The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
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Free Music Notes for Strangeways Here We Come
Free Music Review: the best of the best
Hit: 5 Stars
this has always been my favorite smiths album. all the songs are beautiful. "death of a disco dancer" is my favorite song.Free Music Review: "Oh, very nice...but maybe in the next world...."
Hit: 4 Stars
This swan-song effort from the Smiths is an unusually baffling, unresolved affair. Indeed, on this album, the increased musical adventurousness of Marr and the ever-oblique knowingness of Morrissey certainly raise some fascinating (not to mention maddening) questions as to where their partnership might have gone had their egos permitted. The album is full of diverse influences and towering ambition and yet it feels cut short -- strangled in the cradle, to coin a phrase. The opening track, "A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours" revisits the ghosts of Morrissey's mythic mental landscape -- with the 19th-century banshee-battle cry of legendary Irish rogues and freedom fighters resurrected (via Jungian synchronicity or ouija board, perhaps?) to haunt our perpetually moping, angst-ridden, 20th-century, transplanted-English hero. Hmmm...this ominous opener, and the titualar reference to Stangeways prison, would seem to introduce a prospective outlaw theme. And yet "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" speaks for itself and would have been a far more felicitous name for this collection.
"Death of Disco Dancer" is Moz's cynical dismissal -- with dry, Bryan Ferry-like epigrammatic ennui -- of bands like Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses, and the drug-hazy, strobe-lit communal utopia dubiously promised by Manchester's burgeoning rave scene. ("I'd rather not talk to my neighbour, I'd rather not get involved....") The cascading epic piano refrain recalls Roxy Music's "Sentimental Fool" while the maniacally-strummed guitar coda is in the manner of the Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs."
"Girlfriend in a Coma" is a blissfully over-orchestrated soap-opera scenario damn-near worthy of "Coronation Street" (or even "Melrose Place" for that matter) that clocks in at a breathless two minutes and two seconds! -- "Do you really think she'll pull through...?/No I DON'T want to see her!" Well, it didn't take that long for her to expire, did it?
Heralded by a triumphant swirl of vertiginous jangly guitars and syncopated percussion, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is easily "Strangeways'" finest moment. It plays like a vintage Godard film with a lot of jump-cuts: Mozzer, ecstatically on the lam like Jean-Paul Belmondo or Alain Delon, tries in desperation to get himself off the hook and do right by everybody else at the same time. Having "smelt the last ten seconds of life" in an encounter that would "make a shy, bald Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder," Morrissey isn't running for his life anymore, he's just plain running.... Alas, we find that at the end of this Beckettian/Pinteresque cul-de-sac lies only more frenzied self-parody and absurd, empty, frustrated mimetic repetition.
The album's centrepiece (which would have better served as the closer), "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," is another lugubrious "Meat is Murder"-era testament of burnt-out, vaguely defined romantic weltschmertz. The vaunting melodrama of the Walker Brothers-style arrangement and the "Revolution 9"-style sound collage only add to its majesty. Indeed, how long must it go on...?
"Unhappy Birthday" is a poison-pen letter "from the one you left behind" that's downright Dylanesque in its sour, ambivalent, passive-aggressive venomousness (imagine a fey "Positively 4th Street"). However, the longest cut -- bequeathed the ostentatiously Wildean title of "Paint a Vulgar Picture" -- is a verbose, elaborate Ray Davies-style jeremiad about the pitfalls of manufactured pop stardom and prefabricated-celebrity worship (which may have been inspired by Boy George's then-recent and highly publicized fall from grace) that's only made all the more thrilling by its blatantly self-serving show of false empathy and arrogant sanctimony. ("Oh, the plans they weave/and oh, the sickening greed..." -- yes, Morrissey, you definitely "please them, please them," don't you?)
After this, things deflate and become decidedly more flaccid and anti-climactic. The penultimate quickie, "Death at One's Elbow" (gee, how many of songs here mention death?), stands out as the weakest track on the album -- indeed, this obnoxiously hackneyed, nondescript rockabilly stomp-and-twang is arguably the most negligible of the entire Smiths catalogue. And then there's the abrupt, icky-sweet accoustic send-off, "I Won't Share You" -- a song so agonizingly earnest and musically slight that it perilously verges on sophomoric saccharine bathos. "I want the freedom and I want the guile" -- really! -- what the hell is THAT supposed to mean exactly, anyway?
