THE SMITHS

The Smiths aren't the jolliest band in the history of the world. Song titles such as "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", "Girlfriend in a Coma", "Never Had No-One Ever" should be clue enough. If not, how about some of these lyrics: "I am human and I need to be loved"; "Oh Mother I can feel the soil falling over my head"; "To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die"? Of course the real crux of the matter is the fact that these lyrics never dip into offensive self-pity or morbid dourness (Kurt who?). The sly wit, sarcastic self-pity and subtle arrogance of the Smiths' lyrics mean they inevitably strike a chord with those who hear them. Indeed, it seems few sensitive middle-class English white-boys do not connect with the words flowing from the pen of a certain S. Morrissey. From experience I can tell you half the time it is as if Morrissey is crooning just for you. Of course, I'm not the sort of person who gets too caught up in images and lyrics so I'm no obsessive fan but it is testament to Morrissey's skill that he can so deeply affect someone as indifferent to lyricism as myself. There is certainly no doubt in my mind that Morrissey is one of the greatest lyricists ever to grace the rock'n'roll world - not just in terms of what he says but the way he says it. He is also famous for cultivating and manipulating his own image to develop a compelling mystique, made for unerring devotion, but, for me, it is the lyrics alone that sets him out as a truly unique artist. He is, in effect, the world's greatest sixth-form poet.

Of course, the Smiths weren't just Morrissey and they would have been a lesser band without the unique talents of Johnny Marr (although I have to refute my dad's claim of him being the greatest guitarist ever). It is difficult to say exactly how worse the Smiths would have been if Morrissey had recruited a less talented partner but his solo career certainly suggests the difference would be noticeable. That said, I'd still personally wager Morrissey was the single most important member of the group but there is no doubting the influence held by Marr - not just in terms of the success of making Morrissey's lyrics heard but also the fact that he almost single-handedly invented a genre: indie. Yes, the likes of Pulp, Blur, Coldplay, et al would not have existed without the Smiths doing it all first. Of course, there are some good bands that were influenced by the Smiths but I can't think of them (Radiohead perhaps?). In any case, although some people don't realise it, the Smiths were one of the very most influential bands in rock music. They were also one of the very best. The consistency of their albums and the fact that they imploded at practically their peak (before things had started to decay) means their work is almost unparalleled in its sheer brilliance. And although Morrissey takes many of the plaudits there is no doubt that they would not have had half the impact musically if it weren't for the chiming guitars, innovative effects and brilliant melodies of Johnny Marr.

From: Robin Sharrock

Hi Jack. Just a quick mail to say Well Done on the site. Some great reviews there. Particularly enjoyed the Smiths reviews being a big fan. Felt a bit envious when I read that your father was a big fan, as my dad hates them and scoffs whenever he sees all the Smiths stuff in my collection. Anyway, well done! Robin Sharrock www.sharoma.com

