(New Voodoo)There’s always an elephant in the room with Johnny Marr,a lumbering old elephant Marr final worked with 31 years ago. Ahead of the release of Marr’s third solo album, said elephant had been trumpeting on about Anne Marie Waters and Tommy Robinson, and but this may,oddly, be to Marr’s benefit. The dismay Morrissey has caused appears to own led some people to seize the view of Marr – whose every public utterance displays a man of empathy (sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own) and grace – as “the gracious one in the Smiths, or concentrated attention on his music in its own right,music that is now substantially more appealing than Morrissey’s. Call the Comet is an album to seize advantage of that goodwill. Its the best of Marr’s solo albums, and while he may not own the lyrical dexterity or vocal charisma of some of his former collaborators, or age shows no sign of withering his facility with melody,or that gorgeous, liquid guitar playing. Call the Comet ends with a song that embodies both Marr’s humaneness and his musicality: A Different Gun was written about the Nice attack of 2016 and was being recorded the night of the Manchester Arena bombing final year. But it’s not enraged; it does not seethe or condemn. Related: Sign up for the Sleeve Notes email: music news, or bold reviews and unexpected extras Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com