The Smiths

[The Bear]

3 hours ago, purpleronnie said:

Funny you say that because its pretty much a given these days that most smiths fans prefer HOH to the debut, based on the production of the two Lp's.

I quite like the slightly raw and echoey production of the debut. Certainly on stuff Reel Around The Fountain, You've Got Everything Now, and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. 

 

It's just some of the session tracks on HOH I have issues with. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

6 hours ago, The Bear said:

In terms of variety and production value then Louder Than Bombs is by far the best for newcomers. 

 

Hatful Of Hollow's issue for me is you get live session versions which aren't a patch on the original versions. A few exceptions are the vastly superior This Charming Man and stuff that isn't on other albums like Handsome Devil. 

I MUCH prefer the session versions of What Difference Does it Make? and Back To the Old House on HOH.

 

They should release all the session stuff on something. I've got the versions of William it was Really Nothing and Nowhere Fast on an old CD single of Last Night... but the version of Half a Person I don't think has ever been on anything other than the radio. It's on YouTube, where of course it sounds shite

 

 

[The Bear]

8 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I MUCH prefer the session versions of What Difference Does it Make? and Back To the Old House on HOH.

Yeah not for me. In particular You've Got Everything Now is dreadful, undertempo and muddy sounding. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

10 minutes ago, The Bear said:

Yeah not for me. In particular You've Got Everything Now is dreadful, undertempo and muddy sounding. 

I'm a bit underwhelmed by either version if I'm honest. I mean, it's still a good track in the grand scheme of things but not amongst their best for me

[Bellend Sebastian]

I've just been playing Cemet(e)ry Gates on the old guitar and it's a wonderful example of what made The Smiths so ace.

 

It's a piece of piss to play if someone shows you how and you can tell that he probably wrote the basic thing in about ten minutes, but it just isn't like anybody else. I cannot come up with songs to save my life so I'm doubly impressed when someone seems to just be able to let this stuff flow out of them.

 

I think how the vocal follows the music is quite unusual as well. Old Moz cops a lot of flak these days, but he is good at what he does