THE SMITHS
"Gasping, but somehow still alive, this is the fierce last stand of all I am"
THE SMITHS (1984)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: Reel Around The Fountain/You’ve Got Everything Now/Miserable Lie/Pretty Girls Make Graves/Hand That Rocks The Cradle/This Charming Man/Still Ill/Hand In Glove/What Difference Does It Make/I Don’t Owe You Anything/Suffer Little Children
Some people don’t seem to ‘get’ The Smiths and have trouble understanding Morrissey’s charm and appeal. They dismiss claims that they were one of the most original and influential bands of the 80’s. But surely there must be something in it. How else could you explain the fact that their albums still sell steadily today, 16 years after they split up, and that many current bands list them among their influences. Formed in Manchester in the early 80’s Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke, and Mike Joyce recorded solid appealing guitar-lead indie pop songs that fitted perfectly into the 80’s music scene, yet had a unique quality that earned them thousands of fans. But the Smiths appeal lies way beyond the music, and has much to do with Morrissey’s charm. A strange skinny man with a huge quiff and national health glasses, and flowers hanging from the back pocket of his jeans, Morrissey was a strange choice of idol, but people worshipped him. With lyrics that spoke of depression, loneliness and celibacy, drawing influence from literature and popular culture and had a humorous, ironic, tongue in cheek quality, The Smiths represented a way of life, something that was particularly English, and something that had definitely never been done before.
Some of the tracks on this self-titled debut are among the best The Smiths would ever record. The opening ‘Reel Around The Fountain’ provides a wonderful start to the album with its delicate yet catchy melody, a beautiful tinkling piano that is only barely audible, and Morrissey’s vocals sounding tender and sincere. 'This Charming Man' is probably one of The Smiths best known and best loved songs, and although it wasn’t originally included on the album, it is now hard to imagine it without it. It is a truly great song that has everything, a strong jangley guitar riff, an unforgettable base line and literary yet humorous lyrics. ‘Hand in Glove’ was The Smiths first single, and is another classic displaying the winning combination of Johnny’s Marr’s talent for writing memorable rock tunes, and Morrissey’s strong vocals and original lyrics. 'What Difference Does It Make' is another strong track and includes a wonderful display of falsetto from Morrissey. ‘Pretty Girls Make Graves’ is another highlight with its bouncy melody and particularly strong vocal performance. The album ends with ‘Suffer Little Children’, a song about Moors Murders Ian Brady and Myra Hindly, something that would continue to fascinate Morrissey throughout his career along with the criminal underground in general. And although the content is dark and heavy the music is gentle and soothing. I could mention every single song here, each one displays an originality, a unique quality that draws you in and keeps you there to the very last second. ‘Miserable Lie’ with its distinct lack of melody provides probably the only weak moment on a well produced, highly polished debut album that would set a high standard for a band that would only get better and better.
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Hatful of Hollow (1984)
Rating (Out of 10): 9
Tracklisting: William It Was Really Nothing/What Difference Does It Make/These Things Take Time/This Charming Man/How Soon Is Now?/ Handsome Devil/Hand In Glove/Still Ill/Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now/This Night Has Opened My Eyes/You’ve Got Everything Now/Accept Yourself/Girl Afraid/Back To The Old House/Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Released just 9 months after The Smiths debut album, ‘Hatful Of Hollow’ is a collection of sixteen tracks made up of singles, b-sides and previously unreleased material; and includes tracks taken from John Peel and David Jensen Radio sessions. The sheer volume of tracks included in this collection displays Morrissey and Marr’s prolific song writing abilities so early in their careers, and exhibits the high quality songwriting and performance that was being delivered from the Smiths right from the very beginning. The album begins with ‘William It Was Really Nothing’, the first single to be released following their debut album. It is a classic Smiths track that combines Morrissey’s camp, ironic lyrics with Johnny Marr’s talent for writing unforgettable melodies. Also included in this collection is ‘How Soon Is Now’ which was on the b-side to ‘William…’. I’m not quite sure who decided to make it a b-side, but it was definitely a bad decision. ‘How Soon Is Now’ is arguably the best Smiths song ever. It is an absolute masterpiece, and really displays Johnny Marr’s coming of age as a guitarist. The opening guitar riff is absolutely unforgettable, and Morrissey’s poignant lyrics ‘I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else does’ became almost like a Smiths manifesto.
