It struck me the other day that it's got a lot of the one liners I most like on it. I like its production too, though others don't. Morrissey must have been virtually unintelligible live at this stage (presumably pre-singing lessons) but the fragility of his vocals work really well on here.

The only weak bit is Suffer Little Children- wonderful tune, but the lyrics aren't really up to the theme.

Always had you down as more of a Reggae man, Tubbs.

Actually, the production is one of the problems I have with that album as it just doesn't sound quite right. This is not surprising since the recording of it was a bit rushed after the first version of the album was rejected. It may be predictable but I think The Queen is Dead is their best album.

Yeah, I think everyone's meant to worship Meat Is Murder, but The Queen is Dead was always my favourite.

Disco Child Ballads wrote:


I agree. There are also a couple of really weak efforts on there. Like you say, there’s an impatience to it, like they knew there was so much better to come and wanted to get on with it. As for my favourite, it's Strangeways, Here We Come. It's not better than any of their other long players, it's just the one I always stick on first when I want to listen to The Smiths.

I've banged together my own Smniths compilation, but the The World Won't Listen singles A and B-side collection was my go-to Smiths album after their break-up.

All their albums have really annoying songs which I prefer to skip, or they might make me hate The Smiths. But the great tracks on The Queen Is Dead are so majestic, I can forgive rubbish like "Som,e Girls Are Bigger Than Others" and "Frankly Mr Shankley". (I like "Cemetery Gates" despite itself).

I've never thought that "Some Girls" is a bad song. Maybe I try to tune out the lyrics and just listen to the guitars.

BTW, EIM posted this demo of "There Is A Light" on Facebook a few days ago, and it's great:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWJ3NxrWCsE

I think there's a case for saying that The Smiths, song for song, is their best album* - but it doesn't quite knit together as well as some of the others, the way Meat is Murder does thematically, or the way Hatful of Hollow (not a studio album I know) or The Queen is Dead do in terms of their production values and sound. Tune-wise, Suffer Little Children is the best song on it though, and, I would argue, the best four and a half minutes of Johnny Marr's entire career. The guitar riff on it is spine-chillingly awesome.

* If you listed every single Smiths song in quality order, giving points for the best to the worst in descending order, I reckon The Smiths would come out on top - I came perilously close to actually compiling said list in my more bored moments as a teenager.

Missed chance. Now you're a dad, you won't have the time for this, not for the next twenty years.

(There are some different lyrics in that demo version, aren't there?)

Incandenza wrote:


Racey earworm:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i15ALD6fsUU

I must admit I really like Some Girls, as silly as the words may be.

As for best album I lean towards The Queen, then remember that the sublime Girlfriend in a Coma is on Strangeways. Too difficult so I usually end up putting this on:

The Smiths is Morrissey's best album. Meat Is Murder is Marr & Rourke's best album (listen to the lead & bass throughout). I think there's too much on the last two albums that just repeats the themes of the first two, without adding anything. The Queen Is Dead just lapses into comedy too much.

But a lot of this is a response to how I was developing at the time. In 1984 I was 18 and the first album was perfect. In 1987 I was 21 and wanted something with more harmonic range, like Pet Sounds or Astral Weeks or classic jazz. Three years is a long time to be fixated on one band, especially a guitar band, whose harmonies are quite limited compared to, say, The Beach Boys.

See also this thread:

www.wsc.co.uk/forum-index/29-music/52558...hs-songs-that-endure