Spirit, Power & Soul

Album: Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • The launch single for Johnny Marr's double album Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4, "Spirit, Power & Soul" signals a statement of intent. Released on August 31, 2021 during the COVID-era, instead of dwelling on the pandemic it serves as a wake-up call for the future. "The song starts off talking about yesterday, today and tomorrow because it seems like everybody was fixated on today," Marr told Uncut magazine. "But what's tomorrow going to bring?"
  • The song has an electro sound with a gospel feeling and a disco-esque beat, a huge departure from the indie rock of Marr's previous record, 2018's Call The Comet. He came up with the upbeat tune as a counter to the pandemic mood. "I wanted to come back from the last album with something extremely uptempo and energetic," Marr told NME. "A little bit of me thinks that my peers and I are almost expected to coast along with mid-tempo, earnest rock music. I wasn't at all feeling like putting my feet up and getting some slippers. That never occurred to me."

    "I wanted a title that sounded super-pop and committed," Marr added. "I didn't want something vague that I could hide behind. I wanted a slogan and some music to match it. I wanted to come out of the blocks and demand your attention."
  • Marr came up with the album title before he wrote any of the songs. "I just saw Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4 for too many days in my mind," he told Uncut. "I know enough about writing now to know that if you keep seeing this title and it sticks, that's your jumping-off point. It really was the cart before the horse, because I then had to find out what the 'pts 1-4' meant. It just had a good ring to it that I liked. It's lateral thinking."
  • Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4 peaked at #4 on the UK albums chart, beating Marr's previous high of #7 for Call The Comet.
  • Marr co-wrote and co-produced the song with his touring guitarist and regular co-producer James Doviak. Marr and Doviak played the guitars on the track. The other musicians are:

    Drums: Jack Mitchell
    Bass guitar: Simone Marie
    Backing vocals: Meredith Sheldon

    "Spirit, Power And Soul" is one of three Fever Dreams tracks that Primal Scream bassist Simone Marie played on.

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