The Smiths-Louder Than Bombs

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/27/09.

By late 1986 after the release of the band's third studio album The Queen Is Dead, the Smiths were truly the band young audiences counted as an alternative to the mainstream pop music scene in Britain. Despite some chart success with singles and albums, the Smiths were still considered underground heroes as their lack of commercial profile frustrated singer/lyricist Morrissey. In early 1987, Rough Trade and EMI released the compilation album The World Won't Listen that consisted of more rarities, B-sides, and non-LP singles. While the album was a hit with fans, the record was not released in the U.S. as they were a cult band in that country. The album would be released as an import prompting Rough Trade and EMI to compile an expanded version of The World Won't Listen with some changes for its U.S. audience through the band's U.S. label Sire Records. The album would be released in March of 1987 as Louder Than Bombs.

Louder Than Bombs is an album consisting of twenty-four tracks filled with non-LP singles, B-sides, radio session tracks, and other rarities. Expanding The World Won't Listen with a few alterations in terms of different versions of a couple of tracks. The album is meant to give fans the chance to hear rarities and B-sides they didn't have at the time. Especially U.S. fans as the record includes tracks from the Hatful of Hollow compilation that still wasn't out in the U.S. Filled with many highlights from the band including BBC radio sessions with John Peel from December of 1986 plus another Peel session that was heard previously from the Hatful of Hollow compilation. Louder Than Bombs is a superb, exciting compilation record from the Smiths.

The album opens with Is It Really So Strange?, a B-side track from the Sheila Takes A Bow single and from John Peel's December ‘86 session. The mid-tempo, bouncy track led by Johnny Marr's washy guitar track and thumping rhythms by drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke. With Morrissey's witty, sardonic lyrics and calm, wailing vocals, it's a great opener to reveal the gems the band has. The non-LP single Sheila Takes A Bow is another upbeat song with a blaring horn intro and thrashing guitar track that becomes this smooth yet powerful song with Joyce's hard-pounding drums and Rourke's growling guitar accompaniment. With Morrissey's melancholic yet direct lyrics and engaging vocals, it's one of the band's great singles proving the band's sense of prowess while remaining simple which includes a guitar slide in the background by John Porter. Another great non-LP single Shoplifters Of The World Unite features a smooth, chug-like rhythm from Marr's guitar and the rhythm section of Joyce and Rourke. With Morrissey's calm vocals and very political-driven lyrics that are very poignant. Featuring a wailing solo from Marr near the coda, it's one of the band's best cuts.

Sweet And Tender Hooligan, a B-side from Sheila Takes A Bow and from the Peel December ‘86 session, opens with Marr's shimmering guitar note before going into this fast, pounding track with rumbling, rapid drums by Joyce and Marr's jangly, washy guitar track. With Morrissey singing fast, sardonic lyrics filled with angst along with direct vocals, it's the band being a bit primal in their sound while keeping true to their sound. Half A Person, a B-side for Shoplifters Of The World Unite, is a ballad with smooth, thumping rhythms and Craig Gannon's washy acoustic guitar accompaniment along with Marr's electric guitar arpeggio flourishes. Morrissey's soft, elegant vocals filled with melancholia is a poignant song filled with very personal lyrics that prove his brilliance as a lyricist. London, another B-side from Shoplifters Of The World Unite, is a rollicking, punk-inspired track with hard-pounding beats and crunching guitar riffs from Marr and Gannon along with Rourke's wobbly bass fuzz. With Morrissey getting a bit confrontational in his vocals with descriptive lyrics about the city, it's a great B-side showing the band delving into their punk influences with help from Stephen Street's mix on the drums.

