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Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come Audio CD

A fair review of the The Smiths "Strangeways, Here We Come" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Smiths reviews here, or go back to the The Smiths tabs.

Band: The Smiths
Title: Strangeways, Here We Come
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours 2: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish 3: Death of a Disco Dancer 4: Girlfriend in a Coma 5: Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before 6: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me 7: Unhappy Birthday 8: Paint a Vulgar Picture 9: Death at One's Elbow 10: I Won't Share You

A Fine Farewell for The Smiths. . .
If the volatile relationships within the band were unclear after the release of third album "The Queen is Dead", they were certainly at the forefront in the months leading up to the release of "Strangeways". "Strangeways, Here We Come", the fourth and final album by seminal eighties band The Smiths, was released in September of 1987.

Lead guitarist Johnny Marr had already departed the band a month prior to its release and vocalist Morrissey was becoming increasingly frustrated the dynamic of the band as a whole.

"Strangeways" proved to be a hit in the United Kingdom, striking the #2 spot in the charts, and also saw moderate success in the United States. Three singles were culled from the record, including "Girlfriend in a Coma", "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish", and "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me. "

These tracks, indeed the whole of the album, presented a slightly evolved template from which the band created their ambiguous, subterranean odes concerning humanistic observations and literate ruminations.

The lyrical tone was more tongue-in-cheek than previous releases, as if Morrissey was poking fun at the journalists who criticized his typically melancholy demeanor. The compositions were trademark Smiths work, yet showed growth with their expanded synth arrangements.

This decision dates the album considerably, especially compared with their earlier work which is mostly composed with the standard guitar/bass/drum setup, yet the synths did lend a slightly fuller sound to the tracks on Strangeways.

In the wake of the dissolution of The Smiths, Morrissey embarked on a highly successful solo career and Johnny Marr became one of the most sought after session musicians of the nineties. As for the two other members. . . well, honestly, who cares about them?.

MorRiSseY..
has GOT to sTop TrIvIaLiZInG StUfF (The upbeat tempo--does it mean that "GirLFriEnD In A CoMa" was written musiCally before MoRriSsEy added his bizarre sad but humorous take with his lyrics? Or is the song meant to be an experiment in sound. )WITh His LyRics. Johnny Marr said of this album that :"All (we)want to play is the new material. . " while Morrissey told Q - England magazine that the thrill of live performance for him was "totally gone". . Quite the contrast if you ask me. (The Smiths: Songs that Saved Your Life,pg 226. )Morrissey's Your Arsenal reminds me of this. It is musically one of the best albums ever ("Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before" one of the best songs. . )made. "Unhappy Birthday" is perfect.

More Of..
music affect us? Johnny Marr was upset when Morrissey penned "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" as a lyric for his fantastic melody for it. MorrissEy's inapprOpriate (or a genius experimEnt in musical persuasion of how lyrics vs. . was "Girlfriend" written mUsically first?)humor in "GIrlfriend In A COMa" with a reggae beat,the best song evEr could be "Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before"--A fantastic and legendaary display of energy. "Unhappy BirthdAy" is perfect. Marr wasn't always happy with Morrissey's lyrics. Did this contribute at all to the break-up of The Smiths? "Bye Bye Bye Bye Bye Bye Baby Goodbye". . A lyric from a Bay City Rollers song in "Girlfriend In A COma" which is sad perhaps lyrically,but that upbeat tempo. . The Smiths never toured for this album,Morrisey informing Q magazine that the love of live performance was "totally,totally gone. . "(The Smiths: Songs that Saved Your Life;page 226,Q - England. . )whilst Johnny Marr in one of his last interviews said:"All (we) want to play is the new material. . "(Ibid. . )Whoops. One of the best Lp's ever (one star less is only because of Morrissey's strange lyrics to "Girlfriend In A Coma". . )maDe.

an understated masterpiece
All of the Smiths' albums rock, but this one is special. This album rules. In many ways, it can be considered their weakest or worst album, at first glance. But it grows on you. I hated it at frist, and then loved it most. "Death of a Disco Dancer" was one of those songs I hated at first, and now consider their most Radiohead-type song (i'm a huge radiohead fan). "Death at One's Elbow" is total rockabilly madness. I love this album; and the more i read about people hating this album, the more i love it!.

A worthy final album of a great, great band....
I think it's a near masterpiece. This is The Smiths's swansong (barring any reunion album, which, sadly, is probably not going to happen), and it generally gets mixed reviews from Smiths fans. It's not as vibrant as other Smiths' albums, but it's still damn good and there are some magnificent songs that can stand up to any of the Smiths's classics. The opener, A Rush and the Push and the Land Is Ours, is a beautiful, haunting pop number that only the Smiths can do well. I like Death of a Disco Dancer, and its extended instrumental break. It's reminiscent of Barbarism Begins at Home (off Meat is Murder), and it's very powerful. Girlfriend in a Coma is one of Morrissey's best lyrics, a cutish, poppy song set to a lyric where the protagonist really wants his girlfriend to die (that's so sweet). Stop Me If you Think. . . is a great single that gets better everytime I listen to it. I rather like Death at One's Elbow, even though most people dislike this song for some reason.

But the masterpiece of the album is Paint a Vulgar Picture. It's one of the greatest songs The Smiths ever recorded. It has a great melody and some of Morrissey's most acidic, acerbic, and brilliant lyrics ever. The song is also one of his most timely, as when a big dead rock star dies, there's always leeches who come out of the floorboards to claim to have known the real person (the sycophantic slags, as St. Morrissey calls them). He also berates the record companies for repackaging everything. How many times has one had to "double dip" on CD reissues with crappy extra tracks (like rehearsals), or on a DVD? F***ing greed is all it is, and Morrissey's sings about it with grace and intelligence. Brilliant man, brilliant band.

Even if you're a casual Smiths listener, you should still pick this one up. It may not be as good as the other albums, but it's still amazing in its own way. .

You can see a complete list of all The Smiths discography, or go back to the The Smiths tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.