The Libertines - really that good?

In 2002, we saw the arrival of a small band by the name of The Libertines that apparently changed the face of modern music, according to some people. While they may have been one of the first of the new rise in ‘indie’ music, some claims that they were the ‘band of a generation’, to me, seem a bit farfetched.
Although when listening to their music there is, on some songs, a certain likeability to it, there does not seem quite enough to cement them as one of the defining bands of an era. Some have claimed that many of the new bands to emerge into this ever growing ‘indie’ scene are merely copycat bands of The Libertines, and while one can see some similarities between them and some other bands, it seems far too general to claim that they are all just copying them. But then when you consider that The Libertines were perhaps one of the first bands from this new era, the new bands coming out of it are bound to have some influences, and after all, what are influences if not something to base what you are doing on?
Perhaps one of the main reasons as to why this band are idolised by so many people within the music, and indeed entertainment industry in general, may be because of the high profile relationship of the two songwriters, Pete Doherty and Carl Bârat, and of Pete's addictions to heroin. In a similar sense to Nirvana and Kurt Cobain in the mid-90’s, The Libertines may have become martyrs in their work as they ‘struggled to cope with addiction’ yet still managed to produce an album, some would say, of great quality. Admittedly ‘Cant Stand Me Now’ does act as a telling tribute to the demise of such a strong relationship between the pair.
However, to say that this was a relationship as strong in its song-writing ability as say, Lennon and McCartney, Page and Plant, or Morrisey and Marr would be a bit false in my opinion, as in the sum total of 2 full length albums and 4 or 5 EP’s, there only exists about 4 or 5 genuinely top quality songs. While the remainder is not particularly bad, there is little there, in my opinion, to suggest that this band is as important as some seem to make out. Just to look at both the infamous pairs new bands (Babyshambles for Doherty, Dirty Pretty Things for Bârat) and their failure to reach as similar heights as The Libertines would back this up Although it is undeniable the influence that this band have had on the music industry, to say the rise in indie bands following their split was solely down to them would be quite over exaggerated.
The talent that this band possesses may also be put into question, as even Doherty admitted that when he met his soon to be band mate, he couldn’t even play the guitar. At the risk of sounding harsh, this shows in the music. The guitars sound, particularly in the solos, awkward and flimsy. However, to criticise this band based purely on their slightly below par playing would be unfair, as in my view, one of the defining guitarists of the 90’s in Kurt Cobain possessed very little talent in his guitar playing ability, but was able to write some of the best songs of the era.
When listening to The Libertines, one has to question what it is that makes so many people worship this band and its frontmen so much, as, on a strictly musical level, there is not that much there to inspire. I can only assume that, in an unfortunately similar sense to the aforementioned ‘grunge’ band from Seattle, this band gained largely in fame after their unfortunate demise, and that, instead of focussing on the music, people, such as those at the offices of NME, continue to worship the ground on which Mr Doherty walks, simply because he was in a partially successful band, that came to a controversial end, with strong links to drugs. Although the fact that he is even still living may be some explanation! So while we can draw obvious signs from one of their few decent songs in the form of ‘Time for Heroes’, this music fan does not believe that these ‘Heroes’ came in the form of the ‘Likely Lads’ otherwise known as The Libertines