Let's face it in the end the albums that get picked for lists are albums that people like. I really like this album. In fact I once used some of the lyrics from "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" in a resignation letter, so obviously I'm prejudiced toward this album. That said when I write about the album I'm trying to look past the emotional attachments I feel or enjoyment I have in listening and look at why I have those things. Way back in my college days I was talking with one of my professors about The Catcher in the Rye. He asked me to think about why I liked it. Look past the plot, characters, etc and understand what it was about the writing that made me like it. That is what I'm trying to do with albums on this list for which I have strong feelings.
I know from Morrissey's solo work that part of this album's brilliance comes from Johnny Marr's ability to build music around Morrissey's style of oration and lyrical content. Not only does he sing in a conversational manner at times, but his voice is pitched at such an odd tone for rock that to mix the sound properly behind that is a challenge. His lyrics also range from the romantic, to the silly, to political and balancing the music again is challenged to set the proper tone for telling whatever story Morrissey is trying to tell. On top of all that The Smiths were in many ways a pop band. So it is most important that the sound put behind and around the singer is a sound that people want to hear and does not push away or challenge to greatly what people expect. Often when a band is so heavy at the singer you'll find this combination. Peter Buck and Michael Stipe in REM, Michael Buck and Natalie Merchant in 10,000 Maniacs, The Edge and Bono in U2 those are a few examples I can think of. Marr pulls all of this off brilliantly on this album. On no other Smiths album does Marr strike such a wonderful balance of sound. The first album is a bit too slow and lost trying to sort its way around Morrissey while the second and fourth seem to push Morrissey around at times. But here Morrissey seems free to say what he wants to say, how he wants to say it. This is a combination that Morrissey will never find again, just as Natalie Merchant has never been able to find that balance again after she left 10,000 Maniacs.
But the real key to this album is the lyrical content and Morrissey's presentation. His writing is at its peak on this album and with the music working so perfectly behind him he's able to present his lyrics in a wonderfully comfortable manner that is emotional and energized. I don't want to go into all the songs but there are so many good grabs in the lyrics of these songs that they hit home. Morrissey's strength as a song writer is his ability throw out a line or two that really hit home and feel so right for the theme and emotion that he's drawing on. His songs focus on really a few basic themes. Taken from the song "The Queen is Dead" he sings
"We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
and talk about precious things
like love and law and poverty
these are the things that kill me"
This pretty much sums up the themes he will cover in his songs and on this album it does seem as though you are taking a walk with Morrissey as he opens up all of himself to you. The brilliance of good writing is being open enough and straightforward enough with your words to really say something. For most of us if we think it, then their are millions of others who think it and feel it as well. It is knowing how to express it that is so difficult. When Morrissey writes "Frankly, Mr Shankly, this position I've held
it pays my way and it corrodes my soul"
many of us can relate because we have felt that exact same way.
The only drawback to The Smiths is that they never had a chance to grow up. They disbanded when Morrissey was only 28 and Marr was 24, and so their prose and sound have a youthful appeal that can be lost if you aren't introduced to them at the right age. Kind of like watching Rebel Without a Cause for the first time when you are 40. This doesn't diminish the brilliance of the album, but it does limit its mass appeal.
