The Smiths tagged posts

Last week, myself, Jake Ryan, and a few friends (including new YMIA contributors Michael  Trundle and Kitty Vincent) headed off to Las Vegas for a DJ set at Beauty Bar one night and a live performance by Johnny Marr and New Order the next night at The Cosmopolitan. You know Marr - former Smiths, Electronic, The The, Modest Mouse, The Cribs guitarist – not to mention my personal hero.

While we were ticketed concert goers (some of us more ticketed than others as Michael and Kitty were equipped with VIP passes), we chose to watch Johnny Marr from the fortunately placed balcony from Michael and Kitty’s room, which was perched several floors above the stage...

I guess Smiths drummer Mike Joyce was right all those years ago when he said that there was loads of unreleased Smiths material. Granted – there’s nothing new here… just alternate versions. I have to admit I like this version of “Accept Yourself” over the one we’ve heard for so many years. Here is a 39 min. cassette recording from around 1983. Not bad for a cassette recording.

The tracklisting is as follows:

‘You’ve Got Everything Now’
‘Accept Yourself’
‘What Difference Does It Make?’
‘Reel Around The Fountain’
‘These Things Take Time’
‘I Don’t Owe You Anything’
‘Hand In Glove’
‘Handsome Devil’
‘Miserable Lie’

Original story from NME here.

On a short list of my heroes – and I suspect Jake Ryan’s as well -, former Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr is sure to land. His track record for being around (and likely the cause of) the worst period of every band he’s been a part of since The Smiths*, excluding his own projects (Electronic, Johnny Marr & The Healers), does little to tarnish his legacy with me.

The man not only embodies “cool” and always has, but he also emotes through his instrument. While Johnny Marr & The Healers’ “Boomslang” wasn’t the most amazing album, it certainly had it’s high points. The last I heard of any Johnny Marr solo stuff – I believe it was in the context of being a follow up to Boomslang with The Healers – but here we have it, no Healers… Johnny Marr’s new track, The Messenger.

Sounds like a bit of Tame ...