Well, what can you say. The sudden demise of the Smiths was certainly a tragic loss -- and in more ways than one, it seems.
Free Music Review: Leave to Someone with a Big Nose Who Knows
Hit: 4 Stars
Sigh... as I find so often on Amazon, the reviews tumble down one side or the other. Some proclaim this to be the Smiths best and can't understand why others were disappointed. Others consider it a sad, pale effort at self-imitation. Well please allow arrogant me to set you straight, for I am "someone with a big nose who knows".Smiths' best? Laughable. The album lacks the creativity and spark of earlier efforts. However the real crime to most fans is the extreme amount of production polish that was applied here. I've heard Aerosmith albums with less heavy-gloss sheen that this. The Smiths were admired for their ability to craft witty, beautiful music that somehow remained raw and jagged. Also there is some truth that Morrissey seems to be doing more than a little bit of self parody. Occasionally it seems as if he took lyrics from past songs and played a game of Jumble just mixing up the order of the words.
Still let's not pile on too much. By any fair standard this is certainly a darn good album. The first 2 tracks are up-tempo, jaunts similar to past songs except that they worked keys and horns into the mix. "Death of a Disco Dancer" is a slow number that some could view as the boys just going through the motions; the band is so minimal here that to me this felt like the first Morrissey solo song. I fail to understand any criticism of "Girlfriend in a Coma", one of the most ironically upbeat tunes in pop history. The playful, bouncey melody betrayed the vocals "I know it's serious." The late 80's MTV success of this video was hilarious because by the time they flashed the info on the screen to introduce the video (Band Name, Song Title, etc.) they were immediately flashing it up again to remind you what you had seen - the gap between intro and extro was seriously maybe 30 seconds. "Stop Me..." is a brilliant hit that would have been the perfect evolution in the Smiths-pop style had they continued. "Stop Me..." also presents some of the strongest lyrical content on the album with likely the fastest flow you've ever heard from Morrissey. Marr has rarely sounded crisper.
OK that's halfway through the CD (listen I just needed a paragraph break somewhere). Some have discounted "Last Night I Dreamt..." as excessive bombast, but that's unfair. This is an epic piece of artfully presented melancholy. "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me. No hope, no harm, just another false alarm." Sure it's more self-pitying than your least favorite Goth song, but it's also hopelessly romantic, beautifully sung and when you heard this as a teenager it was true to your life. Well you're older now and you're a clever swine, but screw you if you don't like this one. "Unhappy Birthday" is Steven at his most cynical but it's also pretty funny; Marr sparkles on this. "Paint a Vulgar Picture" is an attack on the music industry in general but specifically a story about their knack for cashing in on the death of a star... think Tupac... no wait 2-Pac. Strangely it is also somewhat hypocritical. To wit.. "reissue, repackage... extra track and a tacky badge". Hasn't Morrissey done this about 10 different times by now (with his own music and the Smiths legacy)? "Death at One's Elbow" is simply the worst Smiths' song ever written. There is no reason they should have written this. The album ends with the lovely "I Won't Share You". Was this Morrissey speaking about his art? "I won't share you... with the drive and ambition, the zeal I feel, this is my time." Hmm, the final song on the final Smiths album. Coincidence?
Free Music Review: The real arms around me just faded.
Hit: 4 Stars
Let me first state that I am a Smiths fan in every sense of the word. I wore my Queen Is Dead shirt to school picture day, for God's sake! But this is my honestly analytical opinion on "Strangeways, Here We Come".
The person who got me into The Smiths was my dad, British junkie that he is, and when he found this CD buried in a little indie record store, he was overjoyed and mystified, saying that he'd completely forgotten about this album (hmmm, now what does that tell us). So, I copied it and commenced listening.
