Johnny Marr scores above par
Plabon Saha on the first solo album of Johnny Marr
At 49 years of age, it seems slightly odd that it took Johnny Marr this long to put out a solo album. Renowned for being the guitarist of the influential indie pop band The Smiths in the 80’s, Marr has been busy since then playing in many bands such as Modest Mouse, accompanied by The Healers and The Cribs. So, it’s fair to say that he’s been around the block a few times, mostly in groups without taking the role of the frontman. Well, you can argue that Johnny Marr and the Healers was a bit like Marr’s own band but I reckon The Messenger has a lot more guts than Boomslang, the Healer’s only album to date.
The album has all the markings of Marr’s trademark guitar riffs and manages to sound like a new age 80’s record without being tacky. The jangly riffs in the opening track ‘The Right Thing Right’ are quite reminiscent of the upbeat guitar playing on many Smiths tracks. You would hardly think this is a musician that’s been around for a while and despite all the nostalgia, the record manages to sound vibrant and fresh. The title track and ‘The Crack Up’ are fit to be played in any trendy bar where the DJ/Bar Staff has some good taste in music and don’t listen to Gangnam Style over and over again. ‘Upstarts’ is the second single to be released off the album and Marr’s guitar here is strongly backed by his strong vocals. All in all, it’s a solid debut effort from one of the best guitarist of all time.
It’s worth noting that the album has a nostalgic feel for any Smiths fan because while you recognise that familiar guitar-playing by Marr, the lyrics remind you just how good the Morrissey-Marr pairing really was. I have followed Morrissey’s solo work quite closely as well and the same can be noticed in his stuff as well, great lyrics that are just begging for Marr to lay the beats down. Some will say that The Smiths were good for their era and we shouldn’t temper with it. Knowing very well that they will (probably) never re-unite, I guess all I can do is listen to The Messenger and wonder what it could have been.
