The Smiths: The Smiths CD Track Listing

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The Smiths The Smiths (1984)
Originally Released February 1984\nCD Edition Released 1987 ??\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths' eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era. On the surface, the Smiths' sound wasn't radically different from traditional British guitar pop -- Johnny Marr's ringing, layered guitars were catchy and melodic -- but it was actually an astonishing subversion of the form, turning the structure inside out. Very few of the songs followed conventional verse-chorus structure, yet they were quite melodic within their own right. Marr's inventive songwriting was made all the more original and innovative by Morrissey's crooning and lyrics. Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality ("Hand in Glove") to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds. While the production of The Smiths is a little pristine, the songs are vital and alive, developing a new, unique voice within pop music. Though the Smiths continued to improve over the course of their career, their debut remains startling and exciting. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com essential recording\nWith their debut album, the Smiths launched an all-too-brief, but profound career that, largely owing to their outspoken lead singer, would be enshrouded in controversy and cultlike devotion. Lyrically, Steven Patrick Morrissey waxed haute poetic about homosexuality ("Hand in Glove") and child murders ("Suffer Little Children"). Musically, this album kicked a hole through the lip-glossed synth-pop that dominated the early-'80s music scene. Still cloaked in the lingering influences of New Romantic new wave and Clash-like punk, this album, like most great rock debuts, represents the group at its most raw and stark. But the core elements of the Smiths' sound, rooted in Morrissey's subtly off-key, morose crooning and nearly freeform lyrical arrangements floating over guitarist Johnny Marr's plucky, concise guitar riffs, are well-established here. The rhythm section displayed a similar relationship: Andy Rourke's mobile bass lines seemed almost to disregard any supportive undertones they could have lent to Mike Joyce's straight-ahead, no nonsense drum patterns. All the tugging and pulling worked brilliantly, cementing the sound that made the Smiths a landmark band of the 1980s. --Beth Bessmer \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSolid if disappointing debut album, April 13, 2005 \nBy Sakos (NH United States)\nThis debut album from The Smiths, while excellent, is nowhere near the quality of their later albums. This has nothing to do with the songwriting and everything to do with the production. The album had already been recorded once using producer Troy Tate (and if you can find a copy of the bootleg Troy Tate Album, you'll be surprised at how much better it is than this). The arrangements and production on this album were altered to the point of sanitizing the music a bit too much. That being said, the songs are top-notch, especially Pretty Girls Make Graves, Suffer Little Children, Still Ill, What Difference Does it Make, Hand in Glove, etc. While I wouldn't recommend this as your first Smiths CD to buy, it's definitely a great album and essential to your Smiths collection. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nIgnore the Naysayers: It's a Masterpiece, May 29, 2004 \nReviewer: A music fan\n\nThis is my favourite Smiths album(not counting compilations). I'm not alone in this either; a Rolling Stone article agreed with me, and so does Mark Simpson, author of 'Saint Morrissey.' (OK, now I probably sound like a Smiths fanatic, but I'm not, I promise; I just happen to like intelligent, accessible, and enthusiastic writing about popular culture!) I admire 'The Queen is Dead,' and 'Strangeways' and 'Meat is Murder' have their many virtues. If you fell in love with 'The Queen is Dead,' it's possible you may not like this as much, because it's quite different. If, however, you liked 'The Queen is Dead' but came away not fully understanding the fuss over this band--try this, as well as (and perhaps first)'Hatful of Hollow,' a radio sessions and B-sides compilation that has better versions of some of these tracks plus more great songs in the same vein. \nPopular music history has been unkind to The Smiths' debut album because the band had already generated enormous expectations before they even released an album and because the legendary poor production apparently failed to do justice to the songs' potential as proven in live performances. This is pure dusty, cobwebbed abstraction to those who discovered The Smiths after they split up, like me. I consider the unpolished nature of the production and of Morrissey's riveting and unearthly voice at this stage an aesthetic enhancement, perfect for these songs about romanticized desolation and squalor. The theme of the album (intended or not) is the passage from innocence to experience through sex or trauma (or traumatic sex), conveyed through ambiguous, evocative and suggestive lyrics that hint at kinkiness without ever being vulgar or sensationalistic. The entirely unique imaginative universe Morrissey introduces the listener to manages to convincingly blend the ordinary and the exotic, allowing the listener to identify but