I would say Johnny Marr is the best guitarist of all time, or one of the best at least, his riffs are so so complex, there are so many chord changes and so much intricate picking but The Smiths music always flowed beautifully, he doesnt do any flash solo's although im sure he could, he doesnt need to, he is a genius. mint rickenbacker too
idk about best guitarist but he is one of the best guitar songwriters. He pretty much created the indie genre out of the post-punk era and is a huge influence to many many other guitar players. He just created his own style and wrote countless classic riffs. He is more of a pioneer than a prodigy imo.
And this is why the Smiths don't sound like your average dated 80's rock band, playing Smiths songs today sounds like something written a few months ago new and fresh to think that all of those songs are 30 plus years old is just amazing
He would make a fantastic teacher. In all the interviews I've seen, he explains the music in a way that is easy to understand. I totally get that thing about words not being necessary.
this is beautiful footage. johnny is such a wonderful guy. super cool style. upon being pulled on stage by morrissey at a smiths gig i waked over to him and said hello. and he screamed hello grinning ear to ear all while he was ripping through big mouth. the best interview of marr i have ever seen ,thanks for posting
Well I've only just discovered them a few weeks ago. How could we have missed one of the greatest bands?!? They shot to the top of my music loves pretty much overnight. They're brilliance.
spaceunicorn You are absolutely wrong about this. It is well documented that Andy and Mike created ALL of their parts on every song the Smiths did. Johnny himself has made this clear in interviews, so stop spreading bullshit that has been debunked long ago. Johnny also admitted that they deserved more than they got and in the end paid up. The sound of the band was a creation of four talented individuals coming together as one. The Smiths were four and shall be nevermore.
Fantastic! Thank you very much for this vid! I have been wanting someone to just film Johnny while he talks about guitar playing and particularly his work with The Smiths, for many, many years, so this is invaluable to me! Thank you! I honestly could watch a feature length, 2+ hours video of this. Thanks once more and all the best, mate!
Nothing i can say that hasn't already been said, thank god for Johnny Marr, The Smiths, soundtrack to the best years of my life, doubt i will ever feel that way again, but by god it was great while it lasted..................
What I love about Marr is his complete lack of an ego; almost to the point where he doesn't seem to understand his own abilities to their true extent.. He's playing What Difference Does It Make, and How Soon Is Now and talking about them in such a chilled manner.. It's almost like he's say 'yeah, well they came out of this that and other which is awesome, and my stuff's kinda cool too..' Umm, Johnny..? You're AMAZING dude!!
marr is one of the greatest guitarists ever when he's says its like turning ur day dreams into sound thats exactly what it sounds like to me the man is such an icon, and people should look upto this man i think he is very underated.
Johnny Marr is as iconic to rock and roll guitar as Link Wray. Yes, I said it. His attitude is exactly the same. I would describe his playing as "emancipating".
I'm jealous of you, awood. I'd happily RE-discover them all over again, because that was one of the most exciting discoveries of my life. 1985. :) And they're still my gods...
Even if he wasn't the most skilled guitar player in the world, I think no one can claim to have created such beautiful and complex melodies. What he has done is a really important and difficult thing to achieve for a guitar player
It's 'there is a light' by the smiths - he used to be the guitarist and songwriter. There's another version of this video where he strums the chords then picks the chords to that song, it's replaced by a keyboard on the recorded version. He's very difficult to copy exactly when he starts picking the strings out, it gets a bit complex and sounds like fingerstyle but it's just very fast picking across the strings.
"...then it leads you to like--" one of the coolest riffs around. and he never left the home fret to play it! sick! (at :40 What Difference...) so much emotion in his playing.
I bought the last Smiths vinyl in 1987. I am not a guitar player, but I totally respected the work. At that time it was the big JM one in "Paint A Vulgar Picture".