The non-LP single Panic with Craig Gannon on rhythm guitar, is a rich, upbeat song filled with Marr's intricate, arpeggio flourishes that opens the song with Joyce's pounding drums and Morrissey's angry, dramatic vocals. With his wailing, near-operatic vocals, Morrissey sings a verse about the music that is being played that says nothing to him while wanting to burn down the disco and hang the DJ. Girl Afraid, a B-side for Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now that also appeared in Hatful of Hollow, is a rich, upbeat track with bouncy rhythms and Marr's jangly, intricate arpeggio melodies that complements Morrissey's calm, melancholic vocals filled with morose lyrics. The non-LP single Shakespeare's Sister is a fast, rollicking track led by Joyce's rapid drumming and Marr's washy, slithering guitar tracks. With Morrissey singing through a hollow mix, it's one of the band's key singles filled with a blues-bar based rollicking rhythm and Morrissey's dramatic lyrics. The single William, It Was Really Nothing from Hatful of Hollow appears with its swift rhythm, Marr's rich, arpeggio guitar flourishes, and Morrissey's morose lyrics.

Next is a remix of an aborted single entitled You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby, a mid-tempo song that features bouncy rhythms from Joyce and Rourke's low bass line along with Marr's rich, arpeggio guitar melodies. With Morrissey's calm, glorious vocals that sings along to the song's somber lyrics, it's a great song that shows a gem unearthed by the band. The non-LP single Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now from Hatful of Hollow, is one of the band's rich singles with Marr's flourishing guitar chimes, Morrissey's melacholic lyrics and dramatic vocals, and a smooth, thumping rhythm from Joyce and Rourke. The non-LP single Ask appears in a remixed form than in its original single features Craig Gannon on rhythm guitar and backing vocals from Kirsty MacColl. With its upbeat rhythms, washy acoustic guitar riffs, and Morrissey's somber vocals filled with morose, lonely lyrics that includes MacColl singing along in the latter-half of the chorus. With Marr's rich arpeggio guitars in the background, it's one of the band's key singles.

The B-side for Ask is a cover of Twinkle's Golden Lights that also features Gannon and MacColl with John Porter providing drum machine tracks in the background. With a haunting, shimmering intro that accompanies MacColl's vocals with soft, sputtering drum machines and Marr's intricate guitar. With Morrissey and MacColl singing along with a warbled vocal mix and Marr's rich guitar along with Rourke's wobbly bass and Joyce's tapping drums. Oscillate Wildly is a B-side for How Soon Is Now? that is essentially an instrumental track with a piano melody that opens the track with Joyce's tapping drums, Rourke's warbling bass, and Marr's washy guitar track. Then it becomes this thumping track with Joyce's snare beats and Marr's washy guitar chimes that is followed by spurting keyboard melodies. These Things Take Time is an upbeat track that is a B-side for What Difference Does It Make? and appeared from Hatful of Hollow. With its rich, intricate guitar work from Johnny Marr, thumping rhythms, and Morrissey's low-wailing vocals and direct lyrics, it's another of the band's great B-sides.

Rubber Ring, a B-side for The Boy With A Thorn In His Side, features swanky guitar riffs from Marr and Rourke's wobbly bass line. With Joyce's smooth, thumping drums joining in, Morrissey sings witty, sardonic lyrics filled with melancholic references to great songs of the past. With Marr's flourishing chimes in the background, it's another fantastic song from the band featuring voices talking in the coda. Back To The Old House, a B-side for What Difference Does It Make? that also appeared from Hatful of Hollow, is a rich ballad led by Marr's rich guitar melodies and Morrissey's somber vocals filled with melancholic lyrics. Another track that appeared from Hatful of Hollow is the single version of Hand In Glove, the band's first single that defined the Smiths' sound. An alternate version of Stretch Out And Wait, a B-side for Shakespeare's Sister, is an acoustic ballad featuring Marr's rich, washy guitar, soft tapping rhythms, and Morrissey's somber vocals filled with melancholic-laden lyrics. The song's presentation reveals the band's brilliance in its simplicity and approach to ballads that often revels in Morrissey's amazing vocals.

