Strangeways,here we come.

jimboo · Postby **jimboo** » 14 Jun 2018, 13:48

Their finest hour? Playing it today it struck me how accomplished it is. Morrissey agrees ,at least he does at the moment , any views, or will the queen is dead forever be touted as the meisterwerk?

naughty boy · Postby **naughty boy** » 14 Jun 2018, 13:54

it's too BIG and too BOLD to be what I consider peak Smiths - which was folky, melancholy, dreamy

the idea that it's their best seems to have taken hold in some quarters - probably the ones where Oasis and The Rolling Stones (and not The Fall and Joy Division) are seen as Britain's Finest

jimboo · Postby **jimboo** » 14 Jun 2018, 13:58

Fucking harsh or What? I cannot agree with you ,If the first album had been produced properly of course then there would be a natural consensus.

naughty boy · Postby **naughty boy** » 14 Jun 2018, 13:59

yeah yeah

Bent Fabric · Postby **Bent Fabric** » 14 Jun 2018, 14:55

I'm a collector and a completist and most certainly a Smiths fan, and yet...I'm quite happy not owning it.

Goat Boy · Postby **Goat Boy** » 14 Jun 2018, 15:29

Some great stuff, some not so great stuff as per. The second half is weak but I Won’t Share You is wonderful. You can’t be a Smiths fan and not get a little emotional when that harmonica appears. A perfect career bookend.

I liked the fact they were expanding the sound but you feel then next one would have been better

Matt Wilson · Postby **Matt Wilson** » 14 Jun 2018, 15:51

Easily their weakest.

joels344 · Postby **joels344** » 14 Jun 2018, 16:39

I’d say their weakest studio album. It’s the one I listen to the least, and only revisit certain tracks rather than the album as a whole.

naughty boy · Postby **naughty boy** » 14 Jun 2018, 16:44

There isn't one great track there. No 'Bigmouth', 'Hand In Glove', 'Rusholme Ruffians'...

Modesty Forbids · Postby **Modesty Forbids** » 14 Jun 2018, 16:47

jimboo wrote:If the first album had been produced properly of course then there would be a natural consensus.

You mean it wasn't? When did that happen?
It was easily their best because it was first, and they had not yet got round to impersonating 'The Smiths'.

Rayge · Postby **Rayge** » 14 Jun 2018, 16:49

Ragye wrote:
jimboo wrote:If the first album had been produced properly of course then there would be a natural consensus.

You mean it wasn't? When did that happen?
It was easily their best because it was first, and they had not yet got round to impersonating 'The Smiths'.

Oops, logged in with an alias by mistake.

Matt Wilson · Postby **Matt Wilson** » 14 Jun 2018, 16:56

There's always been the belief (usually from Brits) that the first Smiths LP wasn't produced well, or something - and that's why many prefer the BBC versions on Hatful of Hollow.

Personally, I don't hear it. All their LPs sound pretty much the same to me.

Mike Boom · Postby **Mike Boom** » 14 Jun 2018, 17:25

ORORORO wrote:There isn't one great track there...

Correct, there's three

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"
"A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours"
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"

pcqgod · Postby **pcqgod** » 14 Jun 2018, 17:58

I listened to it maybe twice and traded it back in to the record store.

sloopjohnc · Postby **sloopjohnc** » 14 Jun 2018, 18:06

pcqgod wrote:I listened to it maybe twice and traded it back in to the record store.

Sounds like a Smiths song title.

Ranking Ted · Postby **Ranking Ted** » 14 Jun 2018, 18:11

I love it. It’s not their best and it’s atypical - but that’s its unique appeal, they didn’t get a chance to return to this wider, almost pallid psychedelic palate of sounds and Morrissey’s solo career was more about him, whereas this is very much a band record. Yeh, there’s some subprime stuff there but it’s highlights - basically the songs mentioned already - have an enduring allure. I also have a soft spot for the slight charms of Unhappy Birthday...

Dayodead · Postby **Dayodead** » 14 Jun 2018, 18:34

It's a great album, but I wouldn't say it's their best...With it's slight expansion of their signature sound, Strangeways would have made a good transitional album, had they continued as a band...

jimboo · Postby **jimboo** » 14 Jun 2018, 19:28

Ragye wrote:
jimboo wrote:If the first album had been produced properly of course then there would be a natural consensus.

You mean it wasn't? When did that happen?
It was easily their best because it was first, and they had not yet got round to impersonating 'The Smiths'.

The Smiths themselves felt the production was poor.

I look back on the album that became The Smiths and I see nothing at all that had anything to do with me. Although the songs were very strong, the recording of those songs—in my view—failed everyone.

Morrissey told Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis and John Porter that the album "wasn't good enough". Due to the money invested, they had to release it anyway.

jimboo · Postby **jimboo** » 14 Jun 2018, 19:32

Matt Wilson wrote:Easily their weakest.

And now the whole of BCB embarks on an unintended sync listen, safe in the knowledge that it must be better than Matt's lamentable opinion.

naughty boy · Postby **naughty boy** » 14 Jun 2018, 19:44

So what's weaker?

Black Cat Bone

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