Johnny Marr “Adrenalin Baby” 2015. Live double LP recorded live at Manchester Apollo, Glasgow Academy and O2 Academy Brixton in 2014. Included is a large poster of Marr. Adrenalin Baby made it to #96 on the UK album charts.

Adrenalin Baby is a mix of Marr’s solo material, mainly from his 2014 release Playland and The Messenger from 2013, but also included is a song from his band with Bernard Sumner (of New Order) Electronic (“Getting Away With It”), an excellent cover of “I Fought the Law” (originally by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets but my favorite version is by The Clash) and several cuts from The Smiths. My favorite tracks on Adrenalin Baby from The Messenger are “The Right Thing Right,” the title track “The Messenger,” the propulsive “Generate! Generate!” and the achingly gorgeous “New Town Velocity.” From Playland: the title track “Playland,” “Easy Money,” “Candidate” and the rollicking “Boys Get Straight.” And then there are The Smiths songs which Marr does more than an adequate job substituting his vocals for Morrissey’s – “The Headmaster Ritual,” ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and the epic “How Soon Is Now?” – Marr’s guitar on that one has been utterly slaying me since ‘85. Though some critics complain about Marr’s vocals in general (most recently on reviews of his latest release Call the Comet), it’s impossible to disparage Marr’s guitar abilities; the live production of Adrenalin Baby beautifully highlights his textured, soaring melodies. Marr is currently on tour for Call the Comet but unfortunately I won’t be able to see any of the shows. The closest he’s getting is Chicago (at Riot Fest) this upcoming weekend but I’ll be working.😞