A smile lights up her stupid face... (The Smiths - The Smiths)

Member Name: ronniec

Product:	The Smiths - The Smiths
Date:	18/07/01 (559 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Mix of classics and excellent originals., One of their greatest tracks., Peak of lyrical achievement?

Disadvantages: Slightly poor sound quality on some tracks.

The Smiths' self-titled debut album, released in 1984, met with NME's usual critical acclaim. Y'know, "the next Stones", "have the new Beatles arrived?", all the usual questions they feel obliged to ask of a new band at least once a year. Although you'd generally be foolish to listen to their opinion too seriously, in this case in late '83, they were unquestionably correct. A year or so after signing to their first record label, The Smiths got round to releasing this album, recorded in both London and Manchester over a period of several months.

Since beginning to really get into music, it's always been my opinion that debut albums are rarely bettered. Manchester bands, in particular - think Joy Division, Oasis, Stone Roses. Debut albums, I guess, are the first outpouring of anger and tension the band has, so it all gets crammed in there at one hundred rpm. I know that if I had the talent and opportunity to record an album with Johnny Marr, I'd make sure to get my two penn'orth in before the chance passed, having finally come at last. Morrissey, seemingly so ever-confident, might not have felt his chance would be so fleeting, but the anger and resentment is expressed most thoroughly in this album regardless.

The beauty of Morrissey's lyrics lies in the beauty of his words, and this album is perhaps the pinnacle of his achievements in that respect. Of course, this is a very personal opinion, and there is so much of merit in their other three albums that to highlight this over those is probably very unfair. Yet still, the sheer mastery he has over his language can rarely have been bettered in musical history, Beatles, Dylan and Buckley included. The Smiths is a collection of modern musical poetry, dealing not with green hills and faraway lands, but sandy bays and Whalley Range. Taking the album as a whole, it is almost a dictionary for life - the meaning of all those situations explained, all the
problems pored over until perhaps, somewhere in the distance, an answer awaits you. Ultimately, for me at least, that is the point of The Smiths, this album in particular.

The album itself is made up of a fair mix of "Best Of..." staples alongside the hidden gems that only original albums offer. Indeed, it is testament to their talent that so many tracks from their debut album would go on to feature in collections twenty years later - This Charming Man, Hand In Glove and What Difference Does It Make? to name but a few. Squeezed in between these behemoths are the real beauties, the tracks which make the album - the reasons for buying the album. You've Got Everything Now is a real hark back to early 80s Manchester - gloom, depression, overcast skies and overhanging buildings, and music which reflected that. Almost ska at times, it features their trademark upbeat backing to Morrissey's gloomy lyrics, a glorious tale of the loser winning in the end - the precursor to Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now. Miserable Lie casts the resentment of Manchester in lead role. It is an almost Romeo And Juliet-like story, the different worlds we can find ourselves living in, that keeping us apart, and that dawning upon us. The beat is furiously fast and is reminiscent of a softer late 70s punk sound, very unusual for The Smiths.

For me, the greatest track on the album and one of their greatest ever follows. Pretty Girls Make Graves, when I first heard it, summed up everything I have ever felt about women in less than four minutes. Whether that is just because I have lived a shallow life, I do not know, and to be frank do not care. To hear the words he speaks sung so bitterly, with so much resentment - there's that word again - is like finally finding your long-lost twin brother, someone you know you never have to put up any pretences around and who is the same as you. Essentially, Morrissey is looking for true love, not a quick fix that he see
s all women as doing. The highlight of the track is the brief moment women are given the stage, as Annalisa Jablonska answers Morrissey's claim that pretty girls make graves, with, "Oh really?". The timing is perfect and it is a truly bittersweet, almost amusing moment. Almost.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, another track rarely seen beyond the confines of this album, is an unhailed great. The beat is slow and gentle, merely setting a platform for Morrissey to ease out his lines. It is one of the first examples of the classic Smiths sounds - the soft and easy guitar to a rhythmic drum backing. There are many ways to interpret it, but for me it seems to be Morrissey adulating the innocence of youth while taking a subtle sideswipe at society, at people. At the world that corrupts every one of us. This, along with the previous track, would in hindsight seem to be a non-too-subtle hint at Morrissey's later-revealed bisexuality.

Four of The Smiths' more well-known tracks follow, beginning with This Charming Man, then onto Still Ill and Hand In Glove before finishing off the fantastic four with What Difference Does It Make?. For any fan who has either the two Best Of... albums or either of the two singles collections, these will be familiar territory and to be frank, for once they are not the main attraction. As I mentioned earlier, the real beauty of this album is in the less well-known tracks - it all you want are the popular tracks, you would undoubtedly be better off with a singles collection which would also include How Soon Is Now, for example. Regardless, it is an eye-opener to think music of such quality was written for their debut album.

You sense the album is winding towards a finale with I Don't Owe You Anything, a very mellow track. It has always been an enigma to me, the lyrics vague and the meaning elusive. A far more blunt ending awaits, however, with the infamous Suffer Little Children. The track which
caused such an uproar at the time now seems to be nothing more sinister than a beautiful testament to the murdered children lying on the moors. Indeed, in the cold light of day, Johnny Marr's echoing guitars are just about the only eerie aspect (the haunting laughs, a brilliant touch, aside) to a song which is otherwise lyrically superb, with Morrissey once again damning the lights of Manchester which have so much to answer for. It is a serene ending to an often upbeat album.

Taken as a whole, The Smiths as an album ranks alongside The Queen Is Dead (for me, always a little over-rated) and perhaps even on a par with Meat Is Murder. Lyrically, in my opinion it is the best of the original four albums, with a plethora of immortal lines that will never go out of date. In another twenty years, people will still be able to relate to Morrissey's words in the same way we can to the Beatles. Musically, it is an interesting comparison. The sound is darker and more openly gloomy than on their following albums - a comparison with the sound of That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore would be fair. You can sense in some parts that Johnny Marr was still getting to grips with his unique sound. Some chords are repeated across tracks, and there is less experimentation than on, say, The Queen Is Dead (the title track being a prime example). If it is the music you enjoy the most, this may not be the best first album to get after the Best Of... duo. Lyrically, though, it is an essential purchase and an amazing testament to Morrissey's talent at such an early stage in his career.

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