ALBUMS: Louder Than Bombs (1987): The Queen is Dead (1986)
MVC Ratings: Louder 4.0/$$$$; Queen 4.5/$$$$$.
How about this for a morbid lyric:
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die.
Later it’s a 10-ton truck that the singer wouldn’t mind so much smashing into them as long as the object of his love is by his side.
Morrissey, lead singer and lyricist for the Smiths, isn’t like everyone else. Despite the common name.
(Not to be confused with ‘A Band Called Smith,’ which I reviewed here earlier.)
At the sad heart of Smith is Morrisey, a morose but enigmatic lyricist with one name; Some folks don’t dwell on Morrisey and instead like Smith for guitarist Johnny Marr.
Both these albums are good examples of their best work. Bombs is a two-record package. Smith was retro and progressive in that it eschewed the techno-synth sound that was popular in the late 80s. Marr is an excellent guitarist who rarely did any soloing or power chords. Yet bouncing off the music was Morrissey and his laissez-faire sing-song delivery that purposely clashed with the music.
I’d admire Smith’s unusual song structures and appreciate the humor behind the depression.
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven’t got one
Anymore
Sad, funny. But not necessarily right for my head space right now.
To paraphrase Bill Maher who was skewering the Oscars for its downbeat film selection. Can we just make a movie (record) that doesn’t make you want to take a bath with a toaster?