with one truly strong Noel Gallagher-esque song (“Down on the Corner,” not the Creedence Clearwater Revival track), but not much else to recommend it as anything beyond background music.
“Boomslang” proved one thing: Marr needed a great collaborator, an outsized personality to bring his music into focus. He had that with Morrissey, and now he will have it with Brock, an entirely different kind of animal, but one who takes lyrical command and has a particular vision. Without these strong personalities, Marr is simply a great guitarist in need of great material.
If Marr is back working at full tilt, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” could be one of the best releases of 2006. A Smiths reunion will never happen, and based on Morrissey’s recent note-perfect solo renditions of Smiths material, it would be borderline pointless. But give Marr a new and fresh context for his playing, and the results should be far more satisfying than a sure-to-disappoint nostalgia trip, and much better than most “supergroups.”
As a Smiths fan since I was a pimply teenager, and a big fan of Modest Mouse over the past 3-4 years, I'm salivating.
For the first time in over 15 years seminial British guitarist Johnny Marr is now a full-time member of a band he didn't form. According to a recent Rolling Stone interview with Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock, Marr is now "not pretty much. He's a full blown member of the band [Modest Mouse]. It's really ****in' nice."
Previously it had been reported that Marr was merely involved in the recording of the album, however this is the first confirmation that he will be touring with the band as well.
"He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, 'okay, let's tour too,", Brock said.
The Seattle outfit's forthcoming album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank was recorded in Mississippi and produced by Dennis Heering (Good News For People Who Love Bad News), it's due in stores this fall.
It is not clear what this will mean for Marr's 2nd Healers album which he is said to have been currently recording.
Here's a link to Lang's column: http://www.newsok.com/article/2828836/ (http://www.newsok.com/article/2828836/)
Guitarist’s addition may let Mouse roar
By George Lang
The Oklahoman
Mergers and acquisitions in rock ’n’ roll are usually best described by the title of Modest Mouse’s last disc: “Good News for People Who Love Bad News.” Established musicians pooling their “Q-Factors” usually means the formation of the much-feared “supergroup” and the inevitable creation of stunningly mediocre music. They usually look promising on paper, but the phrase “less than the sum of their parts” was practically invented to describe Audioslave or Velvet Revolver.
But when it was announced last week that former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr had officially joined Modest Mouse, no red flags appeared. Marr replaces on-again, off-again guitarist Dann Gallucci in the group, which is now mixing its follow-up to “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” tentatively given the Liars-like title, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” For now, it is set for a fall release.
Granted, this is not the alliance most people would pluck out of their dreams: Marr is 12 years older than Mouse head Isaac Brock, and at least on a superficial level, he is a prime example of a much different musical sensibility. The man practically invented modern Brit-pop, and his mellifluous guitar work over the past 22 years would not normally suggest compatability with the Brock’s deeply idiosyncratic vision.
Dig deeper and the differences aren’t quite so mammoth, especially given the recent musical trajectory of Modest Mouse. The jangle on “Float On” and the glissandos on “Ocean Breathes Salty,” the two radio hits from “Good News,” share commonalities with Marr’s classic sound, and Brock seems to be thinking more in terms of classic pop structures these days. Brock is a talented and distinctive lyricist — Marr has experience with these types — and working with Marr could add a new dimension to Mouse. For one thing, Marr can write amazing bridges, adding complexity and nuance to Brock’s riff-based melodies.
Despite his legacy and skill, Marr never fulfilled his post-Smiths promise. It has been 20 years since the release of the best Smiths record, “The Queen is Dead,” and nearly that long since that classic Manchester group announced its breakup. In the ensuing two decades, Marr’s activity has mainly centered on session work, playing on records by Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, Beck (on “Midnite Vultures”) and Oasis. In addition to sporadic work with New Order’s Bernard Sumner in Electronic, Marr did some amazing if largely forgotten, playing with Matt Johnson in The The on the grossly underrated 1993 disc, “Dusk.”
Those are all perfectly respectable resume bullets, but Smiths fans expected Marr to channel the energy of the sun, turn water into wine and cure cancer with his playing. Marr finally recorded his own album in the early 2000s and released Johnny Marr and the Healers’ “Boomslang” in 2003. It was an underwhelming and disconcertingly mild record with one truly strong Noel Gallagher-esque song (“Down on the Corner,” not the Creedence Clearwater Revival track), but not much else to recommend it as anything beyond background music.
“Boomslang” proved one thing: Marr needed a great collaborator, an outsized personality to bring his music into focus. He had that with Morrissey, and now he will have it with Brock, an entirely different kind of animal, but one who takes lyrical command and has a particular vision. Without these strong personalities, Marr is simply a great guitarist in need of great material.
If Marr is back working at full tilt, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” could be one of the best releases of 2006. A Smiths reunion will never happen, and based on Morrissey’s recent note-perfect solo renditions of Smiths material, it would be borderline pointless. But give Marr a new and fresh context for his playing, and the results should be far more satisfying than a sure-to-disappoint nostalgia trip, and much better than most “supergroups.”
As a Smiths fan since I was a pimply teenager, and a big fan of Modest Mouse over the past 3-4 years, I'm salivating.