1001 Albums Summary

Given how many times I have listened to The Smiths self-titled debut in the past, it’s surprising to me that I had never once listened to this album…and after listening I’m disappointed I hadn’t done so sooner! This album is really really good from start to (almost) finish. While this album doesn’t contain any songs that reach the heights of some of their most famous tracks, (although “Stop Me If…” comes close), it does contain 8 excellent tracks, one right after the other, and 2 thankfully short ones at the end that really should have been left off. Johnny Marr’s guitar sounds as good as always, and Morrisey mostly stays away from the daft and pretentious lyrics and grating vocal stylings that can make him a difficult listen on other albums. A very pleasant surprise.

Homeward Bound remains one of S&G’s best songs and Scarborough Fair is just so damn pretty. The heavenly harmonies are there as is the pristine production and moments of songwriting genius, but as a whole it feels too tame for my tastes and contains too much filler for a record that already clocks in at a brisk 28 minutes. No other real standouts besides the two aforementioned tracks. Not a classic but an enjoyable enough listen.

Bursting at the seams. Loud and chaotic with much more of a punk rock influence than I was expecting from a “glam rock” band. The best moments are when they slow down their frenetic energy and focus more on the hooks and the melody like on the songs “Tooting Bec Wreck,” “Beating Gets Faster” and “Ice Cream Summer” where the glam-rock formula comes more into focus.

This album is on the list off of the strength of one song. A legendary, genre-defining song. But one song does not an album make, as awesome as that song may be. The other material on this album just isn’t that great. “Run Charlie Run” is cringy as hell to listen to. The three slow ballads that follow Papa are pleasant, in an easy-listening sort of way, yet boring, especially following the high of track 3. The last two songs on the record are better and end on a higher note. Overall, the material doesn’t feel cohesive to me. Seems like most others in this group liked this album a lot more than I did!