|
|
Post by Jailbird on Mar 24, 2015 16:03:59 GMT -5
My vote goes for Strangeways. The Queen Is Dead and the debut album are strong contenders as well but I feel as if the latter could've been produced much better. I think the songs sounded better on John Peel's show.
|
|
|
|
Post by carryusall on Mar 24, 2015 16:20:45 GMT -5
My vote goes for their debut. The Queen is Dead is the one you get introduced to, Meat is Murder is the fan's favourite, and I've read both Morrissey and Marr say Strangeways here we Come is their favourite, but I never hear any love for their debut, just people saying they don't like the production. So I came to it expecting an unlistenable mess, and I just loved it. It's a personal preference, I can understand people preferring the more energetic peel versions. But I love The guitars on the album, and it's the only Smiths album where Morrissey's lyrics never once come across as preachy or trite. He takes on a lot of dark subject matter, such as the moors murders, but handles it with great empathy and pathos. Only with this album did I begin to understand why Morrissey enjoys such unique and singular devotion as a songwriter
|
|
|
|
Post by matt on Mar 24, 2015 16:54:31 GMT -5
A different day means a different favourite Smiths album. Because they were that good.
Nobody comes close to Morrissey as a front man, and Marr was peerless. Mike Joyce, while not the most flashy drummer, ws just right for the band's understated sound and Andy Rourke's funky bassl playing is still underrated.
As of the moment, I like Meat Is Murder. Loving the textured guitar work on that one, and Morrissey's vocals are on top top form too.
|
|
|
|
Post by UGHF on Mar 24, 2015 17:42:55 GMT -5
Have listened to all the Smiths songs just not in the album context (except for The Queen is Dead).
Was Hatful of Hollow not a proper album?
|
|
|
|
Post by Jailbird on Mar 24, 2015 17:52:54 GMT -5
Have listened to all the Smiths songs just not in the album context (except for The Queen is Dead). Was Hatful of Hollow not a proper album? It's a compilation, but some regard it as a proper album, as some do with the Masterplan. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2015 18:19:14 GMT -5
My favourite is The Queen Is Dead, closely followed by Meat Is Murder.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Mar 24, 2015 18:35:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by mkoasis on Mar 24, 2015 21:59:17 GMT -5
Hard to choose but the debut edges it out for me.
|
|
|
|
Post by mimmihopps on Mar 25, 2015 2:06:49 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by mimmihopps on Mar 25, 2015 2:09:38 GMT -5
My vote goes for their debut. The Queen is Dead is the one you get introduced to, Meat is Murder is the fan's favourite, and I've read both Morrissey and Marr say Strangeways here we Come is their favourite, but I never hear any love for their debut, just people saying they don't like the production. So I came to it expecting an unlistenable mess, and I just loved it. It's a personal preference, I can understand people preferring the more energetic peel versions. But I love The guitars on the album, and it's the only Smiths album where Morrissey's lyrics never once come across as preachy or trite. He takes on a lot of dark subject matter, such as the moors murders, but handles it with great empathy and pathos. Only with this album did I begin to understand why Morrissey enjoys such unique and singular devotion as a songwriter and their debut album has got "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"! (this song was inspired by Patti Smith's Kimberly) |
|
|
|
Post by jordan71421 on Mar 25, 2015 8:46:27 GMT -5
The Queen Is Dead for me
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 11:03:04 GMT -5
Hatful of Hollow
|
|
|
|
Post by Cast on Mar 26, 2015 10:10:35 GMT -5
The Queen is Dead for me. I love just about every track on that album and there are just so many emotional highs and lows on that album. I Know It's Over and Never Had No One Ever has got to be the most heart wrenching back to back sequence ever. Meat Is Murder is a very close second and Hateful of Hollow is probably my most played album from them, but I don't really think it counts as an official album.
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now just blows me away every time. Maybe the best song that sums of the ethos of the Smiths.
|
|
|
|
Post by theyknowwhatimean on Jan 18, 2016 16:46:24 GMT -5
The Queen Is Dead 10/10
Strangeways, Here We Come 8/10
Meat Is Murder 8/10
The Smiths 7.5/10
|
|
|
|
Post by matt on Jan 18, 2016 17:37:28 GMT -5
The first album has great songs on it, some are hampered a bit by production though. For example, the John Peel sessions of Hand In Glove is far superior to the lifeless album version which seems overly compressed and is not Morrissey's finest vocal either.
There is a murkiness to the production which is at odds with the shimmering textures of the following album, but they often play into quite a few of the songs strengths, like Suffer Little Children, Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Reel Around The Fountain. They're understated melodies with oblique (or bleak) lyrics and they work better with a murky sound as opposed to the layered poppy production of many of their later albums. For a start, there's no way you would want glossy production on Suffer Little Children - it would just be at complete odds with the entire song.
