Johnny Marr “The Messenger” 2013. Today, October 31st, is Johnny Marr’s 55th birthday (b. John Martin Maher, 1963). Considered one of the best guitarists in Britain (by the BBC, NME, others), Marr released his first solo album The Messenger – after spending most of the 80′s in The Smiths and then many, many other groups and projects (Electronic, The The, Modest Mouse, etc) through the 90′s and 2000′s – and it went to #10 on the UK album chart. Consequence of Sound wrote “The Messenger provides glimmers of shoegaze, new wave, Britpop, garage, experimental, alt, and indie rock amid tight musicianship and economical songwriting (eight of the 12 cuts clock in at under four minutes). This consolidation of his various projects achieves an amalgam of styles and genres that the transient guitarist has assimilated and crafted through his prolific career” and NME wrote: “The Godlike Genius and guitar-slinger for hire finally goes it alone, rifling through pop history to reveal himself as a natural born frontman and a writer to rival his old mate Moz…Each tune throws up a different style, creating a one-man compilation album that rifles through 25 years of lush or edgy genres, perfecting every one.” My favorite tracks tend to be both lush and edgy including the album opener “The Right Thing Right,” the title track “The Messenger” (more lush than edgy, with bright jangles on vocals and guitar), the tensely upbeat tracks “Generate! Generate!” and “Sun and Moon,” and by far the best track, the haunting and achingly gorgeous “New Town Velocity.”

Allmusic writes in its review that The Messenger stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the greatness that was The Smiths: “Considerable portions of The Messenger are filled with riffs and guitar textures Marr could conceivably have used during the band’s brief life, and the effect isn’t a desperate attempt at recapturing the past but rather an embrace of his core strengths as both a guitarist and songwriter. The latter is as crucial as the former, perhaps more so, as Marr’s painterly skills as a guitarist have never been in question while his steadfast avoidance of releasing new songs under his name has obscured how he was the sonic architect of the Smiths. One quick listen to The Messenger brings all his signatures rushing back – the intricate, intertwining arrangements, the insistent riffs finding a counterpoint in the elastic yet precise melodies, a romance with the past that doesn’t negate the present. Marr has avoided these traits, so hearing each in full bloom on The Messenger is rather thrilling; he’s no longer wandering, he’s found his way back home.”