Two tracks from Hatful of Hollow appear next, first is the acoustic ballad Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want that is a B-side for William, It Was Really Nothing. The second is This Night Has Opened My Eyes from the September ‘83 John Peel session, the haunting song featuring Marr's spurting guitars, smooth, thumping rhythms, and Morrissey's hollow vocals filled with eerie lyrics. Unloveable, a B-side for Bigmouth Strikes Again, is a ballad led by Marr's washy, jangly guitar, thumping rhythms, and Morrissey's soothing vocals. Filled with morose, somber lyrics, it's another fascinating B-side that features Morrissey's superb vocals and Marr's rich guitar work along with a soft cowbell in the background. The album closer is Asleep, a B-side for The Boy With A Thorn In His Side, is another ballad led by Marr's somber piano playing to Morrissey's brilliant vocals filled with soothing, sad lyrics about death. A simple piano ballad with just Marr and Morrissey, it's a fitting closer to the album.

Five tracks that appear in the U.K. compilation record The World Won't Listen are two single versions for That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore and The Boy With The Thorn On His Side plus an alternate mix of You Just Haven't Earned It, Baby and an alternate version of Stretch Out And Wait with different opening lyrics and an alternate vocal mix. Another exclusive track that appeared in cassette versions of that album is a song called Money Changes Everything. An instrumental track with thumping, twangy rhythms led by Rourke's bass and Marr's swanky guitar, and synthesized strings to explore the band's versatile music styles. When Louder Than Bombs was released on March 1987 in the U.S., the record came out two months later in the U.K. to great success. For the Smiths, it helped raise their profile to the mainstream as they were set to make their fourth album. Yet, rising tension between Morrissey and Johnny Marr along with pressures from EMI to make another hit album that would get the band bigger would only mark the beginning of the end for the Smiths.

Louder Than Bombs is a brilliant, sprawling compilation album from the Smiths. While the album contains many B-sides, non-LP singles, and rarities that fans would love, it's incomplete due to the material that didn't make it from The World Won't Listen plus tracks that already appeared from Hatful of Hollow. While the record is essential for fans of the Smiths, it's an album that shows the band's brilliance with their B-sides and singles proving that there's a lot of gems that don't appear in their studio albums. In the end, Louder Than Bombs is a superb album that fills all of the need for great music from the Smiths.

The Smiths Albums: The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow - Meat is Murder - The Queen is Dead - Strangeways, Here We Come

(C) thevoid99 2011

The Smiths-The Queen is Dead

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/25/09.

Following the release of Meat Is Murder, the Smiths were clearly one of Britain's rising bands with two studio albums and a compilation of rarities to help them. Along with non-LP singles, the Smiths were becoming a big touring band playing to sellout clubs where fans often would join them on stage. After a tour that had the band play to U.S. audiences, the band returned to the studio in the late summer of 1985 to record their third album with their longtime engineer Stephen Street. While guitarist Johnny Marr was dealing with exhaustion over the recording and touring schedule, the band was having some problems with their label Rough Trade. Despite the creative freedom the label gave the band, business issues hampered the relationship that would lead the band to eventually sign with EMI much to the dismay of some fans. Around the same time, Rough Trade delayed the new album for months after it was finished in the fall of 1985.

In September 1985, the band released a rough mix of their new single entitled The Boy With The Thorn His Side that would garner the band another hit. In early 1986, bassist Andy Rourke was briefly fired from the band due to his heroin use as he was replaced by former Aztec Camera guitarist Craig Gannon. When Rourke was decided to be brought back with Gannon as a rhythm guitarist, the band briefly became a five-piece where in May 1986, the band released the single Bigmouth Strikes Again that would cause anticipation for the release of the Smiths' third album entitled The Queen Is Dead.

Written and produced by Morrissey and Johnny Marr with engineering work from Stephen Street with the exception of one song engineered by John Porter. The Queen Is Dead is an album that expands the Smiths sound with broader arrangements, acoustic flourishes, varied styles like punk, rockabilly, British Invasion, and the band's rich jangle-pop sound. Along with the use of synthesized string arrangements by Johnny Marr, vocalist Morrissey takes on new lyrical territory ranging from the interpersonal to more angrier lyrics directed at critics, bosses, and other figures. The result isn't just the band's best album but also one of the best albums of the 1980s.

