This looks like fun, if Johnny wants to do it and people want to go see it, I don't see the problem with it. The Smiths broke up, mommy and daddy are not getting back together, they should each be able to move on without the constant whining. And seriously, a Smiths reunion is impossible now, Andy is no longer with us.
This sounds a lot better than anything Morrissey is doing now.
I wanted to say “imagine paying to watch Peter Hook sing the songs of Joy Division and New Order ”, but neither of those bands had excellent vocalists anyway so the statement doesn’t really apply in the same way that it does with Johnny Marr singing the songs of The Smiths!
Ian Curtis was a bad singer and Bernard Sumner is a bland singer. Peter Hook as a singer is a combination of bad and bland.
Joy Division/New Order not having any great singers isn’t such a terrible thing, I enjoy some of their songs regardless. Sonic Youth is another band that has a few songs I still like, despite also having three ‘singers’ who couldn’t sing.
Anyone who clicked this far: you’re wild for doing so, I already clarified everything I wanted to clarify!
Clicking a 4th spoiler within a spoiler? You’re insane!
…seek help
You’re KINKY for clicking this far, hehe! Call me right now on 1-555-Confide , for acceptance, comfort, and spiritual relief. Satisfaction guaranteed!
Imagine paying to watch Johnny Marr sing anything at all, though. I might pay to watch him play instrumental versions of Smiths songs for a reasonable price but that’s it. If he opened his mouth for any reason other than for some pithy banter between songs, I would be out the door so fast. Actually, no. That wouldn’t work either because the audience likely would insist on singing the words over the instrumentals and I can’t imagine myself enjoying that very much. There’s just no scenario in which I would pay to see Johnny Marr (solo) in concert as a headline act. I tried to come up with one!
I wanted to say “imagine paying to watch Peter Hook sing the songs of Joy Division and New Order ”, but neither of those bands had excellent vocalists anyway so the statement doesn’t really apply in the same way that it does with Johnny Marr singing the songs of The Smiths!
Ian Curtis was a bad singer and Bernard Sumner is a bland singer. Peter Hook as a singer is a combination of bad and bland.
Joy Division/New Order not having any great singers isn’t such a terrible thing, I enjoy some of their songs regardless. Sonic Youth is another band that has a few songs I still like, despite also having three ‘singers’ who couldn’t sing.
Anyone who clicked this far: you’re wild for doing so, I already clarified everything I wanted to clarify!
Clicking a 4th spoiler within a spoiler? You’re insane!
…seek help
You’re KINKY for clicking this far, hehe! Call me right now on 1-555-Confide , for acceptance, comfort, and spiritual relief. Satisfaction guaranteed! View attachment 98650
Imagine paying to watch Johnny Marr sing anything at all, though. I might pay to watch him play instrumental versions of Smiths songs for a reasonable price but that’s it. If he opened his mouth for any reason other than for some pithy banter between songs, I would be out the door so fast. Actually, no. That wouldn’t work either because the audience likely would insist on singing the words over the instrumentals and I can’t imagine myself enjoying that very much. There’s just no scenario in which I would pay to see Johnny Marr (solo) in concert as a headline act. I tried to come up with one!
Oops, the silly bitter man is back, Johnny's just played to 10000 people with the majority of his set being his solo stuff, he's also just recently released another album that landed in the top 10 in the charts. Don't see many M attacks in this thread either.
I know that people are - obviously - Smiths obsessed on this site (as am I), but when I saw Johnny play the Thursday night show with the orchestra, the biggest cheers came for the two Electronic songs.
Morrissey sings them better, Johnny plays them better, don't thinks there's any debate about that, although I do wonder what Morrissey would sound like if he played guitar and sang them at the same time.
"As if he even needed it, tonight, the culmination of a reflective year, is an affirmation that Marr is out there in front as the personification of UK indie royalty"
As much as I'm a Smiths obsessive and I think Johnny is great, I simply have no interest in hearing him sing those songs, for the simple reason that I don't believe he's felt those things. Something like "Please, Please, Please..." is a desperate lyric and there's an element of absurd self-loathing to it. I still believe Morrissey when he sings it, all these years later, through his millions - but someone like Johnny, nope. It's just very well played karaoke.
The lyrics are a such an authentic product of Morrissey's own very distinctive world view and personality (disorder) that anyone else singing them always sounds like empty, meaningless third-rate karaoke. If the choice is between JM's expert musicians and arrangements without M's voice or M's lacklustre band with M's voice singing his own lyrics, then I'm afraid it's Morrissey every time. Much easier to forgive musical shortcomings when you have the original authentic voice. This is like hearing Ringo Starr trying to sing The Long and Winding Road.
The lyrics are a such an authentic product of Morrissey's own very distinctive world view and personality (disorder) that anyone else singing them always sounds like empty, meaningless third-rate karaoke. If the choice is between JM's expert musicians and arrangements without M's voice or M's lacklustre band with M's voice singing his own lyrics, then I'm afraid it's Morrissey every time. Much easier to forgive musical shortcomings when you have the original authentic voice. This is like hearing Ringo Starr trying to sing The Long and Winding Road.
The lyrics are a such an authentic product of Morrissey's own very distinctive world view and personality (disorder) that anyone else singing them always sounds like empty, meaningless third-rate karaoke. If the choice is between JM's expert musicians and arrangements without M's voice or M's lacklustre band with M's voice singing his own lyrics, then I'm afraid it's Morrissey every time. Much easier to forgive musical shortcomings when you have the original authentic voice. This is like hearing Ringo Starr trying to sing The Long and Winding Road.
As much as I'm a Smiths obsessive and I think Johnny is great, I simply have no interest in hearing him sing those songs, for the simple reason that I don't believe he's felt those things. Something like "Please, Please, Please..." is a desperate lyric and there's an element of absurd self-loathing to it. I still believe Morrissey when he sings it, all these years later, through his millions - but someone like Johnny, nope. It's just very well played karaoke.
That's all fair enough and everyone has their own opinions on these sorts of things. The gigs seem to have gone down well for those who attended and the reviews are great. He only played 5 Smiths songs with the majority of the set being his solo stuff.
I've seen James and Echo and Bunnymen play with orchestras this year but Johnny's gig was far better than both of those.
I know that people are - obviously - Smiths obsessed on this site (as am I), but when I saw Johnny play the Thursday night show with the orchestra, the biggest cheers came for the two Electronic songs.
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