@greendayinsomniac86 On the "There is a light part" he's using delay, and maybe some chorus, (but probably not). You hear the delay repeats when he mutes the strings at the end of the song. He obviously has some distortion pedal available too.
he does mention usimg a tremelo that will give you a clue as to how to recreate that sound. however in the studio at the time they used 4 fender twin reverb amps and recorded 10 seconds at a time before they went out of sync then stopped the tape and recorded another few seconds, thats why it sounded so big at the time, it was the 80s and nowadays a single good quality tremelo pedal will produce similar results
Get the albums if you want LinkBB. Have a listen to the guitar. I read only one or two of the comment below but someone said that he'd played the guitar for 20 years and always found what Johnny does difficult to do. They all do. His technical ability is impressive - and it fkn sounds good too. He's a guitar great that maybe won't go down as one.
@LinkBulletBill that dosent mean the guitar riffs not good, some of the easiest ideas can create incredible results and thats why ive always idolised marr, it just shows how diverse the guitar is and how a simple chord can be turned into somthing new and different
I hope I don't have to wait untill I die to meet Johnny Marr.. He is beautiful in every way. I love you in a nice way. You are the coolest person on the planet.. I am a mom w/ three kids. Hope to see you in heaven.
@swarmmaster I think that's the reason that they're praised so much. One music writer once described them as every great moment in British rock rolled into one. Blur wrote some good songs but you can trace their roots back as well. The other big thing about Oasis and Blur is that Blur's lyrics were very literal. Unlike Oasis who made their songs more universal and had good riffs that blended into the words and the direction that Noel chose to take the song.
"turning your daydreams into sound"... Fookin Legend.
"Turning your daydreams into sound" modern day fucking Buddha, what a man
"People who don't even like the band like the riff"
So true, even people who hate the smiths have to appreciate Johnny Marr
I would say Johnny Marr is the best guitarist of all time, or one of the best at least, his riffs are so so complex, there are so many chord changes and so much intricate picking but The Smiths music always flowed beautifully, he doesnt do any flash solo's although im sure he could, he doesnt need to, he is a genius. mint rickenbacker too
idk about best guitarist but he is one of the best guitar songwriters. He pretty much created the indie genre out of the post-punk era and is a huge influence to many many other guitar players. He just created his own style and wrote countless classic riffs. He is more of a pioneer than a prodigy imo.
Technically he's far from being the best, and just about scrapes in as "good".
'Turning your daydreams into sound.' Wow.
here, the master both threw so much shade AND educated us all.
Legend.
And this is why the Smiths don't sound like your average dated 80's rock band, playing Smiths songs today sounds like something written a few months ago new and fresh to think that all of those songs are 30 plus years old is just amazing
Right. And all written before he was 23 years old.
That's right
The smiths could’ve came out 10 years or 20 years later and still be as successful as they were in the 80s. Timeless.
The tone is incredible
Only Johnny Marr can turn power chords into something beautiful!
He would make a fantastic teacher. In all the interviews I've seen, he explains the music in a way that is easy to understand. I totally get that thing about words not being necessary.
this is beautiful footage. johnny is such a wonderful guy. super cool style. upon being pulled on stage by morrissey at a smiths gig i waked over to him and said hello. and he screamed hello grinning ear to ear all while he was ripping through big mouth. the best interview of marr i have ever seen ,thanks for posting
Just those first 40 seconds...... He is just something else...
I think it's fair to say this guy is the most original guitarist of the last 25 years. Brilliant.
In my opinion the best pop guitarist
Well I've only just discovered them a few weeks ago. How could we have missed one of the greatest bands?!? They shot to the top of my music loves pretty much overnight. They're brilliance.
Just a fantastic guitarplayer and person.
He and Morrissey each took 40% of the royalties while Rourke and Joyce got 10% between them. He was a bit greedy tbh.
He wrote all the music, including drums and bass. They were being nice to give them 10% each
And that is why we'll never get a reunion until Johnny and Morrissey make right with the other two.
spaceunicorn You are absolutely wrong about this. It is well documented that Andy and Mike created ALL of their parts on every song the Smiths did. Johnny himself has made this clear in interviews, so stop spreading bullshit that has been debunked long ago. Johnny also admitted that they deserved more than they got and in the end paid up. The sound of the band was a creation of four talented individuals coming together as one. The Smiths were four and shall be nevermore.
Agreed, he makes the 6-string sound like a 12-string!
Fantastic!
Thank you very much for this vid! I have been wanting someone to just film Johnny while he talks about guitar playing and particularly his work with The Smiths, for many, many years, so this is invaluable to me! Thank you!
I honestly could watch a feature length, 2+ hours video of this.
Thanks once more and all the best, mate!
'People who don't like the band like the riff'
ahuh
I could watch this over and over and never tire of it.
"It's just like turning yr daydreams into sound" Damn.
I'm buying a guitar next paycheck
@MusicalElitist1 Shut the fuck up clown 😂
@@mr.cifuentes1779 Did you buy one?
Good luck
"that kind of thing"
what difference does it make to call that kind of thing by his name?
It makes none.. but you could go to a club where someone really loves you. But you will go home alone and want to die.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaan....there's the Bo Diddley reference I've been waiting for.
He is such a subtle guitarist which makes him amazing.
Really useful to get a quick look behind his thought process.
hello again!
Dan Miley :) hello hello
+PC Disciple haha
Nothing i can say that hasn't already been said, thank god for Johnny Marr, The Smiths, soundtrack to the best years of my life, doubt i will ever feel that way again, but by god it was great while it lasted..................
What I love about Marr is his complete lack of an ego; almost to the point where he doesn't seem to understand his own abilities to their true extent.. He's playing What Difference Does It Make, and How Soon Is Now and talking about them in such a chilled manner.. It's almost like he's say 'yeah, well they came out of this that and other which is awesome, and my stuff's kinda cool too..' Umm, Johnny..? You're AMAZING dude!!
What a beautiful musician and man.Could listen to him play all the time.
I could watch this all day
love his playing. the rickenbacker sound always reminds me of hard days night era beatles and ,of course, the byrds.
What Marr explains at the beginning is very cool actually. IT's taking chords and constructing a melody within those chords.
One of the best guitarists ever. Thanks for posting.
@123PullOut321 I completely agree, the thing I like best about Johnny's playing is that he understands the value of "less is more."
Great edit, i'm glad to see this back up.
one hell of a tone!
the sound he gets is just on another level,love it man......
He's a wizard with that guitar
I could listen to him play all day!
Could watch this man all day. His music is mesmerising
Turning your daydreams into sound is the most accurate analogy ever. Legend!
"It´s like turning you daydreams into sound"
simply great...
marr is one of the greatest guitarists ever when he's says its like turning ur day dreams into sound thats exactly what it sounds like to me the man is such an icon, and people should look upto this man i think he is very underated.
Johnny Marr is as iconic to rock and roll guitar as Link Wray. Yes, I said it. His attitude is exactly the same. I would describe his playing as "emancipating".
rknprs Good comparison.
@Eltroim It goes to show how amazingly simple a lot the stuff Johnny plays actually is though. I love it.
what a hero/inspiration with his own sound... thanks mr. marr
I'm jealous of you, awood. I'd happily RE-discover them all over again, because that was one of the most exciting discoveries of my life. 1985. :) And they're still my gods...
Even if he wasn't the most skilled guitar player in the world, I think no one can claim to have created such beautiful and complex melodies. What he has done is a really important and difficult thing to achieve for a guitar player
Someone needs to commision a TV show called Johnny Marr Talks, where he just talks...
what a legend!!! saw the man in manchester fred perry shop yesterday and made my day!!!
So talented , So humble , great underrated guitar .
I could listen to this guy talk about guitars all day.
"Turning your day dream into sound..." How amazing is that....We Love u Johnny, and thank you for all these amazing guitar tunes...EPIC!!
'There Is A Light That Never goes Out'
Johnny seemed so happy up on stage with The Smiths at 0:55, it makes it harder to take that they wont reform
@pendot57 I don't know, but those cords do lead into "What Difference Does It Make?"
went to see him last year in manchester with the cribs. absolutely pissed out my mind but still the best ive heard
Thank you! I honestly didn't discover The Smiths until a couple of days ago. I'm starting to think I might live under a rock.
its incredible what this man can do with a guitar. Amazing.
Love the part when he plays "There is a light.." and "How Soon Is Now". Then again, who doesn't? Johnny is just amazing!!
Johnny is a great and tasteful guitar player. His sound survives and still influences the modern way of making music.
It's 'there is a light' by the smiths - he used to be the guitarist and songwriter. There's another version of this video where he strums the chords then picks the chords to that song, it's replaced by a keyboard on the recorded version. He's very difficult to copy exactly when he starts picking the strings out, it gets a bit complex and sounds like fingerstyle but it's just very fast picking across the strings.
"...then it leads you to like--" one of the coolest riffs around. and he never left the home fret to play it! sick! (at :40 What Difference...)
so much emotion in his playing.
Maestro. Full respect. Johnny Marr is a master.
bold statement & I don't know if I could go quite that far but he's definitely in my top 5.
what a legend. i love this guy...
I bought the last Smiths vinyl in 1987. I am not a guitar player, but I totally respected the work. At that time it was the big JM one in "Paint A Vulgar Picture".
i love this man
1:35 beautiful!
Ishani Carmen THAT'S The Smiths. 😍
What song is it?
There is a light
When he starts playing 'What Difference Does It Make?'...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. The greatest rythmn guitarist ever, no doubt.
@greendayinsomniac86 On the "There is a light part" he's using delay, and maybe some chorus, (but probably not). You hear the delay repeats when he mutes the strings at the end of the song. He obviously has some distortion pedal available too.
Is he using some sorta chorus or rotary effect at the beginning? Really makes it sound like a Ric 12 string!
he does mention usimg a tremelo that will give you a clue as to how to recreate that sound. however in the studio at the time they used 4 fender twin reverb amps and recorded 10 seconds at a time before they went out of sync then stopped the tape and recorded another few seconds, thats why it sounded so big at the time, it was the 80s and nowadays a single good quality tremelo pedal will produce similar results
"turning your day dreams into sound" Pure genius Johnny.
Perfectly great.
@rockpaco It's called "What Difference Does it Make" by the Smiths.
Turning your daydreams into sound and what a sound it is!
All the songs that were in the original version like "How Soon Is Now" have been edited out. It is now just pure Johnny Marr. :)
Get the albums if you want LinkBB. Have a listen to the guitar.
I read only one or two of the comment below but someone said that he'd played the guitar for 20 years and always found what Johnny does difficult to do. They all do.
His technical ability is impressive - and it fkn sounds good too. He's a guitar great that maybe won't go down as one.
I was late for the party myself. So glad you've discovered The Smiths. :)
Simply genius
nothing more to say...
@TheAcquiesce17 main riff is: Capo on 2nd fret (puts you in F#). Chords E/E7, G, A
His guitar tone in this is so good.
Honestly I bought a Rickenbacker 330 just for this video. Incredible sound
@LinkBulletBill that dosent mean the guitar riffs not good, some of the easiest ideas can create incredible results and thats why ive always idolised marr, it just shows how diverse the guitar is and how a simple chord can be turned into somthing new and different
Thats the perfect way to discribe the smith's, turning a day dream into sound.
"it's like...turning your daydreams into sound" spot on!
Anyone else think the rhythm he demonstrated at 3:08 is sick?
hes just...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE HIM!
there is a light that never goes out
He's really amazing.
I hope I don't have to wait untill I die to meet Johnny Marr.. He is beautiful in every way. I love you in a nice way. You are the coolest person on the planet.. I am a mom w/ three kids. Hope to see you in heaven.
Unique guitarist!
True Great!
Marr is the oneee!
no one can greater that start of bigmouth riff!
"It's like turning your daydreams into sound" - I love it
1:25 simply the best thing I've ever heard!
Joao Fezas Vital what song is it?
"Wif music, you don't have to ...... translate... to make your point."
He's a genius.
Thanks for putting this up! I'm curious if this one will be deleted too? I hope not, it's a great time-document.
@swarmmaster I think that's the reason that they're praised so much. One music writer once described them as every great moment in British rock rolled into one. Blur wrote some good songs but you can trace their roots back as well. The other big thing about Oasis and Blur is that Blur's lyrics were very literal. Unlike Oasis who made their songs more universal and had good riffs that blended into the words and the direction that Noel chose to take the song.
@pendot57 the song he is playing is there's a light than never goes out
"Turning your daydreams into sound"
He's just amazing...