I wasn't really paying attention to the British music scene in 1984 (being barely four years old) and I'm not one for rock biographies so I don't really know the extent of the impact this album had on rock music at the time. Rose-tinted hacks go on about "the birth of indie" and such larks and I'm sure an indelible blue-print for the genre resulted from the release of this album and the accompanying singles. I suppose REM were setting a similar trend from the other side of the Atlantic but, personally, I don't have nearly as much time for them, and their slide into shit adult contemporary perfectly exhibits why the Smiths were right to break up when they did. Of course, LA's resident weirdos, Stipe and Morrissey, have become pretty good chums these days so I guess their similarity in personalities reflects a similarity in the music. Anyhow, the Smiths were always quintessentially British so their approach was effectively an original one, even if Marr's fondness for Roger McGuinn's twelve-string can be picked out in many of the Smiths' own compositions. Their debut is actually one of the least representative albums of their portfolio. The production is much starker than we've come to be accustomed to, presumably due to financial restrictions. John Porter produced this and Hatful of Hollow which would also go some way to explaining why the later three self-produced albums are much more dependent on orchestral arrangements. (The engineer for the latter albums, Stephen Street, also filled in as Marr's replacement by writing the music for the early stages of Morrissey's subsequent solo career.) Unsurprisingly Morrissey has not quite come to securing his infamous persona and some of the lyrics on here stretch out beyond his favourite subject - himself. An obsession for the macabre and serial killers began and ended on this album with "Pretty Girls Make Graves", "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and "Suffer Little Children" barely making any reference to himself at all. The latter number actually concerns the Hindley murders (given they occurred in the area Morrissey grew up in) but they are an uncontroversial condemnation of them, although Manchester itself draws the wrath of Morrissey's blame - "Manchester, so much to answer for". As well as being unrepresentative in terms of lyrics the morbid numbers are also slower and more meandering than the infamous Smiths jangle of their up-tempo classics. Indeed, it isn't uncontroversial to state that the strength of this album lies in the latter numbers. The classic "This Charming Man", "Still Ill", "What Difference Does it Make?" and early single "Hand In Glove" are all immediate proof that the Smiths came into this world with their future already marked out in front of them. For a debut album to include as many brilliant tunes all but ensures it to be a classic of its genre. The strength of the songs lies in the uniformly excellent melodies combined with lyrics seething with young middle-class aggression. My favourite song on the album, though, is probably the slightly less well-known "You've Got Everything Now". From the pounding riff of the verse an organ crashes in and Morrissey cries "I've never had a job because I've never wanted one". For all it's seemingly aggressive intent we soon learn the truth when, at the start of the second chorus, he admits "I've never had a job because I'm too shy." For all this Rebel Without a Cause style posturing what really exists is a miserable middle-class teenager or student. In addition, the unexpected transition in "Miserable Lie" from the mellow mid-tempo meandering to aggressive onslaught of a tortured riff and Morrissey's equally tortured lyrics and vocals is also a fine moment on the album. I'm not sure that this album quite ranks as one of the greatest albums ever but it remains a brilliant debut offering. Although elements of it aren't quite up to par, and would be removed on following ventures, there is still a strong argument that a genre was all but invented by this album, which isn't a bad achievement.

From: Steve Thompson

You seemed to be most upset by the fact that "How Soon Is Now" was included on the CD release of Meat is Murder, thought you might like to know that "This Charming Man" wasn't on the original vinyl release of the first album either.

[I am outraged! Seriously, though, at least the version of "This Charming Man" on the debut is distinct from the BBC Sessions version included on Hatful of Hollow - JF]

