REVIEWS:
"The" most important and influential band in the history of British popular music culture with the exception of The Beatles. Formed in Manchester in 1982 the fourpeice of Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce signed to the independent Rough Trade label and quickly became the darlings of the UK Indie scene. The songs of Morrissey/Marr were melodious and infectious musically, and absorbing and enthralling lyrically. Morrissey was a frontman like no other delivering his incredible lyrics in an emotionally unique manner. Marr equally impressive to the point that his playing gained him many accolades, his real quality being the ability to craft his songs perfectly time after time and without the need for any expansive solo's.
Four official albums were released during their brief existence and two further collections of singles and radio sessions, generally singles were not drawn from the albums. The four official releases The Smiths, Meat is Murder, The Queen is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come are all incredible pieces of work with The Queen is Dead generally appearing to the critics pick of the bunch. The two compilations Hatful of Hollow and The World Won't Listen are of an equal standing to the main albums and contain the glorious singles, previously unheard songs and radio session tracks.
The band arrived to awaken a dormant and sterile music scene that had nose-dived during the early 80's following the end of the punk era. The Smiths took many of the new wave ideals but delivered them in a fresh and inspiring manner weaving melodic and brutally honest tales from down your street. The Smiths demolished the careers of the many synthesizer duo's and pretentious bands of the day and swung the doors wide open again for the resurgence of guitar pop ultimately paving the way for the next wave of bands that would include The Stone Roses.
Of all the bands that have followed none have ever come close to matching the sheer uniqueness of The Smiths in their ability to deliver albums and singles of such a high quality and track consistency. With this level of songwriting there is practically no difference between the quality of the singles and the album tracks, and in a way each album plays like a different volume of a greatest hits package in the same way that the Beatles catalogue does.
Marr announced his departure from the band prior the release of the final Strangeways album in 1987 and practically sunk without trace. Morrissey split the band soon after to pursue a fairly impressive solo career over the next decade. Criminally underrated by far too many their legend remains. During a documentary in 1987 following the break up of the band Morrissey states that "there could never be another Smiths", never a truer word.
--Rob Eustace
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COMMENTS
Fantastic band, fantastic songs, fantastic morrissey as ever. enough said!!!
I notice in your reviews you didn't touch Strangeways, which is a disappointment because I wondered what a fellow Smiths fan would think of this piece of garbage. I LOVE everything they did up to this point, but SHWC sucks. I always thought they should have released it as a single, "Rush and a Push" b/w "I Won't Share You". Everything in between those two songs is terrible. There may be worse songs than "Unhappy Birthday", but really, who can think of any?
(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Suffer Little Children, Reel Around the Fountain, Hand in Glove, What Difference Does it Make. LOW POINTS: Miserable Lie
The Smiths were quite simply a ray of light shining through a truly dark and cloudy 80's music scene. Synthesiser duo's were commonplace and the UK scene was awash with uninteresting uninspiring bands of the Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet & Human League mould and coupled with the ever growing (and ever popular) dance music uprising Morrissey's distinctive tone's and Marr's jangly guitars were a welcome relief. There was never any middle ground with this band, you either loved them or hated them and this feeling was perfectly summed up in Morrissey's quote "The Smiths create their own world and you either say yes and enter it, or say no and go away and listen to something else". Their fans were mercilessly stereotyped, predominantly male, mid to late teens, solitary, reclusive individuals who spent their days comparing their dull and dreary existence's to the experiences played out in Morrissey's real world lyrics.
The band were accused of consistently producing dull and depressing songs performed in a an equally lacklustre manner. In reality the world of The Smiths was totally different from the world their critics perceived they'd created. Morrissey's lyrics were far from dull, miserable and depressing, he wrote of real people and real life, he wrote of love, solitude, lust, desire, mistrust, betrayal and tragedy. His lyrics could be sad, angry and unforgiving, but they could also be full of wit and optimism, they could be funny, reassuring and comforting. They spoke of real life, real events, real experiences and there was far more for most of us to associate with on a Smiths album than most other artists could ever hope to achieve.
