Johnny Marr or Robert Smith?

[Gageham36]

My friends and I were having a little debate over who they think is a better musician. When comparing the careers of Johnny Marr of The Smiths and Robert Smith of The Cure. Both hugely successful musicians and respected in their communities so it isn't a question of which band you prefer. It's a question of who and why you think they are a better of musician. Whether it's their ear for a melody, composition ability, lyric writing, critical acclaim, cultural influence, or however you judge their greatness. This isn't a place for hostility, it is a place for a thought provoking discussion. And if it seems to difficult of a decision, if you were starting a band, would you prefer having Robert Smith or Johnny Marr as a member.

[LedZep]

Both are some of my favourite bands, but The Cure is more diverse and Robert Smith is the sole constant member and songwriter for over 40 years. From goth masterpieces, atmospheric and dark albums to art pop to pure pop singles. And he's done them all brilliantly. Love Marr though, I think he's more responsible for the phenomenon known as "The Smiths" than Morrissey; also today's Morrissey is cringe worthy at times (not the music, rather his actions). Marr is still the coolest guy and fantastic songwriter.
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[Repo]

Robert Smith is pretty much the answer to every question.

[elo269megv]

[Yann]

it depends if you want to be the band's frontman or not

[indieshins]

I'm not really qualified to answer properly, as I know very little of The Cure's work, but Johnny Marr was my favourite guitarist for a while. His compositional skill on the guitar surpasses a lot of more technically flashy players - he was of equal, if not greater importance to The Smiths sound than Morrissey. Some of the most memorable guitar hooks of the '80's. That being said, I'm going to take a stab and say Robert Smith is a better lyricist and vocalist - and has been mentioned, more diverse.

[travelful]

Robert Smith and The Cure are far better in my opinion. To me The Smiths are another one of those bands that hipsters bust a nut over but are pretty overrated as a whole. I find Robert Smith lyrics a little more impactful and the atmospheric moody vocals and production much more appealing. Marr is a good guitarist and musician but the songs have little to no variation in strumming styles and are overall fairly predictable and underwhelming. I definitely recognize the influence The Smiths have made in the history of music and they have a good (borderline great) discography. The lyrics aren't nearly as clever and captivating to me as people claim. Jangle pop as a whole isn't really my thing I have found. I honestly would likely enjoy The Smiths much more if people didn't constantly hype them up so much, because now I have this huge expectation from the band that they never lived up to.

[CharlieBarley]

Wow. This is like having to choose between cheese and chocolate.

If I were going to start a band I would say Johnny Marr because I would want to be the singer/frontman and I can't play guitar and Mr Marr is brilliantly talented.

But being brutally honest I prefer Robert Smith. As has been said he is a passionate singer, a damned fine lyricist and a good guitarist and all round great musician. Plus he can manage a band well. He has good organisational skills and while not very rock n roll that matters when you're in a band lol.

So my vote goes to Robert Smith. God of Goth.

[Jimmy Dread]

[HoldenM]

I mean, they're great for different reasons. Johnny Marr is perhaps among the ten greatest guitarists of the late 20th century. His guitar style is, much like Morrissey's voice, immediately synonymous with The Smiths.

Robert Smith is, instead, a jack of all trades. He'll turn a ragged post punk outfit, turn them into an innovative goth outfit, bring them pop superstars, create an arena-sized magnum opus, and then coast somewhere down the middle for a while.

So, I don't know. I guess I'll go with Robert Smith--especially since I've been on a real Cure kick lately, but honorable mention to Johnny Marr's post-Smiths career, which includes respectable work with Electronic, Modest Mouse, Hans Zimmer, The Cribbs, and others.
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