IF IT'S NOT LOVE THEN IT'S THE POLL THAT WILL BRING US TOGETHER - ILM Artist Poll #72 - THE SMITHS - RESULTS THREAD

Both versions are printed in the liner notes.

media vita in morte sumus

Yeah later Smiths >>>>>>>> early.

Bit harsh on a couple of points, Kent Burt, but otm

Debating early vs. late re:a band that was only together for like 4 years.

Both versions are printed in the liner notes.

Not on the LP of LTB.

there are some interesting contemporary articles here dealing with the fallout after the Sun claimed that 'Handsome Devil' was about paedophilia

http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index2.php?username=thesmithsfile&page=4

Debating early vs. late re:a band that was only together for like 4 years.

Clear dip in quality starting with "Ask."

'Ask' rules.

KB really throwin down some gauntlets here

idk how anyone could really say the first album is their best, that's just nuts. peak period is the middle imo!

Actually, the dip started with TQID, but markedly so with "Ask" & its wretched b-side.

.... what

Frankly Mr. Shankly, NHNE, VIAT...subpar Smiths.

"ask" of course just precedes "shoplifters of the world unite"/"half a person" which i could build an argument for as the greatest smiths single

Calling It: Kent Burt is a sock for a bucktoothed girl from Luxembourg.

"Half a Person" to me is where Moz dips into self-parody - the type of stuff people expect mopey old Moz to write. Same with "Unloveable." I do like SOTWU a lot.

lol Grisso

"Half a Person" was my no. 2

When it comes to sub-par Smiths, my vote goes to 'Happy Hour'

xp. my no. 3

I had no idea such a degree of antipathy towards early Smiths was even possible before recent days. Take your pick of whichever recordings you prefer from the first two years or so. That's a secondary issue for me. But it has always seemed self-evident that's where the best stuff lies!

Half a person my #1, xpost.

The Smiths best stuff was in 1985-1986, IMO. Or the "middle years" as Shakey pointed out.

the smiths best period was definitely on the edge between their early and middle years, though there's a case for their mid-late material as well, and i wouldn't second guess anyone who vouched for just their early stuff or late stuff on its own

That opening-of-the floodgates first batch of Morrissey songs are so incredible, though. So felt. Much better than the '80s music hall stuff of tQiD, imo

DavidM, you're my kind of people.

no later period Smiths album features anything as awful as that off-pitch keening "I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVIIIIICE" blech

But one them does feature "Girlfriend in a Coma".

in general, i cannot stand his falsetto. some songs are so good that they manage to distract from it, though

"Girlfriend in a Coma"

a fantastic single that would improve any album by its inclusion

Which, tellingly, has yet to place and still possibly may.

that off-pitch keening "I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVIIIIICE" blech

that is one of my favorite Smiths attributes

Yeah, I have a soft spot for Moz's falsetto shrieking and his yodeling. He kind of dropped them from his repertoire as time went on, and I missed them in a way.

after 7 years on ilx, i'm rarely surprised how much other posters' tastes differ from mine

I don't listen to the Smiths to hear someone sing on pitch. It was always fun playing the first album at my old record store - people always looked horrified when it got to that part of "Miserable Lie."

The nicest thing I can say about "Girlfriend in a Coma" is it makes "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" sound genius in comparison.

Thing is, I can't even pretend to be as dismissive of the late stuff as a whole bunch of you are about selected earlier songs. The magnitude of the disdain is truly unexpected.

what, did you not see the noms thread

http://i.imgur.com/GTqjr02.jpg

31. LONDON (B-side of 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite' 12")
450 points | 22 votes

I don't listen to the Smiths to hear someone sing on pitch

me neither, but i also don't listen to them in order to hear someone sing off-pitch, so i avoid Miserable Lie. i hear the "i need advice" part as by far the worst thing they ever did, and sometimes use it as shorthand for "this is awful"

the rest of the song is actually pretty sweet though

too low

absolutely nuts guitar on this

if we're talking about Smiths we dislike, I always thought that The Boy With The Thorn In His Side was one of the worst things they ever did and that the Bis cover is much better, I know this sounds like challops but I don't care

Is that the last one for today?

that off-pitch keening "I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVIIIIICE" blech

Wah! That bit's brilliant!

"London" has become a firm favourite of mine over time. "Train, heave on to Euston." I've been on such a train, leaving the past behind, or attempting to, at various points in my life.

range of opinions here rivals XTC fandom

Yes that's it for tonight. Sleep well.

Good. I'm tired and I... I want to go to bed.

Oh God, "Miserable Lie" is so embarrassing.

"London" is a latter-day Smiths song I like a lot. Top 10 for me. Love the live version on Rank.