The Smiths - 10 of the best - The Guardian

The Smiths: 10 of the best - The Guardian Music Blog
by Michael Hann

From a landmark debut single to the epics of love and loss, here are 10 classic Smiths songs to warm you up for Morrissey’s forthcoming UK tour
 
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A superb list, but you could exchange every track for another time and again and still have a superb list. What a band.
 
So true Johnny ....... so true . That band was like a firework crashing into a dark music world . I did learn a new word while reading the article . The author calling Moz solipsistic . Looked it up in dictonary on hand but couldn't find it. Best i could come up with was that solipsistic is an off shoot of solitude ........ meaning Moz likes to be alone .
 
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So true Johnny ....... so true . That band was like a firework crashing into a dark music world . I did learn a new word while reading the article . The author calling Moz solipsistic . Looked it up in dictonary on hand but couldn't find it. Best i could come up with was that solipsistic is an off shoot of solitude ........ meaning Moz likes to be alone .

I didn't know what it meant either, google to the rescue...

noun
1.
Philosophy. the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist.
2.
extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.

I agree with JB too, if I played ten different songs every day in one week I still wouldn't find anything to skip.
 
A superb list, but you could exchange every track for another time and again and still have a superb list. What a band.

Too right. 5 years, 4 albums 3 of which stand the test of time, 2 bits and pieces albums which were arguably better than their real albums (not including Louder Than Bombs) and 4 singles every year plus the riotous live shows.
The artwork, the anti-establishment attitude, the iconic photos....

And all finished in their mid to late twenties. Yet the songs and their legacy increase with every passing year.

Never sully it by reforming. Even as M and M.
 
Too right. 5 years, 4 albums 3 of which stand the test of time, 2 bits and pieces albums which were arguably better than their real albums (not including Louder Than Bombs) and 4 singles every year plus the riotous live shows.
The artwork, the anti-establishment attitude, the iconic photos....

And all finished in their mid to late twenties. Yet the songs and their legacy increase with every passing year.

Never sully it by reforming. Even as M and M.

It really is unbelievable that they made so much music in such a short amount of time. Most bands would have had to have been together for an exponentially longer period to have a body of work like that. And all of it is as Johnny pointed out incredible music.

The production on the first studio album irks me a tremendous amount, but ignoring that I could listen to any of their four studio albums and Hatful of Hallow and at the end of listening to any of them conclude it was their best work. Only to then put on another one of their albums and be like "No, that was their best work."

I know someone earlier said Morrissey has had a great solo career since 1988 and I don't disagree with that. As a solo artist, he is one of my favorite artists and I think his solo career does not get anywhere near the proper recognition it deserves, but Morrissey isn't the Smiths. That's not to cut Morrissey down--there are a lot of bands I like a tremendous amount--The Cure, Arcade Fire, whatever--but they're not the Smiths. Very few if any bands are that magical.
 
It really is unbelievable that they made so much music in such a short amount of time. Most bands would have had to have been together for an exponentially longer period to have a body of work like that. And all of it is as Johnny pointed out incredible music.

That's the clanging sound of a nail being hit right on the head. It never, ever fails to amaze me that Johnny was 19 when he wrote this...



P.
 
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A little harsh. People get into music to spunk away their energy and talent. It's a rare artist indeed that 30 years after the initial burst is still on the same zenith. I don't know any. Perhaps Leonard Cohen.

P.
Don't get me wrong I saw johnny at the O2 academy in glasgow last October and it was a great gig, I just feel "easy money" is such a weak song, if morrissey released that he would be slaughtered and rightly so, the crowd at the johnny marr gig was interesting, very young and trendy, I felt right out of place
 
Some good points have been made above. I think you could easily substitute every track for a solo Morrissey song and it would still be a great list.
 
Don't get me wrong I saw johnny at the O2 academy in glasgow last October and it was a great gig, I just feel "easy money" is such a weak song, if morrissey released that he would be slaughtered and rightly so, the crowd at the johnny marr gig was interesting, very young and trendy, I felt right out of place

Johnny's trouble is he can't right words or sing. Musically some of his solo stuff's pretty good, Easy Money is a good tune. It's just that the words are ridiculous.
 
Some good points have been made above. I think you could easily substitute every track for a solo Morrissey song and it would still be a great list.

It would. I know people nitpick about this and that with Morrissey but he's never made the same album twice and he's made a lot of records. The standard's always been high whether you like what he's done or not. That said, the Morrissey/Marr output was pretty much faultless. I can't think of any other band that has nailed it with almost every track. All of that in such a short space of time and when they were so young.
 
Some good points have been made above. I think you could easily substitute every track for a solo Morrissey song and it would still be a great list.

It would depend which songs, though. You couldn't sensibly remove "How Soon Is Now?" and substitute Roy's Keen and end up with a better list.

This is an interesting thread, actually, in part because of the lack of responses, and the seeming concensus that in five years the Smiths barely put a foot wrong. There's barely any fat on any of their record releases. The covers towards the end, which pissed off Marr so much according to reports, are less impressive perhaps, but still eminently listenable.

I think it is fair to say that thirty years of Morrissey as a solo artist has yet to eclipse the Smiths, although of course he's had many, many great moments.
 
It would depend which songs, though. You couldn't sensibly remove "How Soon Is Now?" and substitute Roy's Keen and end up with a better list.

This is an interesting thread, actually, in part because of the lack of responses, and the seeming concensus that in five years the Smiths barely put a foot wrong. There's barely any fat on any of their record releases. The covers towards the end, which pissed off Marr so much according to reports, are less impressive perhaps, but still eminently listenable.

I think it is fair to say that thirty years of Morrissey as a solo artist has yet to eclipse the Smiths, although of course he's had many, many great moments.

The Smiths is the best, most consistent, band of all time. Joy Division released about half as much music (or perhaps a bit more than that) over something like half of The Smiths lifespan and they're almost equally as good, in my opinion. But The Smiths takes the cake.
 
Johnny's trouble is he can't right words or sing. Musically some of his solo stuff's pretty good, Easy Money is a good tune. It's just that the words are ridiculous.

And your trouble is you can't write full stop.

Rid Iculous
 
It would depend which songs, though. You couldn't sensibly remove "How Soon Is Now?" and substitute Roy's Keen and end up with a better list.

This is an interesting thread, actually, in part because of the lack of responses, and the seeming concensus that in five years the Smiths barely put a foot wrong. There's barely any fat on any of their record releases. The covers towards the end, which pissed off Marr so much according to reports, are less impressive perhaps, but still eminently listenable.

I think it is fair to say that thirty years of Morrissey as a solo artist has yet to eclipse the Smiths, although of course he's had many, many great moments.
Morrissey hasn't been a solo artist for thirty years, but one thing is certain, since the smiths were split by marr morrissey has been far more successful than johnny and will continue to be so
 

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