Newly re-mastered audio by Frank Arkwright (overseen by Johnny Marr, no less) and packaged in the original sleeves with original labels and original inner bags, pressed on high-quality 180 gram vinyl! This absolutely classic album from the Manchester quartet was originally released in 1987. Though the band only lasted four years as a recording unit, their influence can still be seen, heard and felt more than two decades after they officially split up.
The Smiths' underrated and unjustly maligned swan song found the band experimenting with sound and arrangement more than ever before. From the epic instrumental introduction to "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" to the dark instrumentation of "Death Of A Disco Dancer," STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME is a sonically rich album, filled with extremes and surprises. Among its many highlights are its signature tune "Girlfriend In A Coma," and the stingingly autobiographical "Paint A Vulgar Picture," which also happens to contain one of the most inspired, melodic guitar passages of Johnny Marr's legendary career.
Produced by future Morrissey collaborator Stephen Street, STRANGEWAYS is a document of a band's "fierce last stand." An inner sleeve photo shows an exasperated studio shot of a lone figure (the cigarette suggests Marr) obviously at wit's end. The album's conceptual looseness, while not necessarily a bad thing ("Death At One's Elbow" notwithstanding), suggests that the band unit was probably not at its most cohesive. The album's finisher, however, "I Won't Share You," is as tender and graceful a thing as the group ever recorded, a fitting farewell to one of pop music's most engaging teams.
The Smiths: Morrissey (vocals, piano); Johnny Marr (guitar, piano); Andy Rourke (bass); Mike Joyce (drums).
Recorded at The Wool Hall, Bath, England in the spring of 1987.
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Rock
- Remastered, 180 Gram
- Remember, for our lowest prices, always order directly from our official JocoRecords website!
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Track Listings
| 1 | A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours |
| 2 | I Started Something I Couldn't Finish |
| 3 | Death of a Disco Dancer |
| 4 | Girlfriend in a Coma |
| 5 | Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before |
| 6 | Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me |
| 7 | Unhappy Birthday |
| 8 | Paint a Vulgar Picture |
| 9 | Death at One's Elbow |
| 10 | I Won't Share You |