still be intrigued. Johnny Marr's haunting, delicate, achingly melancholy compositions beautifully assist in conjuring this universe. No, not every song is a masterpiece--but 'This Charming Man,' 'Still Ill,' and 'Reel Around the Fountain' are, 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' and 'Suffer Little Children' are must-hears, 'Miserable Lie,' the album's one rock-out, is an insane experience (sort of 'Helter Skelter' with a hoarse falsetto and opposite lyrical content), and the others are seriously catchy, lyrically original guitar-pop. \n\nThere's already plenty of self-mocking irony at work in Morrissey's lyrics, but it's after "Hatful" that his work becomes largely divided into novelty songs and flamboyant melodramas, with some crossover, while Marr becomes increasingly experimental and rocks harder and the production gets slicker. However, this is like arguing about whether The Beatles are better circa 'Revolver' or 'Sgt. Pepper'--buy all the albums, this is one of the greatest bands in pop/rock history. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nStill fresh and vibrant today, July 25, 2002 \nBy VoodooLord7 (Oklahoma, USA)\nIt's hard to realize, now that The Smiths enjoy an almost legendary status, just how different this album sounded when it came out. This, the debut album from The Smiths, came out in 1984, a year in which New Wave was king, and even former hard rockers such as Van Halen had taken to crafting synth-pop. Although Johnny Marr's gently rolling guitar riffs were not radically different from British pop that had come before, it was radically different from what was in vogue at the time, and everything about The Smiths - from their image, dress and appearance, to cover art, and, especially, the lyrics and singing of enigmatic lead singer Morrissey - hit you in the face with their sheer vitality, originality, and freshness. Morrissey's lyrics are what really set the band apart - few of the songs followed traditional verse/chorus structures, his lyrical pacings being almost free-flowing at times - and he sang them in the odd croon (it may turn you off at first, but will eventually grow on you) that is distinctly his. He also chose to tackle subjects that were more than the standard rock fare: in addition to delving deep into harrowing portraits of love won and lost and teenage angst, he also dives into such topics as infanticide (Suffer The Little Children), literary adaptations (Reel Around The Fountain), seeming misogyny (Good Girls Make Graves), and a song apparently about homosexuality, or perhaps masturbation (Hand In Glove.) However, the music - not only that of Marr, but also the solid if unshowy rhythm section - perfectly complimented the music, making for a killer combination and, it is often said, perhaps the last great songwriting team in rock. Although The Smiths would go on to make better and more ambitious albums, their debut announced the arrival of a fresh, exciting, original, and invigorating new band, and remains an essential album and snapshot of the 80's to this day. \n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Annalisa Jablonska, Paul Carrack \nProducer: John Porter \n\nAlbum Notes\nThe Smiths: Morrissey (vocals); Johnny Marr (guitar, harmonica); Andy Rourke (bass); Mike Joyce (drums).\n\nRecorded at Pluto and Eden Studios, Manchester, and Matrix and Strawberry Studios, London in the winter of 1983.\n\nThis self-titled opening salvo of the Smiths' four-year war with mediocrity stands proud as one of the era's most innovative and unique works. Flying in the face of the pomp and artifice that prevailed in pop music at the time, the Smiths raged against their makeup- wearing, synth-playing contemporaries and squarely put rock back on the agenda. Guitarist Johnny Marr married the tunesmanship and harmonic richness of his Motown heroes with the rage of punk, while Morrissey's bedroom confessionals were catnip to England's (and later the world's) disenfranchised youth.\n\nTHE SMITHS demanded, and received, instant attention, desirable and otherwise, making a reluctant guitar hero out of Marr and a poster boy out of Morrissey. The jarring juxtaposition between Marr's lilting, densely-layered guitar lines and Morrissey's lyrics and plaintive delivery makes magic of "This Charming Man" (whose theme of sexual ambiguity was to remain prevalent in the group's work) and the gentle major-seventh chords of "I Don't Owe You Anything." The tender "Suffer Little Children," a paean to a group of murdered children in the band's native Manchester, gave the band their first (though far from their last) taste of public controversy.\n\nIndustry Reviews\nRanked #22 in Rolling Stone's '100 Best Albums of The Eighties' survey.\nRolling Stone Magazine (11/01/1989)\n\n4 Stars - Excellent - ...THE SMITHS gleefully introduced the arts to each other, drawing up party invites that sat Tony Richardson, Dusty Springfield and John Renbourne at the same table... \nQ Magazine (12/01/1993)\n\nRanked #24 among The 50 Greatest Albums Of The '80s.\nNew Musical Express (09/25/1993)\n\nRanked #72 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'\nNew Musical Express (10/02/1993)\n\n[Morrissey] understands the essence of attractive mopiness: Imply, never explain.\n\n
This folk cd contains 11 tracks and runs 45min 37sec.
Freedb: 960aaf0b

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