The album opens with the title track that features an intro of Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty from Bryan Forbes' 1962 film The L-Shaped Room where people are singing the song. The track fades into a rapid, rumbling drum performance from Mike Joyce that is intense and pummeling as it goes into a full track of Andy Rourke's driving bass line, Johnny Marr's chugging guitar riffs, and Morrissey's calm, engaging vocals. Filled with angst-ridden lyrics, the song is a powerful song that expands the Smiths sound with Marr's warbling guitar washes with a production that is more crisp and layered than in previous albums. Frankly Mr. Shankly is a smooth, bouncy track with Rourke's wobbly bass line and Marr's spurting semi-acoustic guitar washes. With Morrissey's quirky, witty lyrics, the song goes into a bouncy mid-tempo track thanks in part to Mike Joyce's pounding drums. With Morrissey's wailing vocals and Marr's driving guitar.

I Know It's Over is a ballad led by Morrissey's haunting yet dramatic vocals filled with melancholic lyrics and a slow accompanying rhythm from Joyce and Rourke with Marr's smooth acoustic guitar washes. With Joyce playing tapping beats for the verse and a more traditional drum accompaniment on the chorus along with Marr's rich, arpeggio-laden guitar melodies, it reveals the unique approach the band takes towards song structure. Never Had No One Ever is a slow yet mid-tempo track with Joyce's pulsating drums, Rourke's low bass rumbles, and Marr's washy guitar riffs with chiming melodies. Morrissey's vocals are dramatic in its melancholia as he sings lyrics filled with despair and angst. With Morrissey's wailing, operatic-style vocals and Marr's haunting keyboard accompaniment, it's a track that displays the band's unique sound taken into new heights.

Cemetery Gates is a smooth, upbeat track with Joyce's swift, pulsating track and hi-hat cymbal taps along with Rourke's rockabilly-style bass lines. With Marr's washy, arpeggio-laden guitar tracks accompanying Morrissey's calm, engaging vocals. The song's lyrics filled with subtle attacks on critics revealed his wit and humor as Marr's guitar and the band's rhythm provide a soothing accompaniment. Bigmouth Strikes Again is an upbeat track with swift, rapid rhythms and Marr's opening acoustic guitar washes. With Morrissey's calm, superb vocals leading the track, the song's lyrics are filled with wit and direct references over a character's comments. With Marr's intricate, apreggio-chime driven flourishes, the song features Morrissey singing in a high-pitch backing vocal as it's one of the band's best singles.

Another single, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side is a mid-tempo track led by Marr's washy acoustic guitar track filled with his electric, chime-laden flourishes and a thumping rhythm from Joyce and Rourke. With Morrissey's calm, wailing vocals, the song is filled with melancholic lyrics that are filled with despair and angst making it one of the band's most poignant singles. Most notably, Johnny Marr's rich guitar solo filled with intricate, melodic arpeggio riffs as the album version contains a background of synthesized string arrangements. Vicar In A Tutu is a rollicking, thumping track with bouncy rhythms, Marr's arpeggio-laden guitar melodies meshed with rockabilly riffs, and Morrissey's witty, humorous lyrics. With Joyce and Rourke providing a thumping, rockabilly style rhythm to the track, it's a song that works to maintain the Smith's sound in a different style while emphasizing on Morrissey's sense of humor.

The ballad There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is one of the band's most majestic songs with its soothing, mid-tempo rhythm, Marr's somber guitar washes, and Morrissey's calm yet enchanting vocals. Filled with lyrics about longing and loneliness, it's one of Morrissey's poignant moments due to its lyrics and an amazing arrangement of synthesized string by Marr to accompany the song in its chorus and coda. The album closer Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others fades in and out with Marr's intricate, melodic guitar flourishes and thumping rhythms from Joyce's drums and Rourke's wobbly bass track. With Morrissey's soothing, wailing vocals and melancholic lyrics filled with imagery-laden description, it's a fitting closer to the album that ends with a flourishing yet somber instrumental coda.

Released in June 1986, the album would become the Smiths most acclaimed album to date while reaching number 2 in the U.K. charts. In the U.S., the album peaked at 70 while being a hit record in the underground and college rock music scenes. Despite its success and acclaim, the Smiths forged on with non-LP hit singles as they were briefly a five-piece until October 1986 when Craig Gannon left the band. While the band would sign with EMI, the new deal would give the band the chance to be exposed to wider audiences in the months to come.