There is however less wit and optimism on this debut than elsewhere in their catalogue but nevertheless this is quite simply a stunning collection of melodious guitar pop enhanced by these tales of life in a northern town. Morrissey never gets the girl/boy (often singing from his third gender stance) "Pretty Girls Make Graves", "I Don't Owe You Anything" and "Miserable Lie" "I need advice, I need advice, nobody ever looks at me twice" he screams. Even in one of his more optimistic moments "Hand in Glove" he still closes with "I know my luck to well, and I'll probably never see you again". He's the eternal loser on "Still ill" and "You've got Everything Now" both full of wonderful moments "I've seen you smile, but I've never really heard you laugh" to quote but one.
"Suffer Little Children" the album closer is the creative peak here, a haunting track, it delicately tells the tale of the one of the most notorious crimes in British history the Moors Murders of the 1960's "Oh Manchester, so much to answer for", a delicate theme handled with great care and I understand with the blessing of the victims families.
The CD re-issue now features the classic single "This Charming Man" (I believe it did originally appear on US pressings) a wonderful slice of Smiths pop and is easily the most uplifting track on the album. "Reel Around the Fountain" is the often reviewed as the critically acclaimed track here, slightly longer than the bands usual three minute excursions and like "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" is just as often slammed over its lyrical content. They are both fantastic tracks in their own right, whether the lyrics are controversial or not is down to personal opinion, as far as I know there's no official verdict on this either way.
The band were already three singles and a number of acclaimed radio sessions down the road before this album appeared so the initial fan base were eager for a taste of The Smiths over a complete set. The album as a whole is compulsive and absorbing, it draws you in, it questions and probes, it picks you up but never puts you down. John Porter's production has often been the cause of some debate, apparently it's raw and under produced, is this simply not just the sound of The Smiths ??, what would people rather it sounded like ?? I just don't see it personally. Johnny Marr's beautifully melodic arrangements create a wonderful backdrop for Morrissey's "the story of my life" lyrics and the jangly guitars and tight rhythm section of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke complete the picture for this inspirational band rising up from this truly baron era.
The importance of the arrival of this band and this album on the UK scene cannot be understated, many of the so called Brit Pop bands that sprung up in the early 90's sight the trendy 60's bands as their major influences. I would suggest that they need not look back anywhere near that far, it may well have suited their marketing strategy to be the direct descends of John Lennon or Ray Davies but I hear far more of The Smiths in The Stone Roses, Oasis, Shed Seven, Blur, Gene (the list goes on) than any of those legendary 60's bands. The cover art for the bands output was always intriguing featuring a host of cover stars, on this occasion Joe Dellesandro appears in a scene from Andy Warhols Flesh.
The Smiths is the first of only four "official" studio albums that were released between 1984 and 1987, the albums are all different in their own way but none ever stray far from the bands original blueprint. This is the most serious of the four and I suppose in reality it's probably not the best, there's not much light relief and there's distinctly more humour to be found elsewhere in their catalogue. But whether you bought into the world of The Smiths or not, this album remains an important document in the history and development of popular music culture in the UK.
I don't believe they ever achieved anything greater than cult status outside their homeland which is understandable due to the fact that they performed everything from a distinctly British perspective. However "like them or loathe them" they remain a hugely influential band but inevitably a band for whom you must drawn your own conclusions, that said I would strongly recommend that they are worthy of your attention (if they haven't had it already) at least once.
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: How Soon is Now, Back to the Old House, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Reel Around the Fountain, William it was Really Nothing. LOW POINTS: None
Hatful of Hollow released towards the back end of 1984 (three months prior to the debut albums official follow up Meat is Murder) is quite possibly the jewel in the bands crown. A compilation of singles and BBC Radio sessions from the period, it is absolutely flawless in every respect. Considering at the time of it's release the band had only released one album and four charting singles the album played like a greatest hits package and it felt as though The Smiths had been around forever such is the quality and consistency of tracks included. The album was marketed astutely and unbelievably issued as a budget price release when in reality it was worth twice the price of practically anything else put out during this baron snyth pop period.
The album features session versions of tracks from the wonderful debut including "Reel around the Fountain", "You've Got Everything Now", "Still Ill" and "What Difference Does it Make". The sound from these sessions is crisp and sharp with Morrissey vocally impressive as ever and Marr growing in excellence showing an increasingly wonderful touch throughout. Indeed various sections of the British music press were already beginning to acclaim Marr as the best British guitarist since Clapton. Make of that statement what you will but one thing that was without doubt was that the Morrissey/Marr writing partnership was quickly blossoming into something bigger than anything that had materialised since the 60's, and time has told that during their all to brief existence they created more beauty than most other artists could hope to achieve in a lifetime.
