Johnny Marr – Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (2022)

I'm still buying second hand CDs at Harborough Market (small market of the year 2025), although this one did come still sealed.

I saw Johnny supporting Blondie a year or so ago, and he gave a great performance, with a couple from this album, but as many of the old Smiths numbers, which it's great to hear live, without putting money into the pocket of a supporter of far-right UK politics who won't even live here (if you're reading, you'll know who you are).

In a sense this is a compilation album, the first two parts (the album was a double vinyl, consisting of 16 songs in four parts, four songs in each) having been released as EPs in 2021, and the third released before this album.

And what we have is eighty minutes of solid rock music, which is great to listen to in the moment, but sadly little of it persists in the memory. From part one, the opener (and lead single on the EP) Spirit, Power & Soul stands out, while the slightly sinister Receiver is the strongest of the rest. Part two is probably my favourite, with a gentle opening in Lightning People, before a powerful song in Hideaway Girl, followed by the fantastic Sensory Street and Tenement Time, a full blooded rocker.

However, I feel the quality begin to tail off in part three, where Night And Day and Counter-Clock World are bright and enjoyable, while the ambient / spoken Rubicon really doesn't suit Marr. In part four, God's Gift opens brightly, with Ghoster being a bit of a grower, flowing along. The Whirl is fairly ordinary, and the album ends with the grand slow number, Human, not really what I'm listening to a Johnny Marr album for.

Frankly, it's a bit of a mixed bag. There's some great stuff, nothing awful, but not too much that is memorable, Perhaps there might be a fantastic fifty minute album here, but it's hard to hold the interest for eighty minutes unless the quality is exceptional. It's a good, enjoyable album, but sadly no more.

Link to album tracks

3* - lots to enjoy, but not consistently great