1. A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
Probably the best song on the album, actually. With a mock-ghostly, dramatic beginning, blossoming into a catchy and (I wince to use this word, but I must) bouncy vocal preformance. 5/5 stars
2. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
This song is either about homosexual rape or something beyond the realms of my understanding. And what's with the gutteral growling Morrissey's been toying with? This song actually has a really good beat. 3/5
3. Death of a Disco Dancer
This is an example of what came out of Morrissey's mind late one night after downing just a few too many. A strangely artificial beginning, dry lyrics, not my favorite song on the album. 3/5
4. Girlfriend In A Coma
This one I like, despite the very un-Smiths-like sound to it. Morrissey's characteristically grim humor abounds, if looking through another person's eyes (do you really think he has a GIRLfriend?). 4/5
5. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
A good title, if nothing else! But also a good vocal, good lyrics (when are they not?). But Moz, who is the "shy, bald Buddhist"? 4/5
6. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
This song made me cry the first time I heard it, but through my tears I couldn't help but wonder who the people were, screaming in apparent agony in the backround. Oh, but I love this song. "Last night I felt real arms around me. No hope, no harm, just another false alarm." How true. 5/5
7. Unhappy Birthday
Hilarious like a sledgehammer on your head! With a mock-cocky rhythm, and cheerfully hateful lyrics, I can't help liking this. 4/5
8. Paint A Vulgar Picture
A pretty good idea lyrically, but they carry it on a bit too long. A strong dosage of reality, but not done particularly well, I must say. Except for the "dance my legs down to the knees" bit. 3/5
9. Death At One's Elbow
Oh, Morrissey and Marr, WHY? It's upbeat to the point of painful, the lyrics make little sense, and dear God was that a tambourine??? Goodbye my love indeed. 1/5
10. I Won't Share You
In my father's words, "beautiful". Well, he was never much for analyzing, but indeed it is. An acoustic is always a good way to end an album. Written for Marr, possibly? 5/5
There you are. Rate me, hate me, bless me, help me (wait, who am I talking to) keep scrolling down your computer screen, I don't care. My overall take on Strangeways, Here We Come is 4/5 stars. Cheers.
Free Music Review: Dramatic conclusion
Hit: 4 Stars
This, the last album from The Smiths, is often unfairly accused of not being on par with the band's previous works - or even of being tossed-off or half-completed. Let me be the first to tell you that this is not the case. This is, in every way, The Smiths most ambitious and experimental album. Whether or not it is their best is an open question, but its worthiness is not in doubt. I find it very unfortunate that this is the last studio album we got from the band, as it sees them moving forward in exciting, inventive new ways. Having reached the apex of the original phase of their songwriting with The Queen Is Dead, The Smiths, wisely, decided not to try and copy that album, but instead to make an entirely different kind of album. Morrissey's lyrics here are just as sharp, poignant, and wise as ever, but they are not drastically changed from previous works. No, what makes this album different from all the other in the catalog of The Smiths is the music. Whereas their debut album featured mostly plaintive, simplitic musical backings, Johnny Marr, on the next two Smiths albums, fashioned an intricate tapestry of dense, interwoven guitars and textures. He takes it one step further here, incorporating an orchestra, saxes, and more. The mastepiece Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me is perhaps the epitome of The Smiths musical sophistication. Other songs (Unhappy Birthday, Girlfriend In A Coma) are perfect, flawless pop. Still others are superb riff-driven songs. Marr, much like U2's The Edge, was always a guitarist who favored textures and soundscapes as his musical delivery of choice, rather than the more traditional riffs and solos. This album, though, finds him experimenting with electric guitar feedback (I Started Something I Couldn't Finish), keyboard-driven arrangements (A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours), and more. Even Morrissey himself, who mocked his own piano-playing skills in The Queen Is Dead, nevertheless offers up an intimitable, tinkling coda on the instrument to Death of A Disco Dancer. And, as always, Andy Rourke, one of rock's top and most underrated bassists, along with drummer Mike Joyce, danced across the beats just as skillfully as ever. Top tracks include the masterpieces, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, Paint A Vulgar Picture, and two of the all-time best sarcastic pop songs, Girlfriend In A Coma and Unhappy Birthday. Although you should not start here - I reccommend Meat Is Murder or one of the band's numerous compilations for the neophyte - this is an essential album for any fan of The Smiths.