Smiths, the Strangeways Here We Come ( remaster 180g vinyl LP )

Release date 09-07-2009 (originally released in 1987)

2009 EU ( remaster 180g vinyl LP ) 1987's Strangeways Here We Come features the classic hits" Girlfriend In A Coma', ' I Started Something I Couldnt Finish' 'Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me' and 'Stop Me If You Think Youve Heard This One Before' .

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.

Tracks:
A1 A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
A2 I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
A3 Death Of A Disco Dancer
A4 Girlfriend In A Coma
A5 Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

B1 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
B2 Unhappy Birthday
B3 Paint A Vulgar Picture
B4 Death At One's Elbow
B5 I Won't Share You

With their second proper album Meat Is Murder, the Smiths begin to branch out and diversify, while refining the jangling guitar pop of their debut. In other words, it catches the group at a crossroads, unsure quite how to proceed. Taking the epic, layered "How Soon Is Now?" as a starting point (the single, which is darker and more dance-oriented than the remainder of the album, was haphazardly inserted into the middle of the album for its American release), the group crafts more sweeping, mid-tempo numbers, whether it's the melancholy "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" or the failed, self-absorbed protest of the title track. While the production is more detailed than before, the Smiths are at their best when they stick to their strengths -- "The Headmaster Ritual" and "I Want the One I Can't Have" are fine elaborations of the formula they laid out on the debut, while "Rusholme Ruffians" is an infectious stab at rockabilly. However, the rest of Meat Is Murder is muddled, repeating lyrical and musical ideas of before without significantly expanding them or offering enough hooks or melodies to make it the equal of The Smiths or Hatful of Hollow.