The singles and previously unreleased tracks featured on this set (of which I believe their were around nine) were all wonderfully constructed. Marr's jangly guitar melodies were not in the mould of the 90's Brit Pop outfits, they were far move carefully conceived and delivered. There's no heavy riffing, no extended solo's, no extended improvisation, just remarkably infectious hooks and melodies. Morrissey's vocals and lyrics are still wonderfully unique and combine beautifully with Marr's song structures to weave bittersweet tales from your backyard. The sublime "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" and the equally compelling "Back to the Old House" are two beautiful haunting melodies with wonderfully simple yet thought provoking lyrics. Elsewhere the tracks are more upbeat, many three minute pop classics with lyrics that are a little more upfront than the previously mentioned tracks. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" "In my life, why do I give time, to people who don't care if I live or die", "Accept Yourself" "I am sick and I am dull and I am plain", "Hand in Glove" "Yes we may be hidden by rags, but we have something they'll never have". Morrissey's lyrics consistently prod at your subconscious and recall events that happen in everyday suburban life. He asks questions that you were probably never brave enough to ask and he provides the answers that again you are probably already well aware of, but it's this kind of open hearted honesty that makes Morrissey's lyrics so compelling and so appealing to so many.
Hatful of Hollow also contains one of the bands signature tracks in "How Soon is Now", originally released prior to this set as one of the 12" flip sides to "William it was Really Nothing". It would subsequently be released as a single in it's own right and is another of the outstanding tracks on this set, a gloriously subtle cry for help containing more of Morrissey's enthralling lyrics. When you add the aforementioned "William, it was Really Nothing", the stunning "This Charming Man", "Hand in Glove", "Accept Yourself", "Girl Afraid" and the wonderful debut single flipside "Handsome Devil" to the picture you find that you have a collection that is probably more consistent than anything else in the bands catalogue including The Queen is Dead.
I couldn't stop playing this set from the moment I walked out of Our Price Records store with a vinyl copy in 1984 and all these years later the replaced CD version remains forever close at hand. Hatful of Hollow is a truly remarkable collection of songs from arguably the most important and influential British artists since Beatles.
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: The Headmaster Ritual, I Want the One I Can't Have, How Soon is Now, Barbarism Begins at Home, Meat is Murder. LOW POINTS: Well I Wonder
Meat Is Murder, the official follow up to the eponymous debut marked a slight change in approach for Messrs Morrissey, Marr & Co. The tracks contained within are much longer, and a little more diverse than the previous two to three minute ventures, but are certainly no less appealing. Morrissey’s lyrics are not quite so consistently “kitchen sink” as previous releases, but still never fail to enlighten and entertain. The album opens with the fantastic tales of your school days “Headmaster Ritual”, Marr’s jangly guitars and Morrissey's profound lyrics lure you headlong into the album right from the off, "military two steps", "excuse me from gym", "bruises bigger than dinner plates", a truly glorious opening. "Rusholme Ruffians" is gentle acoustic shuffle, and as the later live Rank album reveals owes a lot to a certain old Elvis number, and features Morrissey reaching some of those notes in a way only Morrissey can. "I Want the One I Can't Have" is another familiar solitary Morrissey tale, containing more inspired throughout lyrics "a double bed, and a stalwart lover for sure, these are the riches of the poor", who else wrote lyrics like these. Johnny cranks the guitars up a little for frantic "What She Said" before calming things down again for the first side playout "That Joke isn't Funny Anymore", a charming acoustic based track that rolls gently through its verses but becomes more urgent during its poignant "I've seen this happen in other peoples lives" coda.