The Queen Is Dead is an elegant, superb, and brilliant masterpiece from the Smiths. Thanks to a layered and crisp production by Morrissey and Johnny Marr with help from Stephen Street and John Porter. It's album that is filled amazing songs carried by three classic singles and album cuts that are truly brilliant. Of the band's studio albums, this is the band's best album as it's an album that has a great flow of songs from start to finish. A sound that is broad yet simple and featuring some of Morrissey's best lyrics. In the end, The Queen Is Dead is truly the Smiths' greatest achievement.

The Smiths Albums: The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow - Meat is Murder - Louder than Bombs - Strangeways, Here We Come

(C) thevoid99 2011

The Smiths-S/T

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/21/09.

In the early 1980s, British music had just entered a new phase following the demise of punk. With post-punk and Goth still entrenched in the underground and heavy metal still gaining a following outside of the mainstream. Pop music in Britain was being dominated by a slew of synthesizer-driven pop bands and major label artists that were wearing slick clothes, weird hairdos, and singing songs that didn't really mean much to people. Particularly for those who weren't living in London and couldn't relate to people like Phil Collins and Tina Turner as guitar-driven music fell by the wayside due to synthesizers and leftover 70s rock. In 1984, all of that would change in pop music by four young men from Manchester who would start a revolution of British indie music that would provide British fans a new alternative. That band were simply known as the Smiths.

Formed in 1982, the band consisted of vocalist Steven Patrick Morrissey, guitarist John Maher, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce. The band chose the name the Smiths as a reaction towards the pompous names of several acts at the time like Spandau Ballet with Morrissey performing in his surname while John Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer of the same name. In 1983, the band signed with the independent label Rough Trade records were they recorded sessions with Troy Tate that didn't prove good results as it would later be a popular bootleg. After finding a proper producer in John Porter, the Smiths would finally record and release their seminal self-titled debut in February of 1984.

Produced by John Porter and the Smiths, the band's self-titled debut is an album filled with melodic, jangly, and witty music that would define the British indie music scene in the years to come. With songs written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the album is filled with simplistic, layered songs with abstract yet melancholic lyrics about alienation, identity, and oppression from Morrissey's unique point of view in his wailing, engaging vocals. Along with Johnny Marr's intricate guitar playing with a 12-string semi-acoustic guitar, Andy Rourke's melodic bass accompaniment, and Mike Joyce's smooth, thundering, precision-approach drumming. The Smiths' self-titled debut would be one of the great debut albums that would begin a fantastic period for British indie music.

The album opens with Reel Around The Fountain that begins with a smooth, mid-tempo rhythm from Mike Joyce's drums and Andy Rourke's slow bass accompaniment. With Morrissey leading the away with his smooth, tenor vocals and Johnny Marr's rich, arpeggio, melodic guitar. With Joyce's smooth rumbling on the drums, Morrissey's harrowing lyrics of nostalgia and despair, and Marr's guitar driving the song that features Paul Carrack's soft piano and organ accompaniment. It's a fitting opener that provides the template of who the Smiths are. You've Got Everything Now is an upbeat, swanky track led by the bouncy rhythms of Joyce's drums and Rourke's loopy bass lines. With Marr leading with his washy, jangly guitars, Morrissey sings the song with his melancholic tenor and dramatic lyrics to match its dreary tone. With Morrissey singing some falsetto vocal notes on some parts of the song, it's the bouncy rhythm and Marr's swanky guitar washes that provide the song's rich sound.

