Is there even such a thing as a weak track on this one? (I think not, actually.)
At any rate, by my estimation, the mantle of best Queen Is Dead track comes down to two: “Bigmouth Strikes Again” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”. And ultimately, I had to go with the former (though, if I was to include future Morrissey solo performances, I’d go with the latter).
And you?
I went with the latter. Title track, too, has great musicianship (lyrics are a given).
Did you miss out Meat is Murder?
Anyway, it’s clearly There is a Light. It’s possibly Morrissey’s cheesiest lyric, but it’s a lovely song.
Guys, to die by your side…well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine.
Ta.
Take me out tonight, where there’s music and people, and they’re young and alive.
A tremendous tune.
“I Know It’s Over.” Epic. Best Smiths song of all time.
“There Is a Light” is great and a sentimental favorite from my youth, but it’s a bit over-played at this point. No fault of its own; it’s wonderful.
and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
but then a strange fear gripped me
and I just couldn’t ask
Honestly, has anyone ever written a better teenage lyric.
Tough choice. Oh Mother, I can feel, the soil falling over my head.
I have a soft spot for “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side,” so that gets my vote, just over “Cemetry Gates.” Hard to argue with “There Is A Light …,” though.
I’ve never been particularly fond of “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” for some reason. I don’t skip it or anything when I’m listening to the CD, but I don’t feel any real affection for it.
Know what you mean. There’s a few songs on this album that are a bit “Oh, Morrissey, you are being so terribly arch”. The whole thing hangs together though, even including Some Girls and Frankly, Mister Shankly. The latter is a Chas and Dave throwaway, but kind of works on the album.
“There is a Light…” may well be the best, but I’ve listened to it way too many times. Now when it comes on the shuffle, I skip.
So, for me it came down to “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side” and “I Know It’s Over”. I went with the latter, because I like it better. Morrissey’s wailing, the lyrics, it really does it for me.
“There Is a Light…” is my favorite Smiths song, period, so I had to vote for that. But damn if I don’t love the guitar on “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others,” and the way it fades out and then in.
My mom hated that song, though – I think she took offense at the line about some girls’ mothers.
So many gems but I had to go with There Is A Light. It’s just incredible.
Very difficult to make a choice–the best Smiths’ album by far, IMO, with so many fantastic songs. I voted for “I Know It’s Over” but almost went for “There Is a Light…” The latter is certainly the catchier tune, but the sprawling grandeur of “I Know It’s Over” just shades it for me (and I figured it would get fewer votes and deserves more love).
I’m also very fond of “Boy With a Thorn in His Side,” “Cemetry Gates,” and “Bigmouth” but rate them slightly below my two favorites.
Really tough one on this. There’s five or six songs I could have seen voting for, but eventually, I settled on the title track. My sentimental favorite is “Cemetry Gates,” but I could not bring myself to vote for it with so many other great tracks on this record.
I wanted to say Bigmouth but that freaking annoying backing vocal ruins that song for me.
I just checked Wikipedia and they claim that voice is Morrissey’s too. Go figure.
The last two albums, I went with the less common picks (“Pretty Girls Make Graves” and “Rusholme Ruffians”), but this time went with the crowd with “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.” It’s pretty close to a five or six way tie, though. But “There Is A Light…” is just so goddam good.
What are we going to do with all the songs left over after the four albums are done? I think there’s too many for one big poll with everything from “Panic” to “Golden Lights”.