The Smiths. The Stone Roses. James.

I own some of all those on vinyl. Just got done playing "Second Coming" by the Stone Roses. What a great guitar album! Cheers!

Wait! There's more!

What about Starsailor, Travis, The Music, Charlattans U.K.?
I really love the sound of this type of rock.

James not only has great lyrics and music, but their cd's are excellently recorded. The Smiths certainly stood out in the mid-80's with the wild morbid lyrics and voice of Morrissey, and the awesome guitaring of Johnny Marr.

All The Smiths albums are great. Meat Is Murder is a good one. I am a big Morrissey fan. Check out "Bona Drag".
About 14 months ago I took my ex to see Morrissey at the Tabernacle here in Atlanta. Warm up guy on acoustic guitar was done. Place was packed. You could feel the electricity building-when they announced he was coming I knew I had to be at this show.
They had this thin black curtain across entire stage but you could see through it a little bit. You could make out these huge letters across the entire back of stage MORRISSEY (like on the Elvis album cover).
People had been moving on the stage for a while but you couldn't make out if they were crew or the band (curtains still closed).
Then out of nowhere you hear the unmistakeable guitar feedback intro to "How Soon Is Now" and as the curtains open and the lights come up

"I am the son, and the heir..."

Unreal! I'm talking wide eyed jaw dropping try to catch your breath WOW. If you're a Smiths fan and were there you know what I mean. I believe it was the most intense openning I've ever seen (I've been going to concerts since 72). You can not put that on a cd or dvd.
The band he toured with is tight-or at least that night they were-they sounded almost exactly like the original recordings. Except for Morrissey. The nuances of a singer songwriter that has performed his work many times. He's a good entertainer too. Talked to the audience a bit.
They ended up doing 6 or 7 Smiths songs that night (they did "There is a light that never goes out" and I am trying to remember which others they did-was anybody reading this there?). Up to that point in the tour that was the most Smiths songs they did in a show and it was the first night of the tour they did "How Soon Is Now".
Enough rambling
Jeff

How Soon Is Now by the Smiths was voted Song of the DECADE for the 1990s by the listeners of WFNX, which at the time was the premier alternative (when alternative actually meant something) rock station in Boston.