While the Cure were a great band, they don't hold a candle to the Smiths. Morrissey has a golden voice with so much range from roaring punk (particularly in his live performances) to the the falsetto styles of the the BeeGees and the great Roy Orbison. Johnny Marr was the true guitar anti-hero. He is renowned as one of the greatest guitarists on the planet, by those in the know, but he did not need to wallow in self-indulgent guitar solos, or extravagant intros. Morrissey's poetic self deprecating humour struck such a heavy chord with many, and a cursory glance at the lyrical content may convey depression and dark moods, but there was so much more when put into perspective. In fact there is a great deal of positivity to be chanelled from their music. This is not to say they didn't go balls out to depress, as they did on many occasion, but it was more about connecting with the audience, often by their shortcomings and inadequacies. Morrissey's lyrics dealt with all sorts of aspects of life, from sexual frustration, shyness and self-loathing, things many other artists were too scared to attempt, and if they did they could not carry it off without sounding corny or fake.
The real success of the Smiths in my opinion, is the combination of Morrissey's lyrics with Marr's ability to construct robust melodies that fit the tone of the music so well. They were definitely one of the most original bands on the planet and their influence is still felt all these years after they parted.
I regard the Smiths up there with the Beatles, the Stones and Bowie for their influence on modern music.
The Cure were an excellent band as well but they are just not in the same league as far as I'm concerned.
