#369 - The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs (1987)
MUSIC HISTORY WRITTEN BY HEAD WRITER DJ MORTY COYLE:
Released on March 30th 1987 on Sire Records in the U.S. and then in May on Rough Trade Records in the U.K. and produced by the band and various producers this is a double, compilation of singles, B-sides, alternate mixes, outtakes, and live tracks by the British, Post-Punk, Indie, Alternative, Proto-Goth, Rock group.
As we did The Smiths’ debut with Christina P. you can listen to that show for more info. I’ll just catch you up for this collection.
The Smiths were formed in Manchester, England in 1982 by vocalist/lyricist Stephen Patrick Morrissey and guitarist/composer Johnny Marr with the solid rhythm section of Andy Roark on bass and Mike Joyce on drums.
Morrissey, as he came to be known mononymously, had his roots in the British tradition of dandified, intellectual, and fiercely literate, humorists like Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward.
But he also worshipped gender-bending and cutting edge musical artists like the New York Dolls, Roxy Music, Iggy & the Stooges, and Patti Smith.
And about 10 years after Glam Rock’s fluid sexuality and androgyny stomped on the scene Morrissey arrived to offer the Pop world something truly new... a self-proclaimed asexual sex symbol who was lovably unlovable.
His lyrics could be witty, maudlin, caustic, and performatively personal all in the same song.
And in the teenaged Johnny Marr Morrissey found an accomplished accomplice whose inventive composing and guitar playing merged the jangle of the ‘60s with a Rockabilly ‘50s twang and the slinky chunka-chunka of ’70s Soul and Funk all while eschewing the synthesizers and other electronic instruments of their contemporaries.
The Smiths were simultaneously unique and classic and they didn’t just make fans... they converted fanatics.
So the intention of this set was to gather songs from their two U.K. compilations, a few from 1984’s “Hatful of Hollow” and most of 1987’s “The World Won’t Listen”, and make them available to their rapidly growing American fanbase who were clamoring for them through imports.
But ironically this became so popular as an import from America that they were forced to release it domestically in England as well.
And then right as the wave of Smiths fever was about to crest they broke up at the end of 1987.
Although they had only released four studio albums along with these singles and live stuff they had absolutely energized and transformed the ‘80s British Indie music scene and influenced countless artists worldwide like Radiohead, Oasis, Jeff Buckley, Muse, Arcade Fire, Deftones, and Andre 3000 from Outkast just to name a few.
Morrissey‘s solo career stayed pretty solid for about 20 years and Johnny played with groups like Talking Heads, The The, Electronic, and The Pretenders as well as with his own projects.
There were also lawsuits, bitter sniping at each other through the press, and Morrissey’s almost gleeful desire for controversy.
Fans still pray for a reunion and the outlook seems bleak at best but you never know... people said the same thing about Guns N’ Roses, The Replacements, and Fleetwood Mac.