Boomslang

Very Average

As a long time Smiths fan who has only recently got into Johnny's solo stuff I approached Boomslang fearing I may be disappointed . I loved The Messenger & Playland but had read many negative reviews of his work with The Healers.However once the cd arrived I was pleasantly surprised . It's a very different sounding record to his more recent solo work but in my opinion this is just as good . Every song on the album is well worth hearing and it's far more laid back than the more recent "punky" stuff and maybe not as instant but after a couple of plays it really gets into your head .Marvellous stuff and it's sad Johnny doesn't seem keen to play any of this album on his wonderful solo gigs anymore .

Not his greatest, a bit bland to be honest. The Messenger , Playland and Call The Comet are 10000 times better.

I got this while on a bit of a Marr spree, having been impressed by his new solo album(s) and having loved his work with The Smiths, Modest Mouse etc. It has some good stuff on it, though nowhere near as impressive as "The Messenger".

great album

Brilliant

Great album, really like it!

Since the demise of The Smiths some fifteen years ago Johnny Marr's career has pottered from guest appearance to guest appearance - Billy Bragg, Bryan Ferry, Talking Heads etc - as well as stints in The Pretenders, The The and Electronic. But there always seemed to be a widening gap between the graph points of Marr's post Smiths business and that of his ex songwriting partner Morrissey. Johnny Marr, many critics were saying, couldn't cut the mustard anymore. With the debut album from Johnny Marr and the Healers it's time for those critics to eat their words.Boomslang opens with 'The Last Ride', a song which has been around a few years now but sounds fresh and full-blooded. 'Down On The Corner' blends acoustic guitar and piano with Marr's emotive voice and some riproaring elctric guitar riffs as backdrop while 'Need It' chugs along with a rockabilly rhythm and a Smithesque urgency - a 'Rusholme Ruffians' for the 21st century. 'You Are The Magic' has a trippy, Happy Mondays feel to it - we can only concur what The Smiths might have achieved if they had survived the eighties and ridden on the Madchester train. Throughout the album Marr's voice is delicate but strong enough to hold its own against the criticism that some reviewers have directed at him. The Healers, Alonza Bevan on bass and Zak Starkey on drums, are a tight knit, reliable rhythm section and the guitar playing is as good as ever.If you only buy one album this year, make it this.