The second Smiths album was another brilliant offering and many regard it as their best album overall. Whilst it is no doubt stronger than their debut and probably, on material alone, at least the second best album for me it cannot warrant the required 10* status. Whilst the first half is a near immaculate array of the Smiths' greatest hits, the second side noticeably fails to match the pace with the likes of "This Night Has Opened My Eyes", "Accept Yourself" and "Back to the Old House" not being much of an improvement over the lesser moments on The Smiths. The other reason I'm not convinced of giving out full marks is because almost half of the album consists of radio session versions of previous material. Thus we get more versions of "What Difference Does It Make?", "This Charming Man", "Hand in Glove", "Still Ill", "You've Got Everything Now" and "Reel Around the Fountain" (all already on the debut) with not particularly different or interesting interpretations. Indeed, the absence of the organ for "You've Got Everything Now" inevitably robs the chorus of some of its power and therefore makes for a distinctly lesser version. On the other hand, with the exception of the pedestrian and overly long "Reel Around the Fountain", the band were canny enough to earmark their best songs for inclusion on here. Not only that but some of the Smiths' most popular songs are on here in their own right. The opening "William it Was Really Nothing" immediately shows an improvement in both style and substance from the debut with Marr's guitar at its most shimmering indie. As with "This Charming Man" Morrissey cleverly throws subtle homosexual overtones into the song, further manipulating his public persona. Is he gay? Is he celibate? Or is he just unlucky with the ladies? Personally, I don't care. "How Soon is Now?", on the other hand, strikes a chord with everyone who has ever been depressed in a night-club. "There's a club, if you'd like to go, you could meet somebody who really loves you. So you go, and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die." Obviously such lyrics are overly hysterical in a tongue-in-cheek manner but we all know there's truth in them as well. It is worth remembering that "How Soon is Now?" is a fantastic composition, musically, with Marr's effects at their very best, giving his guitar an industrial grinding quality that has nay been heard before or since. Whereas the ludicrously titled "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is obviously tongue-in-cheek "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" seems deeply sincere. Its account of confused cynicism with just a chink of optimism shining through is delivered in less than two minutes, and it still manages to fit in a beautiful mock-mandolin guitar line from Marr. Newies "These Things Take Time" and "Handsome Devil" corner the market for aggressive pop songs with Morrissey at his most bitter but still relying on a sound melody. I really don't know how much to put down to a change in producer but the "early" sound of the Smiths pretty much ended with this album, with the youthful naivety somewhat maturing both lyrically and musically on the future releases. Still, on material alone this is almost a truly exceptional album - unfortunately using the same songs on a second album doesn't seem very fair. That said, it does mean that if you're not the sort to blow your hard-earned money on an entire collection you can get this album and not need to bother with that crappy debut at all.

From: HerbBermann@aol.com

From what i gather, Hatful of Hollow is not a studio album, rather a compilation of early non-album material including b-sides and singles. The Smiths made four official albums, and the fact you reviewed what is essentially a b-sides and rarities collection as an actual album and gave it 9 is perhaps a good indication of the greatness and prolific nature of the best band of the 80's.

I'm not a great fan of vegetarianism. Thankfully most of the hippies have abandoned the militant attitude (as exhibited on this album) and use the recent Christian argument - "I don't mind if you don't agree, but it is just what I feel is right, etc." I'm even mature enough to avoid the whole "would you eat a sausage if your leg was going to fall off?" argument when conversing with veggies. I do think it is based on fallacious reasoning but I can understand people not wanting to dice up Mr. Piggie (soft bastards that they are). However, when my old friend Morrissey comes along and says "it's death for no reason and death for no reason is murder" I'm inclined to say "well technically, death for no reason is manslaughter and there is a reason for killing animals for food, namely... well, food". In short, the title track on here is without doubt the lamest argument for vegetarianism I've ever heard, Morrissey's worst ever lyrics (whilst in the Smiths, at least) and, above all, a pretty poor song and perhaps the worst in their career. It is certainly not a great way to end an album and is the biggest single culprit in heightening my suspicion that this is the worst album of the Smiths' career. Still, 9* for a worst album isn't too bad and thus this is, of course, another great album. But I have another complaint. The CD issue of this album utterly inexplicably includes "How Soon is Now?" bang in the middle. I know the original copy didn't have it because my dad's already got it (being a big Smiths fan) so why the hell was it included on here? Even if it is just a bonus track why is it in the middle, corrupting the proper running order of the album? It is not even as if it is a song that isn't on another album. If it is not even as if you'd buy this before buying Hatful of Hollow (well you shouldn't if you take my word for it). The irony is that it is actually the best song on the second half of the album, which is a little light on the ground for vintage Smiths songs. We get the witty "Nowhere Fast" ("each household appliance is like a new science in my town") and the maudlin "Well I Wonder" but I've already dismissed "Meat is Murder" as the worst ever Smiths song and "Barbarism Begins at Home" is uninspired both musically and lyrically. The first half of the album, though, is pure, untainted Smiths magic. The first two tracks ("The Headmaster Ritual" and "Rusholme Ruffians") are perhaps two of the most quintessentially indie tracks you are likely to hear. Marr's guitar sounds like it invented indie on its own and the bouncing bass line for "Rusholme Ruffians" sounds like it gave Blur their early hits. Both songs are also quite long, stretching out at the end for an almost progressive feel. It doesn't make them any worse, given they are such great songs in the first place, but it is clear Morrissey and Marr were looking towards more sophisticated arrangements. "I Want the One I Can't Have" and "What She Said" are faster, more rock-based, efforts that display an obvious progression, if not actual improvement, from the fast aggressive songs from Hatful of Hollow. My favourite track on the album, though, and perhaps the best is the morose but bleakly beautiful "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" with Morrissey in fine self-pitying form. It also somewhat pre-empts the bleak masterpieces from the subsequent The Queen Is Dead. This album as a whole is something of a transitional affair, from the early indie of the first two albums to the more ambitious arrangements of the final two albums. I'd also venture it is the weakest of the five but in the most relative of senses. Any band whose worst album is still only one mark off perfection must have been pretty successful. And, by God, they were.