Tracks such as ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Reel Around The Fountain’ and ‘This Night has opened My Eyes’, were taken from early John Peel sessions, and have a certain raw quality about them. It was John Peels early pioneering of The Smiths that gained them acclaim from both fans and media, and their inclusion in this album serves to pinpoint the band's early appeal. ‘Girl Afraid’ and ‘Please Please Please…’ are other highlights of the album. Both, poignant and heartfelt without being self-indulgent or depressing. ‘Hatful Of Hollow’ is a wonderful album that gathers together many Smiths classics as well as a few slightly more obscure tracks. It is an album rich in diversity, alternating flawlessly between the subversive wit of ‘Handsome Devil’, the bleakness of ‘Back To The Old House’, and the sheer beauty of ‘Please Please Please….’ These are songs that capture an emotion, songs that make you laugh, songs that make you cry, songs you wish you’d written yourself; and apart from anything else, just bloody good songs full stop.
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Meat is Murder (1985)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: The Headmaster Ritual/Rusholme Ruffians/I want The One I Can’t Have/What She Said/That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore/Nowhere Fast/Well I Wonder/Barbarianism Begins At Home/Meat Is Murder
Released just three months after ‘Hatful of Hollow’, ‘Meat Is Murder’ was treated very cautiously by the music press and received only lukewarm reviews. Perhaps it was the strong political sentiment of the album title that put some people off. Calling an album ‘Meat Is Murder’ was probably a very daring thing to do in 1985, and it still remains to this day arguably the most vociferous statement of animal rights and vegetarianism ever made by a rock star. Or perhaps it is the fact that the album is more diverse than their previous albums with Johnny Marr beginning to experiment with different musical styles. But whatever the reason, ‘Meat Is Murder’ is probably the most underrated of all The Smiths albums and definitely deserves a lot more credit than it has received.
The album opens with the powerful ‘Headmaster Ritual’, a scathing attack on the English education system complete with biting lyrics and a vocal echo that gives a chilling effect that drives the point home. ‘Rusholme Ruffians’ has a very prominent rockabilly sound to it, and sees Johnny Marr expand his musical tastes and techniques. My favourite track on the album is ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’, with it’s slightly camp and ironic lyrics and a repetitive melody that conveys a sense of desperation, it really is a very well written and well thought out track. Possibly the most poignant and touching moment of the album comes with ‘Well I Wonder’, an absolutely beautiful track which sees Morrissey write some of his best introspective and emotionally evocative lyrics. ‘Gasping, but somehow still alive, this is the fierce last stand of all I am’. But it’s not all doom and gloom, there are many moments of humour in ‘Meat is Murder’, most pointedly in the opening of ‘Nowhere Fast’ when Morrissey proclaims ‘I’d like to drop my trousers to the Queen, every sensible child will know what this means.’ But the definite highlight of the album comes in the form of the title track. Tucked away right at the end, it leaves you feeling slightly uneasy. It is the sort of track that stays in your brain for a long, long time after you’ve listened to it. The lyrics are very direct, yet moving. ‘That flesh that you fancifully fry is not succulent, tasty or nice, it is death for no reason and death for no reason is murder’. It difficult not to be affected by lyrics like that, especially ones that are accompanied by sound effects of animals being slaughtered, and many people have admitted to turning vegetarian on the grounds of this track alone. But whatever your views on vegetarianism, it serves as a perfect ending to an album that contains many moments of beauty and musical prowess, and one that definitely deserves a lot more credit than it received at the time of its release.
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The Queen is Dead (1986)
Rating (Out of 10): 10
Tracklisting: The Queen Is Dead/Frankly Mr Shankly/I Know It’s Over/Never Had No-One Ever/Cemetry Gates/Bigmouth Strikes Again/The Boy With The Thorn In His Side/Vicar In A Tutu/There Is A Light That Never Goes Out/Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Once in a lifetime a record comes along that stands out from all the others, a record that has the power to touch you in a way that no other can. An album highly accomplished, produced and executed, but with that little something extra, something hard to explain, something that touches you emotionally, and stands the test of time. For me, ‘The Queen Is Dead’ is that album. Widely hailed as The Smith’s masterpiece, it encapsulates everything that characterised them as a band and made them stand out from everything else that was happening in the music industry at the time It is an album that is diverse both musically and lyrically, containing clever, ironic lyrics, alongside more introspective musings, strong musical hooks, gentle melodies, and controversial political statements. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ saw Morrissey really come into his own as a rock icon, and ensured that Johnny Marr would forevermore be considered one of the best guitarists and songwriters of all time. In a way it is surprising that the album was ever recorded at all, coming at a time of great strain and uncertainty for the band. Andy Rourke had been temporarily sacked due to heroin addiction and had been replaced by Craig Gannon, who was then himself sacked and subsequently sued the band for outstanding fees and earnings. Johnny Marr had reportedly been on the verge of a physical and mental breakdown due to the amount of work he put in to writing and recording the album. So, the fact that they managed to record an album at all is amazing in itself, and the fact that it was widely considered to be one of the best albums of the decade is a testament to the band’s talent, dedication and appeal.
