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This two-man Manchester supergroup–New Order’s Bernard Sumner and the Smith’s Johnny Marr–made one of the best debuts of the ’90s with Electronic. More New Order than Smiths, the album was a blend of plangent fretwork and frenetic sequencing, with bleak lyrics intoned in Sumner’s clean, boyish tenor. “Get the Message” was orthodox ’80s pop, but the heartbreaking “Gangster” was an electro-rock masterpiece. The album featured engaging cameos from the Pet Shop Boys on “Getting Away with It” and “The Patience of a Saint”. –Barney Hoskyns
Product details: Electronic