From: Steve Thompson

I share your views on The Queen Is Dead, I think that it is a flawless album, but I think you were too hard on Meat Is Murder. The only song that I am not sure about is the title track, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it, in particular "How Soon Is Now", "What She Said" and my favourite from the album "Well I Wonder". Meat Is Murder is a great deal better than Strangeways, which I regard as being only third best..

From: HerbBermann@aol.com

I enjoy all your reviews and agree with nearly all of them, but your dismissal of "Barbarism Begins at Home" as 'musically uninspired' surely ignores the fact that it has one of the best basslines EVER, and a fantastic vocal performance from morrissey. And "Meat Is Murder" isn't a lame argument, just a passionate opinion. Death for no reson is not even simply manslaughter, as accidents and 'acts of god' fall into this category. Credit Morrissey's intelligence - he knows 'death for no reason' is not the definition of murder, just as he knows that the statement 'this beautiful creature must die' is not true.
Anyway, thanks for having interesting, considered and helpful opinions.

The Queen is dead, boys. Morrissey's finest hour as a rock star, pop icon and, above all, lyricist was reached with this album. Furthermore, Marr's finest hour as composer, arranger and producer was also reached on here. Thus The Queen Is Dead is the Smiths' artistic peak, the greatest album of the eighties and one of the most important albums in rock history. The pop sensibilities are still in evidence, with "The Boy With the Thorn in his Side" revelling in the Smiths' greatest melody, but the album also has such a grandiose aura. Morrissey's persona is everything it should be, arrogantly ambitious but still obsessively self-pitying. Marr still invents new indie bands with every guitar line he writes but his arrangements perfectly complement Morrissey's mournings with the likes of "I Know It's Over" and "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" given devastating orchestral flourishes to match the bleak pomposity of the lyrics. Morrissey's never been one for varying and contrasting moods on albums but this album is still far from a one way street. On the first half alone we get the anti-establishment aggression of the title track; the bouncing off-hand "Frankly, Mr Shankly"; the brilliantly self-indulgent bed-sit anthems "I Know It's Over" and "Never Had No One Ever"; and the jaunty witticisms of "Cemetry Gates". Perhaps the greatest evidence of the strength of this album is the fact that five songs (half the album) are all vying for the accolade of being the Smiths' greatest ever song. The opening "The Queen Is Dead" certainly lays claim to being the greatest ever introduction to a Smiths album. It begins with a sample of "Take Me Back to Dear Ol' Blighty" being sung before the band themselves are ushered in with eerie feedback and pounding drums. Morrissey enters the fray with a low moan before the proper vocals seamlessly take over and we're launched into some of Morrissey's finest ever lyrics. Unfortunately the song perhaps overstays its welcome with Marr's wah-wah riffing not benefiting the song beyond Morrissey's wryly observed "life is very long, when you're lonely". "I Know It's Over" makes a stronger case with lyrics that you could never have conceived of yourself yet strike your very being to its core in their honesty and resonance. The arrangement is as haunting as it is impressive and you'd be hard pushed to name a more maudlin masterpiece. Nay have I heard a more emotionally devastating piece, although Morrissey does seem to give up on staying in key for the climatic ending. "Bigmouth Strikes Again" takes up the torch of "Handsome Devil" and "These Things Take Time" in being one of the Smiths' very best aggressive pop songs, with an instantly distinctive guitar part. If "Bigmouth Strikes Again" is one of the Smiths' best aggressive pop songs then "The Boy With the Thorn in his Side" is simply one of the Smiths' best pop songs. The lyrics are actually quite upbeat for once (another contrasting mood) and it is a prime example of the Smiths' effortless ability to knock off top-notch melodies. Finally, despite being standard pop song length the magnificent "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" manages to equal "I Know It's Over" for a haunting and epic atmosphere. I imagine it is close to being the Smiths' most well-known song and it is a far from undeserved status. The lyrics are a love song of the most disturbing devotion and the arrangement is peerless, with a great chord progression from Marr and yet more grandiose yet subtle orchestral backing. It is not all maudlin mourning, though, as "Frankly, Mr Shankly" ("sometimes I'd feel more fulfilled making Christmas cards with the mentally ill"), "Cemetry Gates" and "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" perfectly display Morrissey's acidic wit. Indeed, the knowing references in "Cemetry Gates" are perfectly apt given the likelihood that if Oscar Wilde had been born a century later he probably would have ended up fronting the Smiths. In actual fact, Wilde was often style over substance but you couldn't possibly level such an accusation at this album. To count the number of better albums in existence you barely need more than one hand and anyone who denounces the eighties as a poor decade for music clearly isn't familiar with either this album or the Smiths as a whole. A bleak, beautiful, witty, resonant, haunting, majestic, awe-inspiring, tear-inducing masterpiece.

