I've made no secret that Johnny Marr is a Guitar God in my eyes. So when I read the news this week that he had left The Cribs I was disappointed, but intrigued by what may come next. Marr says he's working on new solo songs and expects to release two records over the next year or so. He adds he's really proud of his work with The Cribs and leaves with three good friends in Ryan, Gary and Ross Jarman. That's the polite side of the story. The Jarman brothers released a statement admitting recording sessions for the next Cribs album weren't working out with Marr. Ultimately, I figure the Jarman brothers might have grown tired of sharing the band they founded with a legend like Marr -- and weary of hearing The Cribs described as Johnny Marr's latest band.
That said, I think Marr's work on Ignore the Ignorant was some of his best in recent memory. Here's my favorite track off the album, "We Share the Same Skies". The opening guitar riff is vintage Marr, and his white Fender Jaguar looks pretty cool in the video.
By the way, if you're interested in learning more about Johnny Marr, check out the following sites. The first is a collection of Marr's guitars (including the white Jaguar he played during his time with the Cribs). I liked reading about his other guitars, like the Rickenbacker he got from Pete Townsend, the Gibson 335 he gave to Suede's Bernard Butler, and the Fender Jaguar he got from Isaac Brock upon joining Modest Mouse. Fun stuff. Here's the link: http://johnny-marr.com/guitarchestrajohnnymarr/guitarchestrajohnnymarr.html
Then there's this song-by-song showcase of Marr's guitar work with The Smiths, including interviews, sheet music, and YouTube clips of other random people playing Marr's stuff. Fun. The following link takes you to the page about "Hand in Glove", one of my all-time favorite Smiths tunes.
http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2008/09/hand-in-glove.html
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