Johnny Marr announces compilation album, releases new single Somewhere
Marr curated a selection of songs from across his four solo albums for the compilation.
Credit: Debbie Hickey/Getty Images
Johnny Marr has announced a greatest hits album, Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr, and unveiled a new single, Somewhere.
The former Smiths guitarist’s new album will land on 3 November via BMG, and is set to showcase “the breadth of musicality across the first ten years” of his solo career. It also features two new songs, The Answer and Somewhere, co-produced by Marr and James Doviak.
Somewhere has now been released as a single, and was written while Marr was on tour with The Killers and Blondie in 2022.
Speaking about the song in a press statement, 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.”
Check out Somewhere below:
Spirit Power was personally curated by Marr and features songs from across his four solo albums: The Messenger (2013), Playland (2014), Call The Comet (2018) and 2022 double album Fever Dreams Pts 1-4.
Also appearing on the compilation are several non-album singles – Armatopia, The Priest with Maxine Peake and a cover version of Depeche Mode’s I Feel You, released for Record Store Day 2015.
I’m very pleased to announce ‘Spirit Power, The Best Of Johnny Marr’, celebrating the first ten years of my solo career: https://t.co/Y95tXjDAFV pic.twitter.com/aChOnP5D5N
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) September 20, 2023
“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,” Marr added. “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.”
To stay in the loop, head to Johnny Marr’s official website.