Johnny Marr reveals his favourite Smiths song
"It doesn't sound like any other group"
Johnny Marr has revealed why ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ is his favourite song he recorded with The Smiths.
Ahead of the release of his double album ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’ on Friday 25th February, Johnny Marr recently sat down for a chat with American journalist Kyle Mullin who asked him why ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ is his favourite Smiths track when his guitar “isn’t at the forefront” of the song.
Marr commented: "It's built around the guitar riff going round and round… that’s the kernel of it. The heart of it is the guitar riff but I orchestrated it using a keyboard in the 80s and string sounds.”
"What I love about it is the drama in it. The drama sums up how I was feeling at the time. That song got written because at the core of it is a very melancholic and dramatic guitar riff that goes round and round and round. And first and foremost, amongst other particularly melancholic things in The Smiths, I hear myself in that.
"There's a side of myself that runs from… an introspective side, and probably melancholic side, that comes out because I'm a musician.”
“Then I just blew that up musically with a superb performance by the rest of the group, and great composition by Morrissey.
Continuing to heap praise on his Smiths band mates, Marr added: "I love the words, and I love the singing, I love the bass playing and I love the drumming. I have great pride in that. I have pride in the band, and I have pride in the composition”
"I guess the other thing is it doesn't sound like any other group. And it's a guitar group. We were DIY in every sense of the word. Genuinely independent on a genuinely independent record label, particularly then. Producing themselves and the producer - being me - still under the age of 24. And it's so grand.
“It's impressive to me… it's an impressive piece of music and I can say that with objectivity as a bystander as someone who kind of analyses music to the nth degree!"
Co-written by Johnny Marr and Morrissey, and produced by Marr and Morrissey alongside Stephen Street, ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ appeared on The Smiths’ final studio album, 1987’s ‘Strangeways, Here We Come.’
Johnny Marr is the very special guest on Blondie's April and May 2022 UK arena tour. Tickets are on sale from Absolute Radio Tickets now.
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