Me? I chose “Hand in Glove”.
What say you?
BigMouth Strikes Again and maybe Vicar in a Tutu or Girlfriend in a Coma. That’s from the Smiths… not off of The Smiths.
“Reel Around the Fountain” - I assume “This Charming Man” is the fan favorite, but I always thought this one summed them up rather well.
I agree entirely with woodstockbirdybird, and my vote reflects that.
I will admit, however, that I prefer both The Queen is Dead and Strangeways… to the self titled.
Oh, hell yeah, the Smiths. One of my favorite bands ever. (I don’t know why, as my general music tastes skew towards harder punk/post-punk type music.)
“Reel Around the Fountain” is my clear winner here. No contest.
Why pamper life’s complexity when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?
Actually, now that I’m listening to the “Best of” compilation, I know exactly why I like the Smiths. They have melody and they have a fucking solid rhythm section. Mike Joyce is a tasty, awesome drummer, and Andy Rourke’s melodic bass is a perfect counterpoint to Johnny Marr’s guitar. And Johnny Marr. Is it really necessary to quantify his contribution to the band? It doesn’t really get much better than this: Joyce, Rourke, and Marr. All brilliant musicians in their own right, but simply unfuckwithable together.
I disagree that they were all brilliant musicians in their own right. Maybe Mike Joyce learnt to play later on, but from recordings of early live shows he was barely competent, even by the low standards of British pop band drummers. But on the albums he did enough, or perhaps little enough not to fuck things up.
ETA
Hand in Glove has more lasting appeal than the perhaps more obvious choice of This Charming Man.
Voted for Hand in Glove, but want to throw an honorable mention to Suffer Little Children.
Am I going to be laughed out of study hall if I say “How Soon Is Now?”
I like the Smiths, but I don’t remember their songs very well, unfortuantely. Don’t ask me why, please. How Soon Is Now is the one you hear frequently on the radio stations (at least I do), but it’s also a good tune.
If so, only because it’s not an option in this poll.
There’s a few stone cold classics on this album, but Reel Around the Fountain is my favourite. I’ve always thought the production on this is really thin. The early compilation Hatful of Hollow has better versions of some of the songs on this. It also has How Soon is Now, which was originally just a b-side.:eek:
The Smiths were truly great live. Tight band, charismatic front man, cracking tunes and rabid fanbase = mayhem.
Really? I’m not a music historian, so I really don’t know, but from what I heard of Mike Joyce, he’s a fucking excellent drummer. I’m very fucking picky when it comes to drummers–to me that’s the glue of the band. What I’ve heard from Mike Joyce has always impressed me. He’s not just a good drummer–he’s a great drummer in my book.
Aw, man, now I want to change my vote to “Still Ill” just to give it some love.
For me, “Still Ill” wins by a landslide. (I was surprised I had the first vote for it!) It’s my second favorite Smiths song of all time, after “I Know It’s Over.” Well, tied for second (“Rubber Ring”). It’s a tough field.
Funny how a track that didn’t even appear on the original album is winning the poll. [Smiths swot voice]TCM wasn’t on the Rough Trade release; it was added to the Sire US release.[/Ssv]
John Porter’s production on the album was way overdone. If you like this album, hunt down the Troy Tate version, which has been available on bootleg for quite some time. It crushes the Porter version like a grape.
Joyce and Rourke were a killer rhythm section. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the essence of The Smiths was Rourke’s bass playing - in particular, his fills. I find similarities between his style and Mike Mills of R.E.M., always doing something unexpected, melodic. All imaginable homages have been paid to Marr, of course, and Morrissey.
As the years have gone by, I have grown to really appreciate the slower songs on the album. But my favorite is still YGEN, although, again, there’s a better version elsewhere (Hatful of Hollow).
Yeah. I’m really curious now as to what Manwich was talking about in regards to Joyce’s drumming. Perhaps some early stuff I never heard was shaky, but everything I heard on the albums and live stuff stuff like Rank has been not just adequate, but superb. His drum parts are intricate–not the typical eighth note high hat snare on two and four crap. I can’t imagine saying he was “barely competent.” The guy was solid. You just can’t fuck with this rhythm section. That is as tight as it gets.
Huh? This prompted me to dig into my much neglected vinyl mountain, and by jings this is correct! Rough Trade must have added it in at some point because it’s on the CD.
Oh, thanks for this. I didn’t know this was available (somewhat naively).