1984. The year I was supposed to graduate from high school but I did not. I had to make up a phys-ed class worth 1/16th of a credit. All because I got an "F" because I told the drunk and vile phys-ed teacher to F***off. I was in-the-closet in high-school, suicidal, lonely, and this phys-ed teacher made it clear that he hated fags. Back then teachers - any teacher - could get away with anti-gay remarks.
This album, with its unabashedly homo-erotic cover art and covertly gay references - was what saved me not only that year but became the essential soundtrack for the rest of my life. It has become the album I come back to always -- more than any other Smiths or Morrissey work. I use to think the other later works from the Smiths and Morrissey were my "favorite" but over time it is this album that I find is the most sharply-focused and has the most "soul".
The Village People, David Bowie, Boy George, and others toyed with and were coy about sexuality, androgyny, and homosexuality - but to me The Smiths and this album in particular was the first real honest, and unabashedly direct about being homosexual. Gay life whether it was laid out in romantic longings and sentiments, or pure outright lust, were given equal (i.e., to "straight" love) and forthright treatment for the first time in my musical experience. The directness of the music, the way the instruments were played, and the production were a perfect match.
If you can distill Morrissey's and the Smiths sound, this work would be 95% proof. Others may say the production is so-so but I disagree. The sound is crisp, the drums and cymbals are tight, the entire album appears to have been played with such an alacrity - no other Smiths or Morrisey work seems to have such a directness about it.
Put on a really good set of headphones and listen to this album, there is no muddiness at all on this work. You hear the guitars, bass, drums, and voice - all distinct yet oh-so-drop-dead-gorgeously intertwined. The music is played so head-on that you get a sense that there is no sense or room for pretense. There is something almost classically baroque about the over-all structure of the songs and melodies that I find gives this album a "classical" and enduring feel to it. The later Smiths/Morrissey works tend to have a more theatrical or orchestral feel to them that while beautiful and grand seems to somehow rely too much on electronic drapery ("How Soon Is Now" being a lead example) you go back and listen those songs and then go back this album, their most seminal work in my humble opinion.
Now I LOVE all of The Smiths/Morrisey's work but their debut album to me is lyrically, musically, rhythmically, vocally, politically, socially, romantically, sexually, and spiritually, their most honest, direct, and purest to who they are/were. I'm not a rock critic but to me this album never ceases to amaze me that every time I listen to it, I always think what a little miracle this album really is - dare I say it is one of the most brilliant and miraculous musical points in rock history. Rickchicago
This album, with its unabashedly homo-erotic cover art and covertly gay references - was what saved me not only that year but became the essential soundtrack for the rest of my life. It has become the album I come back to always -- more than any other Smiths or Morrissey work. I use to think the other later works from the Smiths and Morrissey were my "favorite" but over time it is this album that I find is the most sharply-focused and has the most "soul".
The Village People, David Bowie, Boy George, and others toyed with and were coy about sexuality, androgyny, and homosexuality - but to me The Smiths and this album in particular was the first real honest, and unabashedly direct about being homosexual. Gay life whether it was laid out in romantic longings and sentiments, or pure outright lust, were given equal (i.e., to "straight" love) and forthright treatment for the first time in my musical experience. The directness of the music, the way the instruments were played, and the production were a perfect match.
If you can distill Morrissey's and the Smiths sound, this work would be 95% proof. Others may say the production is so-so but I disagree. The sound is crisp, the drums and cymbals are tight, the entire album appears to have been played with such an alacrity - no other Smiths or Morrisey work seems to have such a directness about it.
Put on a really good set of headphones and listen to this album, there is no muddiness at all on this work. You hear the guitars, bass, drums, and voice - all distinct yet oh-so-drop-dead-gorgeously intertwined. The music is played so head-on that you get a sense that there is no sense or room for pretense. There is something almost classically baroque about the over-all structure of the songs and melodies that I find gives this album a "classical" and enduring feel to it. The later Smiths/Morrissey works tend to have a more theatrical or orchestral feel to them that while beautiful and grand seems to somehow rely too much on electronic drapery ("How Soon Is Now" being a lead example) you go back and listen those songs and then go back this album, their most seminal work in my humble opinion.
Now I LOVE all of The Smiths/Morrisey's work but their debut album to me is lyrically, musically, rhythmically, vocally, politically, socially, romantically, sexually, and spiritually, their most honest, direct, and purest to who they are/were. I'm not a rock critic but to me this album never ceases to amaze me that every time I listen to it, I always think what a little miracle this album really is - dare I say it is one of the most brilliant and miraculous musical points in rock history. Rickchicago
No comments:
Post a Comment