Miserable Lie is a mid-tempo song with a smooth, thumping rhythm and Marr's intricate, arpeggio-laden guitar work. With Morrissey singing in a bass-like tenor, detached vocal style, it starts off slow before going into a swift, upbeat presentation with its fast, precise drums and Marr's washy guitars as Morrissey continues to sing. With its dark, dramatic lyrics, Morrissey sings in various styles while going into a falsetto style that features Marr's ringing, chime-like guitar flourishes. Pretty Girls Make Graves is a loopy, mid-tempo track with Morrissey's calm, smooth vocals as he sings dark lyrics filled with humor and imagery. With its bouncy rhythm featuring rumbling breaks from Joyce and Marr's washy, jangly guitar melodies driving the song, it's a standout cut from the album. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is another mid-tempo number led by Marr's ringing arpeggio guitar melodies and a bouncy rhythm led by Joyce's thumping drums and Rourke's loopy bass lines. With Morrissey singing in a smooth, tenor-like vocal, he sings lyrics that are filled with descriptive lyrics of despair as its rhythm and Marr's guitar continues to maintain the song's dark tone.

The single This Charming Man is an upbeat, bouncy song with thumping rhythms from Joyce's drums, Rourke's warbling bass lines, and Marr's intricate, melodic, arpeggio flourishes. With Morrissey singing lyrics filled with wit and melancholia, his vocals shine in its dramatic style. With Marr's guitar leading the track along with Morrissey's vocals and lyrics, it's truly one of the band's high moments as the song is a bonus track in the record. Still Ill is another upbeat song that opens with chugging rhythms and Marr's scratchy guitar that later becomes a rich, arpeggio-laden accompaniment to Morrissey's smooth, wailing vocals as he sings dramatic yet poignant lyrics. With Marr's guitar playing being a highlight for its accompaniment and richness, it serves as a nice complement to Morrissey's vocal that is given full support by the bouncy rhythm of Joyce and Rourke. The album's first single Hand In Glove appears in a more polished, remixed version than its original single version. With Marr's ringing, chime-laden guitar melodies, thumping rhythms, and Morrissey's witty, ambiguous lyrics about love. It's one of the band's key moments as it defines the unique sound of the Smiths.

The third single What Difference Does It Make? is a mid-tempo song led by Marr's ringing guitar melodies that drives the song along with Joyce's hard-hitting snare drums and Morrissey's detached, eerie vocals filled with dark, engaging lyrics. With its smooth, mid-tempo thumping rhythms, it's another classic song from the band that is led by Morrissey's vocals and the jangly guitar work of Johnny Marr. I Don't Owe You Anything is a smooth track with a slow, thumping rhythm led by Joyce's drums and Rourke's melodic bass. With Marr's swanky wash and rich, arpeggio guitar melodies, Morrissey sings in a smooth, calm vocal with dramatic, witty lyrics. Featuring a soft, keyboard accompaniment from Paul Carrack, it's another song that works to show the band's range in performance. The album closer Suffer Little Children is a smooth, haunting track with melodic bass lines, tapping beats, and Marr's ringing, jangly guitar melodies. With Morrissey singing dark lyrics about murders with a calm, restrained vocal that prove to be soothing. Despite the song's dark subject matter and rich, unique presentation with its slow but steady rhythms along with Marr's rich guitar playing. It's a fitting closer to the band's debut album.

When the album came out in early 1984, it would prove to be an influential record in its release. With hit singles for This Charming Man, What Difference Does It Make?, and the non-LP singles Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and William, It Was Really Nothing that featured the song How Soon Is Now?. The band's debut record would be a hit in the world of the British underground scene with legendary radio DJ John Peel championing the band. It would start a great period for the Smiths where in the years to come, they would become the band fans of non-mainstream music could count on as their debut would later prove to be influential in the years ahead.

The Smiths' self-titled debut is a brilliant debut record from the band. With its classic singles and several album cuts that proved to just as good as those early hit singles. It's a record that is a must-have for fans of the legendary band while those new to the Smiths and wanting to avoid best-of compilations should find this as a nice place to start. This is a record that reveals where the British indie sound really kind of started that would prove to be influential in the 1990s while exemplifying the dramatic style of Morrissey that would also prove to be influential with several of today's indie and, to a lesser degree, emo bands. In the end, the Smiths' debut record is a great debut album that would be the start of something great from the legendary band.

The Smiths Albums: Hatful of Hollow - Meat is Murder - The Queen is Dead - Louder Than Bombs - Strangeways, Here We Come

(C) thevoid99 2011