"'Handsome Devil': It took a week or two to get my head round it. I knew I wanted to do it, but it took a while to get used to, with him singing those sort of lyrics."
-Andy Rourke
"At the time I wasn't too sure about Hatful Of Hollow being released - although the radio sessions were great, I was keen for them to remain just being that. In hindsight, I realised there were certain tracks - particularly Handsome Devil - that had something the produced version just didn't."
"Looking back on the first album now I can say that I'm not as madly keen on it as I was. I think that a lot of the fire was missing on it and most of our supporters realise that as well. Although having said that, 'Still Ill' and 'Suffer Little Children' and 'Hand That Rocks' are all still great songs."
"'Still Ill' came to me on the train back from London to Manchester around the time of Hand In Glove's release."
- Johnny Marr
I have posted a Guitar Pro tab file here(right click to save as).
Here are the scans from the Complete Chord Dictionary:
I have also uploaded the version from the debut album piano songbook with guitar chords, for whatever that's worth... very little, I suspect:
lunachangue does a very good cover on his hollowbody:
sonofdrcross does another really accurate version:
Daniel Earwicker does a great version on Rick 330 and bass:
hughred follows everyone up with yet another really cool version:
cdwheel does a great version here:
nicknoh69 does another really accurate version here:
IngialV does an awesome cover of Andy Rourkes bass. This has got to be one of my favorite smiths bass parts. Kind of a menacing counterpoint to Marr's part.
chiasson65 does another great version of the bass part:
Here's a rollicking take on the Hatful version by 325C58 on guitars and bass, and Daniel Earwicker adds drums:
"The influence of T-Rex is very profound on certain songs of The Smiths i.e. 'Panic' and 'Shoplifters'. Morrissey was himself also mad about Bolan. When we wrote "Panic" he was obsessed with 'Metal Guru' and wanted to sing in the same style. He didn't stop singing it in an attempt to modify the words of 'Panic' to fit the exact rhythm of "Metal Guru". He also exhorted me to use the same guitar break so that the two songs are the same!!!"
"'Panic' came about at the time of Chernobyl. Morrissey and myself were listening to a Newsbeat radio report about it. The stories of this shocking disaster comes to an end and then immediately we're off into Wham's 'I'm Your Man'. I remember actually saying 'what the fuck has this got to do with people's lives?' And so 'hang the blessed DJ'. I think it was a great lyric, important and applicable to anyone who lives in England. I mean, even the most ardent disco fan wouldn't want to be subject to that stuff would they?"
- Johnny Marr
I have uploaded a Guitar Pro file for this song here.
Here is the complete score from the "Louder Than Bombs:Off The Record" book:
Here are the scans from the Singles tab book:
I have also uploaded a different tab below, and I have uploaded it's corresponding backing tracks here(right click to save as).
"Actually, [Strangeways] is my favourite Smiths album. We split after we recorded it and they were good sessions. One or two of the songs are acoustic-led, which I really liked - now that was an organic record."
"Over the last few years I've heard 'Girlfriend In A Coma' in shops and people's cars, and I'm always surprised by how good it sounds."
- Johnny Marr
I have uploaded two Guitar Pro files here(right click to save as).
Here are the scans from the Strangeways PVG book(Thanks to MorrisseyScans for these tabs):
Here are the scans from the Singles tab book:
Here are the scans from the Smiths Best Complete Score:
And here are the scans from the complete chord dictionary:
Oscar80It does a great version on acoustic. Really smooth riffs.
thirdynumberone plays around with the songs ideas here:
Jahnli does a nice version here, on a 1958 Martin 00-17:
johnnymare nails it on his Tele:
Here is a great full band version from Daniel Earwicker(with vocals!):
I created this blog to showcase the guitar work of Johnny Marr from the Smiths, and to help those who want to learn his guitar parts or learn more about his gear and production techniques.
I will cover the catalog song by song, using youtube videos from guitarists, chords, tab, and comments from Johnny when they are available. Many of the songs feature many different guitar tracks; often one person will capture something that another will not, so I will be posting everything that I feel helps with the understanding of the overall song, or any part of it. If anyone has anything to contribute, please email me at thom@smithsonguitar.com