the queen is dead (the smiths)
There are two famous, dominant aspects of The Smiths' sound- there's the witty, morose, pitch black prettiness of Morrissey's voice and lyrics. And there's the fast, jangly, versatile magic of Johnny Marr's guitars and compositions. They're like two cards leaning against each other, propping each other up. When they're in balance, the results are magnificent. "The Queen is Dead" makes for an awesome opening track, a dark energy that establishes a real sense of promise and significance for the rest of the record. It's a weird song, an airy orbit urgently, anxiously circling around Morrissey. "Cemetery Gates" is my favorite song on the album, besides the masterpieces I've known for years. It's upbeat, wonderful pop, with clever and sad lyrics. The second half of the album is defined by the old classics- "Bigmouth Strikes Again," darkly hilarious and urgent; "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side," lovely and melancholy; and "There is a Light That Never Goes Out," a beautiful, swooningly sad classic- one of the ultimate songs of youth, yearning, restlessness and heartbreak. Some of the other songs are nice; the weakest songs on the album come when Marr doesn't push back against Morrissey's glumness- there are a couple self indulgently whiny, slow sobfests mixed in.
Altogether a charming work. Several stellar examples of that Morrissey-Marr dynamic that marked the Smiths as one of their era's best, most influential and most unique bands.
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