Ten To Hear Again: The Smiths

Ten To Hear Again: The Smiths

Listen To The List: The Smiths – Ten To Hear Again

If The Smiths you know best are songs like “This Charming Man”, “How Soon Is Now?”, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, here are ten to hear again (or for the first time):

The Smiths are definitely one of the more difficult groups to make a list like this for because of a variety of reasons.  First, they have a rabid fan base that already knows their relatively small discography backwards and forwards.  Second, many of their best-known songs were never singles or were originally the B-sides to singles.  Third, many of their now most famous songs were less successful UK singles, while many of their more successful UK singles are now considered to be lesser tracks (not to mention that they had no real commercial American success at all).  All of this conspires to make compiling a “deep cuts” list for The Smiths something of a fool’s errand, nevertheless (being a fool) I will try.  I took as a basic guideline to exclude songs that made the cut for the two volume “Best Of” discs released in the early 90’s, but even there I wasn’t faithful as I included two tracks here, both originally B-sides, that made those albums as well.  However, if you are looking to get a little deeper into The Smiths work than what you might hear on an 80’s alternative rock radio station, this list is a decent place to start.  So, if The Smiths you know best are songs like “This Charming Man”, “How Soon Is Now?”, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, here are ten to hear again:

1. “Girl Afraid” – B-Side to the single “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”; later included on the compilation Hatful Of Hollow

“Girl Afraid” is, in a real sense, an encapsulation of everything that The Smiths were in an under three-minute package.  The song has a long instrumental intro that prominently features Johnny Marr’s innovative, jangly, anti-guitar hero playing, the tight and punchy rhythm section of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, and the fey singing and proto-emo, relationship dramas that Morrissey helped to invent.  “Girl Afraid” is pretty, witty and biting and every teenager who ever felt awkward can relate.

2. “Rubber Ring” – B-Side to the single “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side”; later included on the compilation Louder Than Bombs

“Rubber Ring” is really a showcase for the largely unheralded part of The Smiths, the rhythm section of bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, who carry this unusual song.  One part heartsick ballad, one part faux-rockabilly anthem “Rubber Ring” might take a few spins to grow on you but it is superb.  I love the “You are sleeping/You do not want to believe…” sample on the outro too (which originally bled directly into the song “Asleep” on the original version of “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” single, showing how seriously The Smiths took even non-album singles as a work of art.

3. “A Rush A Push And The Land Is Ours” – From the album Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths opened their final album Strangeways, Here We Come by defying the notion that they were a jangle-pop band (a sound Marr had pioneered) with the lead track “A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours” which eschews guitars for keyboards and xylophones and yet still sounds like The Smiths.  It wouldn’t be the only time that The Smiths defied expectations on the album, but it is one of the best.   I have personally always loved Morrissey’s growl on the word “rush” in the chorus too.

4. “London” – B-Side to the single “Shoplifters Of The World Unite”; later included on the compilation Louder Than Bombs

Anyone who has ever listened to The Smiths live album Rank knows that guitarist Johnny Marr could really sink his teeth into a tune and rock, he just rarely did so on The Smiths albums which tended to play up the pretty side of his playing and Morrissey’s lyrics and vocals.  I have always loved “London” because it is one of the few times on album that we get to hear the vicious, rowdy side of Marr’s playing.  It also is one of the few Smiths songs that really features the twin guitar attack of the time when second guitarist Craig Gannon was in the band.

5. “I Know It’s Over” – From the album The Queen Is Dead

Morrissey regularly writes about characters who realize their life is ending and they never really lived (for some this is a tragedy and for others a blessing) and “I Know It’s Over” is one of the best examples of this.  Even though “I Know It’s Over” is one of several tentpole songs on this landmark album it usually gets overlooked by fans and critics alike, which is a shame because it is a truly great song.

6. “Rusholme Ruffians” – From the album Meat Is Murder

Built off a popping bassline provided by Andy Rourke “Rusholme Ruffians” is The Smiths stab at a true rockabilly track and it works great because they reshape the genre in their own image.  While “Rusholme Ruffians” borrows both the sound and 1950’s toughness of rockabilly, Marr’s jangly guitars overlay the rhythm section and Morrissey brings a sweetness to the toughness of the words, making the song both a neo-rockabilly gem and uniquely The Smiths.

7. “Handsome Devil” – From the album Hatful Of Hollow

A rough and tumble rock track, at least by the standard of The Smiths, “Handsome Devil” barrels forward full of innuendo, double entendres, and a few straightforward come-ons and is better for it.  “Handsome Devil” served as early proof that The Smiths could rock without sounding like traditional macho rock wankers and is a deserved fan favorite.

8. “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” – From the album The Smiths

“The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” sounds like a lullaby. In fact, it is a lullaby, albeit a very dark one.  And while there are a variety of ways to interpret this song they all at least seem to have an undercurrent of darkness and sadness to them.  It has always been among my personal favorites from their debut even though it gets overshadowed by many of the other tracks.

9. “Pretty Girls Make Graves” – From the album The Smiths

For many, many years there was so much about Morrissey regarding his past, his beliefs, his sexuality (or lack thereof), that was veiled in mystery that fans looked for hints and scraps of meanings in every line of every song.  Well, few songs seem to offer more obvious clues to some of those questions than “Pretty Girls Make Graves”.  Musically, “Pretty Girls Makes Graves” is an interesting contrast between the melodic, jaunty verses that move the story forward and the weird “chorus” where Morrissey simply wails forlornly over a drastically shifted time signature.  It gives the song a creepy, unsettled feeling that fits it message quite well even while leaving the listener slightly uncomfortable, at least until Marr’s maudlin, but beautiful coda at the end of the song.

10. “Death Of A Disco Dancer” – From the album Strangeways, Here We Come

A slow building, darkly shimmering attack on the loss of community that works its way up from a simple, pretty ballad to a cacophony of cascading chords, crashing drums, pounding bass, and crazed piano (played by Morrissey in his first instrumental contribution to a Smiths record).  It’s long been a personal favorite.