The title track opens the album perfectly. The ‘Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty’ melody sampled from the 1960’s British film ‘The L-Shaped Room’ flows seamlessly into a fantastic opening drum roll and Morrissey’s tremendously outrageous lyrics. ‘Charles don’t you ever crave to appear on the front of the daily mail dressed in your mother’s bridal veil?’ This is followed by ‘Frankly Mr Shankly’, a scathing attack on Rough Trade Boss Geoff Travis, whom Morrissey had famously fallen out with, sung to a jaunty, music-hall influenced melody. The following two tracks are two of the most poignant and beautiful tracks ever recorded by The Smiths. ‘I Know It’s Over’ and ‘Never Had No-one Ever’ see Morrissey in fine form with his introspective lyrics, illustrating why so many people felt such an affinity with him. Both tracks, particularly, ‘I Know It’s Over’ sees the Smiths at their bleakest, both musically and lyrically, but the album is prevented from being depressing by constant changes in pace and style. ‘Cemetry Gates’ is an upbeat, happy song that will make you smile and laugh and clap as Morrissey pays tribute to his literary hero, Oscar Wilde. ‘ ‘Big Mouth Strikes Again’ is another lyrical masterpiece that illustrates Morrissey’s talent for amusing, ironic lyrics ‘And now I know how Joan of Arc felt as the flames rose to her roman nose and her walkman started to melt.’ ‘The Boy With A Thorn In His Side’ is a perfect pop song, with great lyrics and a wonderfully infectious tune. ‘There Is A Light…’ is one of the Smiths best songs; touching, ironic, and with a beautiful Johnny Marr melody, you’ll find it difficult not to sing along to ‘and if a double decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side would be a heavenly way to die’. The album ends with ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ which pays tribute to Morrissey’s love of ‘Carry On’ films, but which also includes one of the most beautifully romantic lines ever written ‘send me your pillow, the one that you dream on, and I’ll send you mine’. All in all, it’s very difficult to find an album that comes as close to perfection as ‘The Queen Is Dead’. There isn’t one single bad song on it, and it is well produced and performed and manages to capture a thousand different moods and emotions.
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From TJ - 23/12/2006
hey! what a great band the smiths are. i'm just 16 and bought this cd 2 weeks ago. love it loads. can't believe it was made 20 years ago. doesn't sound old at all. better than all the bands around at minute.
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The World Won't Listen (1987)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: Panic/Ask/London/Bigmouth Strikes Again/Shakespeare's Sister/There Is A Light That Never Goes Out/Shoplifters Of The World Unite/the Boy With The Thorn In His Side/Money changes Everything/Asleep/Unloveable/Half A Person/Stretch Out And Wait/That Joke Isn't funny Anymore/Oscillate Wildly/You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, baby, Ruber Ring/Golden Lights
It's just so typical of Morrissey to release an album entitled 'The World Won't Listen' at a time when the press, fans and the public in general were hanging on his every word! By 1987 Morrissey had already mastered his manipulation of the press and his use of Oscar Wilde style epigrams in a way that got across his views on everything from Vegetarianism to the Royal Family. Maybe the title ''The World Won't Listen was meant to be ironic, or more likely it was a signal to Morrissey's growing isolation and frustration with the world around him, a sentiment that had earned him the adoration of millions of disaffected adolscents who could relate to that exact feeling. Of the eight records that The Smiths released in their 4 years together, only four of them were actual studio albums with one of them being a live album and the remaining three being collections of singles and B-Sides, something which testifies to their appeal as a singles band. While The Smiths were a band with a strong sense of identity and artistic direction, The World Won't Listen and other collections focuses attention on the songs themselves and emphasises Morrissey and Marr's abilility as songwriters. 'Hatful Of Hollow' acted as a great introduction to early Smith's songs, and in the same way 'The World Won't Listen' brings together many of their later hits, bsides and rareties. There is a good selection of songs on here. Big hits such as 'Panic', 'Ask', 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite' and 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' sit comfortably alongside other lesser known yet equally great tracks like 'Half A Person' 'Rubber Ring' and 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby'. Without a doubt, the absolutely gem of the album is an alternative version of 'Stretch Out And Wait'. Usually tracks that are billed as being an alternative version are usually more or less the same as the original but with a slightly different accompaniment arrangement. But in this case it really is completely alternative having different lyrics and a softer melody. It's defintiely worth buying the album just for that one track alone. 'The World Won't Listen' really is an album worth having for both ardent Smiths fans and newcomers looking for an introduction. It contains some amazing tracks, has a certain cohesive quality that is lacking from a lot of compliation albums and proves Morrissey and Marr to be one of the strongest songwriting partnerships of their generation.
