Getting Away With It? Johnny Marr and his time in Electronicby Miss Fliss of Splinter Magazine
 It's just not cool to say you like - or even did like - Electronic. Johnny Marr has been continually castigated for this shameless pop flirtation by many a hardcore Smiths fan. But surely the amalgamation of two of the eighties greatest songwriting exponents - the other one being New Order's singer and guitarist, Bernard Sumner - is a musical match made by cherubs in heaven?
The first - eponymous - Electronic album involved the Pet Shop Boys. Oh, the shame, I hear you cry and shudder. The fact is Johnny Marr was responsible for some of the most stellar - go on, spit it - pop songs ever with The Smiths just as Neil Tennant was with the Pet Shop Boys. This superpopgroup debut album, then, was a recipe for pure unadulterated, undiluted genius on paper alone, surely?
"Get the Message" and "Getting Away With It" make for hummably wonderful tunes that the Top Forty stars of today could merely daydream about. Neil Tennant's rapping is grin- and cringe-inducing but the rest of that first post-Smiths album did gloriously what it said on the tin. And therein lies its appeal and beauty. Would Smiths fans really want to hear some kind of minus-the-Morrissey-vocals, sub-indie guitar noodling crap (Oh, wait, that's The Healers, isn't it?)? |
Electronic's mixture of Marr's inimitable, unquestionable 6-string sound nestling next to dancey beats and lush key sounds is ideal, in my world. And you can never beat Barney's warm, crisp, gorgeous singing voice. The album sounds hideously dated now, but it nicely captures a musical moment in time.
The second Electronic opus, Raise The Pressure, saw a distinct sound shift, towards a more guitar-laden, what-boils-down-to-be indie-pop style. "Forbidden City" still has the air of a top-notch, catchy as can be, hit single. Although the line "It's too late to wash my hands" still sounds resoundingly un-child-safe and has me wondering exactly what Sumner got up to. The other single from this album - "Out of My League" - was a cute, fey little number whose chorus can wedge itself in my head for days on end just at the mention of its name. "You're out of my league / but I'm depending on you / you're all that I need / so why won't you / say that it's true" might be atypical wishy washy, rubbishly written Sumner meanderings, but oh, how it hits with its powerful pop fists.
The creature pictured on the cover of Raise The Pressure, of course, went on to star in the video of the Manic Street Preachers ludicrously long titled only number one hit single. But that's another story.
Electronic's lifespan was as terse as necessary. They did a few pop hits and then Bernard went back to his day job and Marr went on his merry way to do his own band proper. Despite their detractors, Electronic remain - to my ears, at least - an overlooked gem in the tapestry of music.
Check out more from Miss Fliss at Splinter magazine.
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