Recently finished Johnny Marr's r&r memoir, "Set the Boy Free." What a great title. Excellent book. Marr is a true r&r hero. One of the good guys. Family man. Vegetarian. Runner. Conscious. Intelligent. Guitar-slinger. Great song-writer. Supreme collaborator/creator. Genial. Unsinkable.
Of course, I am very familiar with the Smith's years. One the the great bands. One of the bands that really mattered. The work stands up all these years later. Not one false artistic move, featuring one of r&r/pop's great collaborations: Morrissey & Marr. But I suppose the revelation of the book is how much Marr has done in his post-Smiths career.
Some of the other bands Marr has worked with include: The The, Talking Heads, Electronic, Modest Mouse, The Cribs, the Pretenders. Oh yeah, he also jammed with Paul and Linda McCartney, as well as Patti Smith & Lenny Kaye.
What an amazing journey. Johnny fell in love with a toy guitar when he was 5 years old, and it seems his destiny was set. A great story. Totally original. Inspiring. A breath of fresh, jangly, shimmery, air!