My CD copy then moves onto "How Soon Is Now" which I'm sure wasn't included on my original vinyl copy but I believe did appear on US pressings??. A devastatingly strong track, haunting and moving, simply a classic combination of Marr's invention and Morrissey's inspiration. "Nowhere Fast" a bouncy, upbeat, but all too brief two and half minutes is followed by the mellower "Well I Wonder", probably the lowest point on the set for me, it's OK but that's not enough for a Smiths track, and it just lacks that little invention that the others retain. The funky seven minute "Barbarism Begins at Home" is probably the most diverse track on the set, but Johnny still makes the band and Morrissey feel quite at home tackling what is basically a dance rhythm, at times it sounds more like a Spandau Ballet number than The Smiths. The closing title track is one of Morrissey's most dramatic and haunting tales, and its said that this track has inspired more people to vegetarianism than most other campaigns have ever managed to achieve. A dark close to the album then, in the same way that the haunting and thought provoking "Suffer little Children" closed the debut.
Overall Meat Is Murder is another awesome album from this hugely influential band, but unfortunately when standards are set this high albums can be tough to compare. Although Meat Is Murder contains further evidence of the bands incredible talent, the debut still just about has the edge, and therefore in a strange way this album was a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless a fantastic album, and one that's deserves a space in everyone's collection.
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(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again, I Know It’s Over, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, The Queen Is Dead, Frankly Mr. Shankly, The Boy With The Thorn Is His Side. LOW POINTS: None.
The Queen Is Dead is often hyped up as the best album made in the 80s (if not all time, as Melody Maker listed it), and there is good reason for this. It’s certainly one of the best of the decade, and probably the best from 1986, as a simplistic yet effective masterwork. For the most part it works as a piece of dark beauty with one great song after another, all working together to make an album that’s not hard to put on five times in a row. From a musical standpoint it’s very simplistic, usually just a few chords repeated through the song, but the music manages to be remarkably melodic and catchy, and mixed with Morrissey's fantastic voice and lyrics, the album becomes a winner.
It’s often said that The Smiths were a singles band, which is more or less true. The best work on The Queen Is Dead tends to be the singles, in particular the acclaimed “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” which tends to be the critic’s favorite Smiths song. It is most certainly the finest moment on the album as one of the few songs out there that has moved me to tears, which I suppose should say something. There’s nothing else on the album that can match up to it, but I am amazed how well they still manage to follow it up with “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” to close the album off on an unusual yet reflective note. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
There’s also “Bigmouth Strikes Again” and “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” as far as the singles go, the former being probably one of the ten or so catchiest songs ever written, another track that you could leave on repeat for an hour or two. I probably should sometime. The latter is a somewhat disturbing look into a man’s ‘murderous desire... for love’ and such. Musically it boasts of some great guitar lines throughout that make it no surprise that this is another track that ranks among the most popular The Smiths ever did.
But there’s still much more to The Queen Is Dead than the singles. “I Know It’s Over” is another sad and depressing song, yet a true highlight of the album, driven by effective music and lyrics. It also contains perhaps Morrissey’s best performance vocally on the album, which says a ton since he has an amazing voice to begin with. Following is “Never Had No One Ever” which I find to be quite frightening, even if it doesn't seem to be meant that way. Just the simple lines like “Now I'm outside your house, I'm alone, and I'm outside your house, I hate to intrude” taken out of context just sends a chill down my spine.
We also have some more upbeat moments, such as the humorous “Frankly Mr. Shankly” where Morrissey delivers some incredibly amusing lyrics, making the short song a truly strong entry on the album. The opening title track, on the other hand, is six and a half minutes, the first four dedicated to delivering the lyrical section of the song (the lyrics are, of course, excellent), and the last two dominated by an instrumental boasting a great guitar solo and bass line. Speaking of the great bass lines, they are littered throughout the entire album, “Some Girls” probably having my favorite, which is some of the most entertaining bass work I've ever heard.
There are very few flaws on this album, but I'll still say that the ending of “Never Had No One Ever” could have been slightly shortened, since the otherwise fantastic and frightening track is just a wee bit too long, but this is only a minor complaint. I'd also say that “Vicar In A Tutu” is a fine, fine song, but whenever I get to it while listening to the album I always wish it were over sooner (even though it is only a couple minutes) so “There Is A Light” can come on. These are small complaints that don't hurt the overall listening experience one bit, making The Queen Is Dead deserve nothing less than a full score as one of the top 5 albums of the 80s.
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COMMENTS
I agree with your comments on The Queen is Dead, it really is a great album. Vicar in a Tutu is probably the weakest song on there (even if thats just because it's sandwiched between two of the best songs), but you didn't mention Cemetry Gates, which is another great song.
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