Marr's Guitars
A career-spanning collection of stage-worn rareties, studio faithfuls and customized hand-me-downs
Published on 17. October 2023
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-500-02632-8 (ISBN)
Description
'A great book ... fascinating' Jools Holland, Later With Jools Holland, BBC2
'If you are even remotely interested in guitars or the geniuses that play them you have to get a copy of Marr's Guitars. A lush, mouthwatering masterpiece of a book' Shaun Keaveny
'What a love story this book is. The electric guitar - the greatest weapon ever given to the working class' Gary Kemp
'Guitars have been the obsession of my life ... they've been a mission and sometimes a lifeline' Johnny Marr
The guitarist's guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to be one of the most influential and important British bands of all time.
Tracing Marr's career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr's Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr's superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr's lifelong passion.
Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which shows the guitars were played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including Nile Rodgers' Stratocaster, Bryan Ferry's Roxy Music Hagstrom and Bert Jansch's Yamaha. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on 'Wonderwall' and the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on In Rainbows by Radiohead's Ed O'Brien.
Punctuating the photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr's Guitars a unique cultural history of modern music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr's experiences and achievements.
'If you are even remotely interested in guitars or the geniuses that play them you have to get a copy of Marr's Guitars. A lush, mouthwatering masterpiece of a book' Shaun Keaveny
'What a love story this book is. The electric guitar - the greatest weapon ever given to the working class' Gary Kemp
'Guitars have been the obsession of my life ... they've been a mission and sometimes a lifeline' Johnny Marr
The guitarist's guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to be one of the most influential and important British bands of all time.
Tracing Marr's career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr's Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr's superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr's lifelong passion.
Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which shows the guitars were played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including Nile Rodgers' Stratocaster, Bryan Ferry's Roxy Music Hagstrom and Bert Jansch's Yamaha. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on 'Wonderwall' and the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on In Rainbows by Radiohead's Ed O'Brien.
Punctuating the photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr's Guitars a unique cultural history of modern music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr's experiences and achievements.
Reviews / Votes
'A great book, I really enjoyed looking at it ... fascinating' - Jools Holland, Later With Jools Holland, BBC2 'If you are even remotely interested in guitars or the geniuses that play them you have to get a copy of Marr's Guitars. A lush, mouthwatering masterpiece of a book' - Shaun Keaveny 'Creating a visually arresting, high-quality art book became Marr's main aim, and he approached it with the tenacity and enthusiasm he would normally bring to a new album' - Guardian 'The wonderfully curated and intentionally detailed collection is eye candy for music fans of all kinds ... Each tale is a glimmer, every guitar unraveling personal moments that were inspiring and formative. In totality, it's a beautiful journey ... Marr's recollections transport the reader to a different time' - Forbes 'A guitar book for people "who wouldn't normally have guitar books" ... As Hans Zimmer aptly writes in the foreword, "the guitar... lets us reveal our true selves more profoundly than words ever could"' - Daily Mail 'What a love story this book is. The electric guitar - the greatest weapon ever given to the working class' - Gary Kemp 'Marr's Guitars is not just a love-letter to Marr's beloved instrument; it's a historical reference' - Paste magazine 'A coffee table book of stunning guitar photographs from Johnny Marr's collection ... tells the story of Marr's life through his guitars. Complementing the guitar pictures are classic photographs of Marr himself. Some of these are familiar, many of them are not ... In three sections, Marr himself is interviewed. His responses are not a rehash of his well-received 2016 autobiography, Set the Boy Free. Rather, they offer a different perspective on Marr's experiences through the lens of his guitars. Marr's Guitars has an unexpected emotional impact ... Marr's Guitars is a book for Marr fans, for Smiths fans, for fans of guitars, but also for appreciators of art and photography' - SPIN 'Highlights just how wide his taste and use of different models has been over his career so far' - Music Radar 'This is so much more than just a beautiful photo book of guitars, it's a celebration of one of the world's very best guitarists, his esteemed career and how he "turned his daydreams into sound' - CLASHMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
316 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 325 mm
Width: 247 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
2104 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-500-02632-8 (9780500026328)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Johnny Marr was co-creator and lead guitarist of The Smiths. He went on to join The The and The Pretenders and collaborated with Talking Heads and the Pet Shop Boys before forming Electronic with Bernard Sumner. In the 2000s he joined Modest Mouse and The Cribs before launching a successful solo career. He has added his distinctive sound to film soundtracks, collaborating with Hans Zimmer on Inception, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, which won the Oscar for Best Song. In 2014 Marr developed and launched a guitar with Fender: the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar has gone on to be one of Fender's most popular models.