Although The Queen is Dead is usually referred to as the The Smiths' masterpiece, recently topping an NME poll for their greatest album of all time, the band’s final outing is arguably their finest hour. Released following the breakup of the group, Strangeways, Here We Come is the forgotten jewel in The Smiths' canon.
Following the dissolution of the Morrissey-Marr partnership - British music's the most prolific songwriting duo since Lennon-McCartney, reports of in-studio squabbling during the recording of Strangeways began to emerge in the music press. However, according to Morrissey nothing could have been further from the truth as he claims in his autobiography: “Strangeways, Here We Come is the most joyful and relaxed Smiths studio session, with crates of beer wheeled in at the close of each day and no war in sight.”
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| The Smiths: Mike Joyce (drums), Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) |
The opening track 'A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours' develops a minor chord sequence played by Marr on keyboards. The song is one of the most radical departures from The Smiths’ traditional sound, insomuch that it has no guitars. The song was purposely written by Marr to prove that he could write songs on different instruments (despite previous piano driven B-sides 'Oscillate Wildly' and 'Asleep'). It was also a departure from the “jingle jangle” sound of previous albums. 'A Rush and a Push...' perfectly sets the tone for what would turn out to be the group’s farewell.
Perhaps prophetically, mortality plays a part in much of Morrissey’s lyrics - 'Death at One’s Elbow', 'Unhappy Birthday', as well as 'Death of a Disco Dancer', one of the band’s most overlooked songs, with its descending chord sequence reminiscent of The Beatles' 'Dear Prudence'. It is the most sonically engaging performance on the album. In fact Marr said he was “trying to capture everything about the atmosphere of The White Album.” During the song’s cathartic climax a jazzy piano motif akin to David Bowie’s 'Aladdin Sane' is played by Morrisey: “And I am loosely credited as a musician.”
Powerhouse Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before was initially slated as the lead single for the album but the pulled after a reference to mass murder (in August 1987, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan shot and killed 16 before killing himself). With the BBC refusing airplay it was replaced by the cheery-yet slightly bland Girlfriend in a Coma. Lyrically it’s perhaps the most morbid single Morrissey ever penned in which the girlfriend's fate is sealed in the closing couplet: “Girlfriend in a coma/ I know, I know it’s serious”.
In Paint a Vulgar Picture Morrissey unleashes a tirade against the music industry (possibly former label Rough Trade and its founder Geoff Travis - though he denies this). Indeed Morrissey’s predictions couldn’t be more accurate, and indeed today ring truer than ever:
Re-issue! Re-package! Re-package!
Re-evaluate the songs
Double pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)
Production-wise Strangeways is far and away the most crisp, colourful and ambitious record The Smiths ever laid onto tape, indeed as Slant Magazine said: "Whether or not Strangeways, Here We Come ended the Smiths' brief career with their best album has been the subject of considerable debate for nearly a quarter century, but it definitively stands as the band's most lush, richest work."