The Smiths' swansong is sometimes dismissed as a muddled, overblown and ultimately disappointing finale to the career of one of Britain's very finest rock bands. Personally, I don't see the problem. Obviously this isn't as good as The Queen Is Dead (which album is?) but it makes a strong enough case to be considered their third best album, also behind Hatful of Hollow, and it is certainly better than Meat is Murder. Orchestral backing is still utilised on some numbers but it is barely any worse than on the previous album. Pop songs are perhaps a bit lighter on the ground but there is still one bona fide pop classic - "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard this One Before". Burgeoning artistic ambition is still evident and no more so than on the classic "Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me". The "song" itself does not actually begin for almost two minutes, before which atmospherics are increased by solemn piano chords being played over the top of angry crowd noise. There is not a more pompous moment in their entire catalogue than when the song sweeps into life with Morrissey affecting his most serious of croons. Maybe it is overblown and self-indulgent but it still sounds magnificently grandiose. On top of which, the lyrics are some of Morrissey's most insightful - at least to an English middle-class white-boy like myself. In two lines - "last night I dreamt that somebody loved me/no hope, ho harm, just another false alarm" - Morrissey puts such deep emotions into such accurate prose that you marvel as to how anyone could possibly achieve it. It is not even the words he uses, as such, but just the fact that he knew precisely what to say. Actually, for once, many of the lyrics on this album actually make reference to someone other than himself. The sublime "Girlfriend in a Coma" obviously makes reference to a significant other, "Unhappy Birthday" is a single, bitter joke at a rival's expense ("if you should die, I might feel slightly sad, but I won't cry"), "I Won't Share You" reflects on competing attitudes to a person, "Paint a Vulgar Picture" an ode to Smiths' fans and "Death of a Disco Dancer" delivers tongue-in-cheek social commentary ("I never talk to my neighbours, I'd rather not get involved"). The latter number actually features Morrissey on piano, who took a deeper interest in music than many realise - he was a perfect adept musician and in his youth wrote essays about the New York Dolls. Indeed of all the bands that the hedonistic New York Dolls influenced it is hard to associate them with the dour, self-obsessed Smiths. The opening "A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours" more or less repeats the trick of The Queen Is Dead's title track by beginning with a quiet vocal before Morrissey is brought up to the required level. It is a melodic enough piano based track with Morrissey growling the chorus, in place of his affected croon. The pop rush of "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard this One Before" is one of the finest moments on the album, featuring yet another great Morrissey witticism - "nothing's changed, I still love you/But only slightly less than I used to". The concise "Girlfriend in a Coma" still manages to contrast two strikingly different moods, from the bouncing, poppy verse to the pompous strings and anguished croon for the chorus - a masterclass in the brilliance of the Smiths. Perhaps top-calibre pop songs are missing on here (bar "Stop Me") and only really "Girlfriend in a Coma" and "Last Night" match the highlights on the previous album but, all in all, this album remains another brilliant offering. Certainly there is no reason to suppose it is much worse than any of their other albums. It is also proof that the Smiths were one of the very few bands in the whole world that called it quits when they were still absolutely on top of their game. The Smiths didn't need someone dying on them to know when to call it a day - they just needed bitter arguments about money and Morrissey's ego.

