continued from part I
The Queen is Dead (1986)
Up until this point in their career, the Smiths were in danger of cementing an ambiguous legacy as a superb live band with fantastic singles, but never actually pulling off a five-star album. That changed with The Queen is Dead, as they emphatically resolved the unhappy contrast between vigorous radio hits and tepid studio albums by recording an entire record’s worth of single-quality songs. To be sure, and though the album’s titular opening track threatens a barnstorming change in musical direction, The Queen is Dead ultimately sees the Smiths stick to their familiar blueprint of positioning jangly indie dancefloor hits (“Bigmouth Strikes Again”, “Boy With the Thorn in his Side”, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”) alongside slower-paced, sexually frustrated miserabilism (“I Know It’s Over”, “Never Had No One Ever”), with a few frivolous wildcards thrown in for good measure (“Frankly Mr Shankly”, “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others”). What sets The Queen is Dead apart is sheer vigour and consistency; it positively bombards the listener with an unrelenting succession of 80s alternative rock classics, and there’s not a bum note to be heard, adding up to a flawless, frequently hilarious summation of everything that made the Smiths great.
Overall Rating: * * * * *
Standout track: “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”
Louder than Bombs (1987)
It could be considered a sign of cash grabbing cynicism, or perhaps monumental hubris, that by 1987 the Smiths had released as many compilations as studio albums. But whereas Hatful of Hollow makes for an uneven listen, Louder than Bombs is an unmitigated triumph. It was initially created for the American market, bringing together all of the non-album singles and B-sides which at that point had been unavailable in the US, and as a listening experience, it’s one of the finest moments in the Smith’s fragmented and byzantine body of work. Once again, the fact that trademark songs such as “Panic”, “Shoplifters of the World Unite”, “Sheila Take a Bow” and “Ask” never actually featured on a studio album rather underlines the case for them being a better singles than albums band. That case is only strengthened by B-sides such as “Half a Person”, “Rubber Ring”, and the devastatingly sad “Asleep”, which knock most of their non-Queen is Dead album tracks out of the park. Maybe it’s part of the charm of the band that they did things so idiosyncratically, but as a lover of Ordnung, I rather wish that all of these classic songs had been concentrated into four neat studio albums rather than scattered across a perplexing discography.
Overall rating: * * * *
Standout track: “Rubber Ring”
Strangeways Here We Come (1987)
To some degree, Strangeways Here We Come is unmistakeably a classic Smiths album, a record replete with jangle pop bangers and arch lyricism. In fact, it could be argued that the glamy “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish”, the wryly humorous “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”, and the sweetly cynical “Girlfriend in a Coma” represent the zenith and most perfect rendering of the Morrissey / Marr formula, with abundant room left over for melodramatic slow burners such as “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.” And yet, Strangeways also essays a subtle shift away from the Smiths’ trademark sound, and toward the more experimental mien of Morrissey’s early solo records. The album opens with the menacing, piano-driven “A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours”, while the eerie, expansive postpunk of “Death of a Disco Dancer” foregoes the Smiths’ usual detached irony to deliver a genuinely unsettling, almost nihilistic message. Indeed, the profound jadedness of Morrissey’s solo career is disconcertingly evident on Strangeways: “Paint a Vulgar Picture” taps a rich vein of hatred for the amoral and exploitative music industry, while “Unhappy Birthday” is an unspeakably bitter poison pen letter to a former friend. A more than worthy sendoff.
Overall rating: * * * *
Standout track: “Girlfriend in a Coma”
Ranking
1. The Queen is Dead (* * * * *)
2. Louder than Bombs (* * * *)
3. Strangeways, Here We Come (* * * *)
4. The Smiths (* * *)
5. Hatful of Hollow (* * *)
6. Meat is Murder (* * *)
Selected playlist
1. The Queen is Dead
2. This Charming Man
3. Bigmouth Strikes Again
4. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
5. Girlfriend in a Coma
6. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
7. Hand in Glove
8. What Difference Does It Make?
9. How Soon Is Now?
10. Asleep