Line-up: 
Morrissey – vocals / Johnny Marr – guitars, piano / Andy Rourke – bass guitar / Mike Joyce – drums

The Smiths - The Smiths (1984) {2011 Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks), CUE, LOG | 1 CD | Complete Scans 600dpi | Release: 2011 | 367 MB | RAR 3% Rec.
Indie Rock | Label: Rhino Records UK | Catalog#: 2564665873 | Country: UK | Year: 2011

Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths' eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era. On the surface, the Smiths' sound wasn't radically different from traditional British guitar pop -- Johnny Marr's ringing, layered guitars were catchy and melodic -- but it was actually an astonishing subversion of the form, turning the structure inside out. Very few of the songs followed conventional verse-chorus structure, yet they were quite melodic within their own right. Marr's inventive songwriting was made all the more original and innovative by Morrissey's crooning and lyrics. Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality ("Hand in Glove") to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds. While the production of The Smiths is a little pristine, the songs are vital and alive, developing a new, unique voice within pop music. Though the Smiths continued to improve over the course of their career, their debut remains startling and exciting. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Tracklist:
01. Reel Around The Fountain [5:57]
02. You’ve Got Everything Now [4:00]
03. Miserable Lie [4:27]
04. Pretty Girls Make Graves [3:43]
05. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle [4:38]
06. This Charming Man [2:43]
07. Still Ill [3:20]
08. Hand In Glove [3:22]
09. What Difference Does It Make? [3:49]
10. I Don’t Owe You Anything [4:04]
11. Suffer Little Children [5:31]
Playing Time.........: 45:39

With their second proper album Meat Is Murder, the Smiths begin to branch out and diversify, while refining the jangling guitar pop of their debut. In other words, it catches the group at a crossroads, unsure quite how to proceed. Taking the epic, layered "How Soon Is Now?" as a starting point (the single, which is darker and more dance-oriented than the remainder of the album, was haphazardly inserted into the middle of the album for its American release), the group crafts more sweeping, mid-tempo numbers, whether it's the melancholy "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" or the failed, self-absorbed protest of the title track. While the production is more detailed than before, the Smiths are at their best when they stick to their strengths -- "The Headmaster Ritual" and "I Want the One I Can't Have" are fine elaborations of the formula they laid out on the debut, while "Rusholme Ruffians" is an infectious stab at rockabilly. However, the rest of Meat Is Murder is muddled, repeating lyrical and musical ideas of before without significantly expanding them or offering enough hooks or melodies to make it the equal of The Smiths or Hatful of Hollow. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Tracklist:
01. The Headmaster Ritual [4:53]
02. Rusholme Ruffians [4:20]
03. I Want The One I Can’t Have [3:13]
04. What She Said [2:42]
05. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore [4:38]
06. Nowhere Fast [2:36]
07. Well I Wonder [4:00]
08. Barbarism Begins At Home [6:53]
09. Meat Is Murder [6:12]
Playing Time.........: 39:51

Meat Is Murder may have been a holding pattern, but The Queen Is Dead is the Smiths' great leap forward, taking the band to new musical and lyrical heights. Opening with the storming title track, The Queen Is Dead is a harder-rocking record than anything the Smiths had attempted before, but that's only on a relative scale -- although the backbeat is more pronounced, the group certainly doesn't rock in a conventional sense. Instead, Johnny Marr has created a dense web of guitars, alternating from the minor-key rush of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the faux rockabilly of "Vicar in a Tutu" to the bouncy acoustic pop of "Cemetry Gates" and "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," as well as the lovely melancholy of "I Know It's Over" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." And the rich musical bed provides Morrissey with the support for his finest set of lyrics. Shattering the myth that he is a self-pitying sap, Morrissey delivers a devastating set of clever, witty satires of British social mores, intellectualism, class, and even himself. He also crafts some of his finest, most affecting songs, particularly in the wistful "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and the epic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," two masterpieces that provide the foundation for a remarkable album. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Tracklist:
01. The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty Medley) [4:53]
02. Frankly, Mr. Shankly [2:19]
03. I Know It’s Over [5:49]
04. Never Had No One Ever [3:37]
05. Cemetry Gates [2:41]
06. Bigmouth Strikes Again [3:13]
07. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side [3:17]
08. Vicar In a Tutu [2:23]
09. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out [6:12]
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others [3:17]
Playing Time.........: 37:09

