Spirit, Power & Soul

Album: Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (2021)
Play Video

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.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."