Call the Comet

Call the Comet is the third studio album by the English musician Johnny Marr. It was released on 15 June 2018 by New Voodoo and Warner Bros. Records.

Call the Comet
Studio album by Johnny Marr
Released	15 June 2018
Recorded	2017–18
Studio	The Crazy Face Factory, Manchester
Genre	Indie rock
Length	57:53
Label	New Voodoo Warner Bros.
Producer	Johnny Marr James Doviak
Johnny Marr chronology
Adrenalin Baby (2015) Call the Comet (2018)
Singles from Call the Comet
"Hi Hello" Released: 11 May 2018 "Spiral Cities" Released: 9 November 2018

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
The Independent	[4]
The Irish Times	[5]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[6]
The Music	[7]
NME	[8]
The Observer	[9]
PopMatters	[10]
The Times	[11]

Call the Comet received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album scored an average rating of 78, based on 16 reviews.[1] Writing for the Associated Press, Mark Kennedy opined that it was "easily his best as a solo artist, deep and rich both musically and lyrically" before concluding, "So feel free to stay in bed, Morrissey. Marr is who we need now."[12] Writing for Hot Press, Edwin McFee rated the album 8 out of 10.[13] MusicOMH contributor Neil Dowden awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it Marr's "most ambitious and interesting work under his own name".[14] Creative Loafing contributor Gabe Echazabal rated it 4.5 out of 5, writing, "Call the Comet is, simply put, Marr's strongest solo effort. It's a magnificent piece of work that serves as a true testament to the idea that Marr has plenty to offer musically at this stage of his career, and it clearly showcases his continued and ever-present vitality."[15] Clash Music contributor Will Rosebury rated the album 7/10 and called it "easily Johnny Marr’s most confident solo album".[16]

Robert Steiner of The Boston Globe, however, disagreed with those other critics, starting his review by writing that Marr's time with the Smiths cemented his legacy as one of rock's greatest sidemen, "[b]ut that's the key word: sidemen." He went on to write that Marr is at his best working with other creative minds and all he does as a solo artist is "produce groggy rehashes of old Brit-rock tropes he helped create three decades ago." He concluded his review by stating Call the Comet could be a passable album if it was the work of a young band rather than someone "who inspired guitarists in some of those bands to pick up their instruments in the first place."[17]

Writing for Pitchfork, contributor Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave a more mixed rating of 6/10, writing that after spending "a quarter-century as a hired gun, roaming from project to project", Marr "is starting to slow down in his middle age".[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Johnny Marr.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rise"	5:03
2.	"The Tracers"	4:35
3.	"Hey Angel"	5:37
4.	"Hi Hello"	4:23
5.	"New Dominions"	4:24
6.	"Day In Day Out"	4:43
7.	"Walk Into the Sea"	6:02
8.	"Bug"	4:39
9.	"Actor Attractor"	5:36
10.	"Spiral Cities"	4:07
11.	"My Eternal"	3:16
12.	"A Different Gun"	5:28
Total length:		57:53

Japanese bonus track[19]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Jeopardy"	3:32
Total length:		61:30

Personnel

Musicians

• Johnny Marr – vocals, guitars, keyboards
• James Doviak – keyboards, vocals
• Iwan Gronow – bass guitar, vocals
• Jack Mitchell – drums

Production and additional personnel

• Claudius Mittendorfer – mixing
• Frank Arkwright – mastering
• Sonny Marr – backing vocals on "Walk Into the Sea" and "Spiral Cities"
• Niall Lea – photo
• Mat Bancroft – artwork
• Laura Turner – artwork

Single releases

"Hi Hello" was released as a 7" single, with the new B-side "Jeopardy". "Jeopardy" was also released on the Japanese edition of "Call The Comet" as a bonus track and is available digitally.

"Spiral Cities" was later also released as a single digitally and on 7", along with the new B-side "Spectral Eyes".

Videos were made for both of these singles as well as the album tracks "The Tracers" and "Walk Into The Sea".

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20]	83
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]	165
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22]	95
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	175
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24]	58
Irish Albums (IRMA)[25]	20
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26]	88
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[27]	8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28]	5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29]	82
UK Albums (OCC)[30]	7

References

1. "Call the Comet by Johnny Marr – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (15 June 2018). "Call the Comet – Johnny Marr". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
3. Hann, Michael (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr: Call the Comet review – the light that never went out". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
4. Halsted, Nick (13 June 2018). "Johnny Marr Call The Comet review: New album is steeped in chilly yearning". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
5. Clayton-Lea, Tony (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr: Call the Comet review – Still a solid melody maker". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
6. King, Ian (8 June 2018). "Johnny Marr's Call The Comet faces the future with optimism and purpose". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
7. Familton, Chris (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr - Call the Comet". The Music. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
8. Trendell, Andrew (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr – 'Call The Comet'". NME. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
9. Morris, Damien (17 June 2018). "Johnny Marr: Call the Comet review - his best solo album yet". The Observer. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
10. Ingalls, Chris (15 June 2018). "'Call the Comet' and the Magic Realism of Johnny Marr". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
11. Hodgkinson, Will (15 June 2018). "Pop review: Johnny Marr: Call the Comet". The Times. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
12. Kennedy, Mark (13 June 2018). "Review: Johnny Marr scales new heights with 'Call the Comet'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
13. McFee, Edwin (15 June 2018). "Album Review: Johnny Marr 'Call the Comet'". Hot Press. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
14. Dowden, Neil (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr – Call The Comet". musicOMH. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
15. Echazabal, Gabe (15 June 2018). "Johnny Marr is magnificent on Call the Comet, his best solo album to date". Retrieved 17 June 2018.
16. Rosebury, Will (19 June 2018). "Johnny Marr - Call The Comet". Clash Music. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
17. Steiner, Robert (13 June 2018). "Heaven knows Johnny Marr is ho-hum now". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
18. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (21 June 2018). "Johnny Marr - Call the Comet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
19. "Johnny Marr / ジョニー・マー「Call the Comet / コール・ザ・コメット」 | Warner Music Japan". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
20. "ARIA Chart Watch #478". auspOp. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
21. "Ultratop.be – Johnny Marr – Call the Comet" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
22. "Ultratop.be – Johnny Marr – Call the Comet" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
23. "Lescharts.com – Johnny Marr – Call the Comet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Johnny Marr – Call the Comet" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
25. "Irish Albums Chart: 22 June 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
26. "Johnny Marr". Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
27. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Johnny Marr – Call the Comet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2018.