For me, they are still the greatest band Britain has produced by far since The Beatles, certainly the most influential one I think. Nobody comes close to them. There's an identity to them stronger than any other band on the planet - especially to any working class northerner where it can really sum up the beauty and sadness in even the most mundane of things. Morrissey lives a life of what we can all see, but we can't find the words to say - and he does say it. Sophisticated in equal measure, with the most elegant guitar player of all time along with the most eloquent of lyricists. It's why I can't choose a favourite of theirs, but on a different matter, if I'm talking to someone who doesn't know them, I would let them listen to Sound of the Smiths - best of albums are always the best way to get into a band I think.
|
|
|
|
Post by Headmaster on Jan 18, 2016 18:11:58 GMT -5
I don't like Strangeways that much, it's a bit overproduced, by The Smiths standarts of course, it's a great album but it's that I don't like it as much as the others.
|
|
|
|
Post by Norbert Gallhager on Jan 19, 2016 12:47:35 GMT -5
Can't pick a favourite. The Queen Is Dead is probably the best for the casual fan (do casual fans of the Smiths exist? I tend to think the "casual" phase very quickly turns into the die-hard phase). Their debut is just so pure and has some of my absolutely favourite songs by them (Hand in Glove, Still Ill, Suffer Little Children, what difference does it make,...). Meat is Murder is more rocking and I'd say you need more time and effort to really get it in comparison to The Queen is Dead for example. Strangeways always makes me curious about what their next album would've sounded like. It's more complex than TQID in terms of song structures (I'd say). All of them are masterpieces to me, I couldn't name a favourite, though if I had to, it would be a close battle between their debut and TQID. Ask me again and I might answer differently  |
|
|
|
Post by Headmaster on Jan 19, 2016 13:19:59 GMT -5
I think their next album would have sounded like Morrissey's first album, which sounds like an evolution from Strangeways.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frank Lee Vulgar on Jan 19, 2016 14:56:55 GMT -5
There is a murkiness to the production which is at odds with the shimmering textures of the following album, but they often play into quite a few of the songs strengths, like Suffer Little Children, Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Reel Around The Fountain. They're understated melodies with oblique (or bleak) lyrics and they work better with a murky sound as opposed to the layered poppy production of many of their later albums. For a start, there's no way you would want glossy production on Suffer Little Children - it would just be at complete odds with the entire song. Perfectly put - I always loved their debut for that, it just works extremely well as an entity. Of course, it also has This Charming Man, Still Ill and Hand in Glove in succession - a strong contender for the best trinity of album tracks ever. As for their importance and legacy, I say no band has ever been better. I'm not saying they're better than the Beatles or anything, but nobody has come close to achieving what the Smiths have done. They also surpass the Beatles (or anybody) at pure density of output - one album each year plus enough material to fill two compilations, without ever sacrificing quality, that's pretty ridiculous. |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Jan 19, 2016 15:19:00 GMT -5
There is a murkiness to the production which is at odds with the shimmering textures of the following album, but they often play into quite a few of the songs strengths, like Suffer Little Children, Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Reel Around The Fountain. They're understated melodies with oblique (or bleak) lyrics and they work better with a murky sound as opposed to the layered poppy production of many of their later albums. For a start, there's no way you would want glossy production on Suffer Little Children - it would just be at complete odds with the entire song. Perfectly put - I always loved their debut for that, it just works extremely well as an entity. Of course, it also has This Charming Man, Still Ill and Hand in Glove in succession - a strong contender for the best trinity of album tracks ever. As for their importance and legacy, I say no band has ever been better. I'm not saying they're better than the Beatles or anything, but nobody has come close to achieving what the Smiths have done. They also surpass the Beatles (or anybody) at pure density of output - one album each year plus enough material to fill two compilations, without ever sacrificing quality, that's pretty ridiculous. It's not like they had a handful of tracks prior to their first single either - all songs were written when they needed to. From 1983 to 1987, they were riding on a crest in terms of songwriting, one that never let up. |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Jan 19, 2016 15:26:21 GMT -5
This is going way way back, but I always remember around about summer 2009, Ian Brown and Johnny Marr announced they'd be working on an album together. It was specifically covered on this site too.
Whatever came of that?
|
|
|
|
Post by glider on Feb 7, 2016 0:38:45 GMT -5
Studio Albums:
1. The Smiths
2. Strangeways, Here We Come
3. The Queen Is Dead
4. Meat Is Murder
|
|
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5