Although released in 1993 in England this compilation was originally released in the grand ol' United States in 1987 and is also the year of the last material to feature on here recorded by the lads. This essentially collects all the singles and b-sides together so as a complement to the official studio albums you get practically a complete collection of everything the Smiths did. It also includes material from BBC sessions (thankfully without John Peel) so there's plenty of material repeated on here - "William, It Was Really Nothing", "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", "These Things Take Time", "Back to the Old House", "Hand in Glove", "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" and "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" all getting in on the act, some of them for the third time. Of course, the Smiths were hardly renowned for dramatic reinterpretations of songs, and Marr's rejection of guitar solos means he does not have much room for showing off, so these versions are all pretty much identical to the official versions. I suppose they mean this album can serve as an introduction to their early career but you really might as well just buy Hatful of Hollow. There is a similar compilation, The World Won't Listen, released in Britain at the same time this was released in America but that is more of a greatest hits package as it repeats songs already on albums and also misses out material that is only on here. Therefore this is the only compilation worth owning other than the five albums. Some of the famous single releases are on here including the classic "Panic"; which is probably battling with "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" for the honour of being the Smiths' most famous song. Personally I prefer the latter but there is no doubt "Panic" is yet another classic pop song; also featuring some of Morrissey's least miserable lyrics. The industrial guitar sound of "How Soon Is Now?" is reprised for "Shoplifters of the World Unite", although it is merely average-fantastic Smiths. "Is it Really So Strange?", "Sheila Take a Bow", "Shakespeare's Sister", "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby" and the irrepressible "Ask" are all Smiths' pop of the highest order. Indeed they are all some of the Smiths' jolliest, most light-hearted efforts which makes one wonder whether they deliberately released such larks for the Top Of The Pops crowd, whilst leaving their morose bed-sit classics for the album buyers. As a bonus we also get the touching, low-key "Half a Person" with one of Morrissey's most genuine vocals and his least melodramatic lyrics. That said, there are also songs on here that could perhaps have stayed in the vault. "London" was their attempt at a hard rock song but it just shows it is Marr's jangle that is the key to most songs, whilst "Oscillate Wildly" is an instrumental that reminds us of Morrissey's importance. Remember when I said "Meat is Murder" is their worst song? I was wrong, it's "Golden Lights". It is a cover, not a Morrissey/Marr original, but that doesn't excuse them from recording it in the first place (with someone called Twinkle on vocals). Anyway, poor songs apart, this is certainly a convenient compilation to tie up the loose ends and complete your collection. Not forgetting that a lot of the "new" material on here is absolutely top rate Smiths' pop. There's also a live album, Rank, but I can't believe the Smiths' live experience is worth my £5 so I'll pass, thank you. It just ain't the same without the daffodils.

• Return to the main page

Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk