Great little interview with a master. I always preferred his style of playing to a lot of other stuff that came out over the years--his chord voicings are very distinctive. Interesting that Pete Townshend was mentioned in this thread, since I think some of where Johnny took the guitar owes not a little bit to the way Pete plays on songs like "I Can See For Miles."

Ahh Johnny Marr.

Put yourself in the UK in 1983 - 30 years ago - and appreciate the Smiths as they came in and changed the music industry here; definitely the most Indie of all the Indie bands until all the basic chores of management like paying hoteliers, van hire companies and the wages of everyone on the payroll got to the two principals - but especially Johnny.

It seems to me that he avoided cliche through such a prolific period of creativity by vibing himself up through using different guitars. He began with a Les Paul and a Rick but he played the LP in an unconventional way without any cream in the tone almost in a jazzy way as just one colour or flavour in a mix. He always used a Rick 12 String as a colour in multi tracking guitars and as other guitars came his way he super-imposed the new ones onto his style and used them for development. Try and emulate or play his parts; the guy was 20 and he played in an entirely fresh and yet classic way. Hard to cop any of his riffs let alone his tunings and his capos. What a player!!

To me it was very sensible when he changed bands to change guitars so that he did not end up sounding the same all the time and whilst I chuckle at his Mancunian wise guy persona, I think he is one of the greats of British guitar in the direct line of Marvin, Clapton, Beck, Page, Blackmore, Kossof, Howe, Gilmour, Fripp ......on a Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Gibson or a Fender.......

This thread.

It won't go away.