The Messenger

First album to give me goosebumps in a long time. I think Johnny Marr has saved all his best stuff since The Smiths for this brilliant album. I could trash my whole CD collection and start fresh with The Messenger if I chose to, it's just that great and encompasses so much of what I love about music all from a fellow teetotaler (so rare to come by in music like this) and Aldous Huxley fan. For someone who spent his formative teen years listening to Strangeways, Here We Come as The Smiths were disbanding straight into Morrissey's epic Viva Hate and all that other great stuff in the late '80s (The Cure, Love and Rockets, The Church, Echo & The Bunnymen to name a few), it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. I sampled close to half of this before it arrived and am happy to say even the stuff I avoided spoiling until I got the CD in my hands all holds up to and in some cases surpasses the first few tracks I'd heard. "The Right Thing Right", "European Me", "Upstarts", "The Messenger", "New Town Velocity", and "Word Starts Attack" were all awesome when I previewed them, so I was really pleased that the rest like the spectacular "Lockdown" along with "Generate ! Generate !", "Say Demesne" (a touch of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face" and an epic Cure song), and "The Crack Up" (could have easily fit in on Strangeways) all held their own and then some. Really can't imagine any other lead guitarists from other bands being able to do what Johnny Marr has done here. Heck, didn't know he could do it either, but here it is! From seeing him perform with The Cribs on Letterman (that's a good band even without him still in it) to seeing him on Portlandia in the bit with the bicycle parking it's been a cool lead-up to this masterpiece. I'd love to see this set live, so please come to San Diego!

There really isn't a bad track on 'The Messenger'. Musically, the songs are expertly crafted, with catchy hooks, beats, and melodies that are downright refreshing and exciting to hear. Each song is guitar-based, and generously filled-out with layers of more guitar riffs and rhythms (what else should one expect from one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, and NME's latest recipient of their Godlike Genius Award?) Primarily a guitarist and songwriter, Johnny also sings the lead vocals on the album, and is not too shabby a vocalist either. His only weakness is the songs' lyrics -- since Johnny Marr, for all his musical gifts and talent, is still no Morrissey. But even those aren't half-bad on 'The Messenger'. The songs here are all strong enough musically to speak volumes for themselves. The outstanding tracks on this album for me are 'Lockdown' and 'New Town Velocity'.

The Messenger is Johnny Marr's proper solo debut. It sounds to me, what I might expect it to sound like. There are several good "alternative" songs/sounds and I enjoy his cool, calm voice probably more than most. Some of the highlights are opener The Right Thing Right and New Town Velocity. Yet the highlights highlight that the disc is a pretty safe, as expected affair. While there's not much surprising here, there's also not much to complain about.

This is the kind of straight up guitar driven rock-n-roll that I love & is rarely made these days. I have never listened to Morissey or any of Marr's previous bands. The only music I've ever heard from him (before this) is his brilliant contributions to Han Zimmer's outstanding score for the movie "Inception". I knew to expect great guitar playing given his "Inception" work. It is here (or "hear") in full force, but I was really surprised by all the irresistable hooks & melodies throughout this entire 12 song set. Thre is not a weak cut here that you skip past. There are echoes of The Who (the opening 20 seconds of the 1st cut sound exactly like The Who from "Who's Next") & The Church but it is all Marr. It is a great album that you'llbe playing over & over again.

I wanted this album to be The Smiths 2.0. Yeah, I know... but I did. I am so happy I was wrong. Johnny Marr has been cited as an inspiration from so many bands. While you're never going to see him on stage down on his knees making the "O" face while ripping through a guitar solo (think Mick Ronson), there is magic that is created when you put a guitar into Mr. Marr's hands. It's a subtle beauty that doesn't require big hair or a spotlight. And who knew Johnny had such a great singing voice? I sure as hell didn't! Great music, great songs, and a great album to boot. Interested in some great alterna-pop from a genre legend? Love that jangly Johnny Marr sound? Get this album!

Everything about this album is what Johnny Marr is all about - his music. The album is a cornucopia of everything Johnny has done and his musical influences growing up. This is his way of just creating an album for his voice and writing great melodies. Every song on this album is great. "New Town Velocity" just musically flows. "The Right Thing Right" and "Upstarts" have that post-punk feel. "The Messenger" has a electronic vibe to it. "Generate! Generate!" has a great infectious guitar line. For me, this album says it all - The Messenger does deliver.

Man, I love his rhythm guitar. But I'm not so digging his voice, or his songs, or the big-budget production. And I put it on, now and then, because it sounds new, because I don't remember hearing it before. It's not at all bad, but *Johnny Marr* should be better than "pleasant".

Its taken a few listens to begin to unravel some of the qualities of this fine album. The first thing that hit me was how rockin it was.. I had heard a few suggestions of some tracks pleasing Smiths fans which I can hear at times, particularly 'New Town Velocity' but it also has many of the sounds of Johnny's post-Smiths and new post-punk experiments. It really sounds as though the smart moves of intensive touring with Modest Mouse and Cribs have reinvigorated Johnny writing and playing with a real live energy. As we've come to expect, the songs are highly melodic and intelligently arranged with just enough layering to make new discoveries on each listen. There are plenty of really catchy riffy hooks that once ingested stick with you. 'European Me' is particularly melodic and gorgious with the man's daughter singing the backing vocals. The album ends perfectly with a great arpeggio solo which, in true Johnny character, on first listen makes your head turn with an unexpected note bend. Only Johnny is this brave and original. The man is ceaseless in his ability to reinvent and challenge expectations of what people expect from him and come out with something this good.. He's talking about writing more solo work, I certainly hope so. Cant wait to see him play this live in a fortnight..

Great album by a Great artist and legend!👍🏻

ギターの音がカッコいい。どれも心地よく楽しめる。確かにロックといえる。 昔のGTOや奥田民生みたいな曲もある。

Rock britannico!!!

Un bonheur pur, un mix du meilleur des années 80. Des influences nombreuses et variées pour un style intemporel. De la guitare, du rythme, j'adore.