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Louder Than Bombs (1987)
Rating (Out of 10): 7.5
Tracklisting: Is It Really So Strange?/Sheila Take A Bow/Shoplifters Of The World Unite/Sweet And Tender Hooligan/Half A Person/London/Panic/Girl Afraid/Shakespeare's Sister/William, It Was Really Nothing/You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby/Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now/Ask/Golden Lights/Oscillate Wildly/These Things Take Time/Rubber Ring/Back To The Old House/Hand In Glove/Stretch Out And Wait/Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want/This Night Has Opened My Eyes/Unloveable/Asleep
Originally only released in the USA as a sort of American version of 'The World Won't Listen', 'Louder Than Bombs' was eventually released in the UK in order to avoid extortionate import prices. It's not surprising then that the two albums are very similar and ocntain many of the same tracks, so it's probably only die-hard Smiths fans (like myself) who possess both albums. Louder than bombs is a much longer album with a wider variety of tracks on it. While 'The World Won't Listen' was a compliation of songs from the later Smiths period, 'Louder Than Bombs' spans their whole career and includes early tracks like 'Hand In Glove' and 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now', acting almost like a best of, which was probably the intention for the American market who may not have been as familiar with The Smiths earlier material. Although 'The World Won't Listen' is probably the superior of the two collections as it is much more coherent and artistic, but 'Louder Than Bombs' contains tracks such as 'This Night Has Opened My Eyes' and the wonderful 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' which make it a must-have for any Smiths fan.
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Strangeways Here We Come (1987)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours/I Started Something I Couldn't Finish/Death Of A Disco Dancer/Girlfriend In A Coma/Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before/Last night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me/Unhappy Birthday/paint A Vulgar Picture/Death Of A Disco Dancer/Death At One's Elbow
While 'The Queen Is Dead' is widely regarded by press and fans alike as the Smith's masterpiece, Morrissey has always assertained that he considers their final studio album 'Strangeways Here We Come' to be their finest hour. While it is a perfectly good album with great songs, production and performance, somehow it doen't capture the same excitement and passion that 'The Queen is Dead' captured. Considering the circumstances under which it was recorded it surprising that it was recorded at all and the standard of the album is a testiment to the talent and professionalism of all members of the Smiths. The band were on their last legs, tension between Morrissey and Marr was growing and shortly after the release of the album the band would split up. But listening to 'Strangeways...' there are no hints at all of the trouble that was going on in the Smiths Camp.
The album is a very solid well written and produced affair and contains songs that are amongst the best The Smiths would record. Starting with 'A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours', the album gets off to a great beginning. 'I Started Something I Couldn't Finish' is a wonderfully catchy song with a fantastic melody you just won't be able to stop yourself singing along to. 'Girlfriend in A Coma' was a big hit for The Smiths and provides a good anchor point holding the album together. 'Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me' is a beautiful song that sees Morrissey in classic melancholic mode. 'Paint A Vulgar Picture' sees Morrissey take one of his infamous swipes at the music industry. 'Re-issue! Re-package! Repackage!/Re-evaluate the songs/Double -pack with a photograph, extra track and a tacky badge'. This line can't help me thinking of Morrissey's latest album 'You Are The Quarry' which has already been re-issued (with extra tracks and photographs, but no tacky badge!) just 6 months after its original release. How times change!! The closing track 'I Won't Share You' is a beautiful low-fi track with aucoustic guitar accompniment and melancholic yet humour lyrics and closes the album beautifully. 'Strangeways Here We Come' is a great swan-song for the Smiths. They split up on a high proving themselves once and for all as one of best british bands of all time.
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