Recorded as the relationship between Morrissey and Johnny Marr was beginning to splinter, Strangeways, Here We Come is the most carefully considered and elaborately produced album in the group's catalog. Though it aspires greatly to better The Queen Is Dead, it falls just short of its goals. With producer Stephen Street, the Smiths created a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before. Morrissey and Marr also labored hard over the songs, working to expand the Smiths' sound within their very real boundaries. For the most part, they succeed. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before," and "I Won't Share You" are classics, while "A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours," "Death of a Disco Dancer," and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" aren't far behind. However, the songs also have a tendency to be glib and forced, particularly on "Unhappy Birthday" and the anti-record company "Paint a Vulgar Picture," which has grown increasingly ironic in the wake of the Smiths' and Morrissey's love of repackaging the same material in new compilations. Still, Strangeways is a graceful way to bow out. While it doesn't match The Queen Is Dead or The Smiths, it is far from embarrassing and offers a summation of the group's considerable strengths. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Tracklist:
01. A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours [3:01]
02. I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish [3:47]
03. Death Of a Disco Dancer [5:26]
04. Girlfriend In a Coma [2:02]
05. Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before [2:41]
06. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [5:06]
07. Unhappy Birthday [2:45]
08. Paint a Vulgar Picture [5:35]
09. Death At One’s Elbow [2:02]
10. I Won’t Share You [2:51]
Playing Time.........: 36:14

 

The Smiths - Rank (1988) {2011, Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks), CUE, LOG | 1 CD | Complete Scans 600dpi | Release: 2011 | 415 MB | RAR 3% Rec.
Indie Rock | Label: Rhino Records UK | Catalog#: 2564665876 | Country: UK | Year: 2011

 

The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow (1984) {2011 Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks), CUE, LOG | 1 CD | Complete Scans 600dpi | Release: 2011 | 436 MB | RAR 3% Rec.
Indie Rock | Label: Rhino Records UK | Catalog#: 2564665875 | Country: UK | Year: 2011

Several months after releasing their first album, the Smiths issued the singles and rarities collection Hatful of Hollow, establishing a tradition of repackaging their material as many times and as quickly as possible. While several cuts on Hatful of Hollow are BBC versions of songs from The Smiths, the versions on the compilation are nervy and raw -- and they're also not the selling point of the record. The Smiths treated singles as individual entities, not just ways to promote an album, and many of their finest songs were never issued on their studio albums. Hatful of Hollow contains many of these classics, including the sweet rush of "William, It Was Really Nothing," and the sardonic "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," the tongue-in-cheek lament of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," the wistful "Back to the Old House," "Girl Afraid," and the pulsating, tremolo-laced masterpiece "How Soon Is Now?" With such strong material forming the core of the album, it's little wonder that Hatful of Hollow is as consistent as The Smiths and arguably captures the excitement surrounding the band even better. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

 

The Smiths - The World Won’t Listen (1987) {2011 Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks), CUE, LOG | 1 CD | Complete Scans 600dpi | Release: 2011 | 437 MB | RAR 3% Rec.
Indie Rock | Label: Rhino Records UK | Catalog#: 2564665874 | Country: UK | Year: 2011

 

The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs (1987) {2011 Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks), CUE, LOG | 1 CD | Complete Scans 600dpi | Release: 2011 | 538 MB | RAR 3% Rec.
Indie Rock | Label: Rhino Records UK | Catalog#: 2564665870 | Country: UK | Year: 2011

A compilation of singles, B-sides, album tracks, and BBC sessions assembled for the American market, Louder Than Bombs is an overlong and unfocused collection that nevertheless boasts a wealth of brilliant material. Since Hatful of Hollow was unavailable in the U.S. at the time of the release of Louder Than Bombs, this compilation contains large chunks of that album, as well as several cuts from The Smiths, which makes the record a little redundant for most Smiths fans. Also, Louder Than Bombs contains some of the worst material the group ever recorded, including the bland instrumental "Oscillate Wildly" and a cover of Twinkle's "Golden Light." Excluding all of this material, the remainder of the record is brilliant. The singles "Shakespeare's Sister," "Panic," "Ask," "Shoplifters of the World Unite," and "Sheila Take a Bow" are all definitive, as are the elegiac "Unloveable," "Asleep," "Stretch Out and Wait," and "Half a Person," which are all unavailable anywhere else (excluding the British counterpart to Louder Than Bombs, The World Won't Listen). Furthermore, the sneering, bouncing pop of "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" and the bizarre travelogue of "Is It Really So Strange?" are two other essential songs not available anywhere else. Though The World Won't Listen is a more concise collection, Louder Than Bombs is a necessary purchase for any Smiths fan. ~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Tracklist:

01. Is It Really So Strange? [3:06]
02. Sheila Take a Bow [2:42]
03. Shoplifters of the World Unite [2:59]
04. Sweet and Tender Hooligan [3:36]
05. Half a Person [3:37]
06. London [3:48]
07. Panic [2:21]
08. Girl Afraid [2:46]
09. Shakespeare’s Sister [2:09]
10. William, It Was Really Nothing [2:10]
11. You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby [3:34]
12. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now [3:36]
13. Ask [3:17]
14. Golden Lights [2:41]
15. Oscillate Wildly [3:27]
16. These Things Take Time [2:23]
17. Rubber Ring [3:49]
18. Back To The Old House [3:04]
19. Hand in Glove [3:17]
20. Stretch Out and Wait [2:39]
21. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want [1:52]
22. This Night Has Opened My Eyes [3:41]
23. Unloveable [3:56]
24. Asleep [4:12]

Playing Time.........: 1:13:11