Reel Around The Fountain (The Smiths - The Smiths)

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	The Smiths - The Smiths
Date:	05/03/08 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An interesting album with some strong strongs

Disadvantages: Production is a bit flat

The Smiths long awaited debut album was first released in 1984 and, although the production raised a few eyebrows (of which more later), it served as an interesting and often inspired introduction to the short lived but fondly remembered group.

The potential of the group was immediately apparent from the record. With their tall and defiantly strange frontman and mop-topped guitar hero Johnny Marr, The Smiths were (with apologies to any Shed 7 fans who might be reading this) the last truly great British band.


Cover

A somewhat cheeky cover photo of Joe Dallesandro taken from Andy Warhol's 'Flesh'.


The Songs

REEL AROUND THE FOUNTAIN

A deceptively simple but very catchy song that builds on a drum beat. "It's time the tale was told," sings Morrissey at the beginning. This is a young man with a lot to get off his chest and via The Smiths he did. Mozzer sounds a bit mournful on this (his voice was a bit heavier in the early days) but a simmering sexual tension (mixed with a bit of 'Carry-On') within the song eventually leads to lines like "Slap me on the patio, I'll take it slow." A very strong song only hampered by a production that fails to lift it up and make it sound bigger.


YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING NOW

A faster song, this clips along in an entertaining fashion with some wailing vocals at times. Morrissey contrasts his success at school with the failure of boys - but as adults they've switched places and Morrissey has made 'a terrible mess of my life.' The twist is that he might be singing from their point of view about him, should you read the song that way. Morrissey then delves deeper and asks who is really rich or poor because he has never seen the adult boy (who might be Morrissey himself) laugh.


MISERABLE LIE

This song begins like a ballad and then goes very heavy with Morrissey snapping lyrics very quickly. Morrissey sings about a girl here although their encounter leaves him to conclude that love is just 'a miserable lie'. Some great lines including; 'What do we get for our trouble and pain?/just a rented room in Whalley Range.'


PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES

A nicely atmospheric song with distinctive lyrics a lot closer to poetry than you'll find on most albums. The title was taken from Jack Kerouac. Some famous Morrissey lines including;

"I could have been wild and I could have
Been free
But Nature played this trick on me"


THIS CHARMING MAN

Johnny Marr's jangling guitars and Andy Rourke's bass provide an instantly recognisable tune for Morrissey to work with. The single sounds like a fizzy wall of sound pop tune from the sixties but with typically Morrisseyesque lyrics:

"Punctured bicycle,
On a hillside desolate,
Will nature make a man of me yet?"

This is one of the famous, recognisable early singles that helped break The Smiths.


STILL ILL

"I decree that life is simply taking and not giving," sings Morrissey on Still Ill, a song that plays like a less pretty version of Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now. The general air of young free spirits on the dole is summed up in the lines;

"Under the iron bridge we kissed,
and although I ended up with sore lips,
it just wasn't like the old days anymore."


HAND IN GLOVE

The Smiths' first single introduces us to the distinctive world view of the young Morrissey;

"Hand in glove,
The sun shines out of our behinds,
Yes, we may be hidden by rags,
But we've something they'll never have."

In The Smiths' landscape the outsider is celebrated through self-deprecation and drama and humour go side by side. The song is poppy and homemade sounding.


WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE

Another famous early single with a wonderful wall of sound guitar masterclass from Johnny Marr based Jo Jo Gunne's "Run Run Run". This is quicker than a lot of Smiths' songs and has a great riff running through it. Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, two excellent musicians overshadowed by Morrissey and Marr, both make themselves felt on this song with their contributions.


I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING

A lovely tune by Johnny Marr provides the backdrop for a gentle Morrissey meditation that ends on an optimistic note. The song captures the feeling of wanting to see someone and going out of your way to even though you aren't completely sure if you'll be welcome.


SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN

A song that sparked tabloid outrage at the time. This is about the Moors Murders. As usual, the tabloids missed the point. This haunting and delicate song is about the shadow that that indescribably awful event left over Manchester and was approved by the relatives of the victims. You could also say it's a tribute to the children, although whether such a subject should have been tackled at all is down to your own personal view.


'The Smiths' is a strong debut album with three classic singles and other single worthy fare like Reel Around The Fountain. The production, which Morrissey and Marr have retrospectively criticised, is a little flat though and makes the songs sound less distinctive than they perhaps should have individually. For this reason the album just misses a five star rating.

The somewhat homemade sound on the album at times is not without charm but The Smiths put out better records with better production after this debut.

Still highly recommended though overall.

Summary: Worth a listen