Robert Smith: originality over technique.
When The Cure broke big with 1989’s Disintegration, and the world turned its attention to Robert Smith, the frontman’s guitar playing was always doomed to be a footnote. For wags it was all about the hair, the slap and the moan; for casual fans, it was the songs and the synths. By comparison, the sinister, spidery lines spun by Smith with a Fender Jazzmaster (or often a six-string bass) were a best-kept secret – although hugely influential to those that knew. When Smith played guitar, as Billy Corgan once put it: “The air gets heavier.”