The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead ALBUM REVIEW 

This album was truly ahead of its time. It took almost 36 years for people to appreciate the accuracy of the title.

It takes a lot of bravery to write There Is A Light That Never Goes Out and then end your album with a song about boobs

“I prefer Morrissey’s politics over his music” god I didn’t expect that but you do you anthony

This album changed my life in so many ways as a 15-year old aspiring musician: 1) Johnny Marr proved to me that you didn't need mind blowing solos to be a great guitar player, as long as your parts fit the song like a glove. 2) Morrissey is often imitated but never duplicated. Absolutely no one in popular music writes lyrics as simply and as powerfully as he does. He may not be Dylan when it comes to his rhymes or craftsmanship, but he's one of the GOATS and always will be. 3) Most personally, the girl I liked at the time started seeing another guy and listening to I Know It's Over was the first time in my life that I felt like a song was about ME. It made me realize the healing power of great songwriting. 10/10.

It’s cute that no matter how successful melon becomes, he never leaves good old Cal behind. Like he still lives with the guy

The outro to Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others is just incredible… “Send me the pillow, the one that you dream on…” Definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album

Morrissey is definitely one of the best lyricists of all time, dry, witty, melancholic, camp, spiteful, mysterious. He just does it for me.

One of my favorite albums of all time. The guitar riff like a minute into Bigmouth Strikes Again is Johnny Marr at his absolute finest

The Smiths is one of those bands that is almost its own genre to me. It’s just special music…

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side filled me with joy in 1986, and still does. Morrissey's scat singing is sheer perfection. For me, the greatest Smiths song!

nice of you to make this review in honor of the queen’s passing

The Queen is Dead is absolutely a deserted island album. Every song is a journey. One of the best produced albums ever, everything feels so tight and impactful. "It takes guts/strength to be kind" is a lyric as beautiful and inspiring as any, on an album full of incredible lyricism. Also, Johnny Marr is a top 5 underrated guitarist. He deserves so much more credit than it seems he's ever gotten.

Johnny Marr's work, to me, is a good example of guitar playing as art, not a sport, like many other revered guitarists seem to think it is. The layers and textures he put into those songs, and as a member of many other bands later on and up to this day, mark him as one of the greatest players ever.

The very first Smiths album is truly a work of unrivalled greatness. It's not as polished as their later albums, but it has a purity, enigma and subtle power about it that was unmatched in rock at the time.

It’s such a testament to The Smiths talent how diverse this album is. I understand why this album has grown through the years from being viewed as some of their weaker track-lists to their absolute strongest. Incredible album.

It warms my heart to see Cal again. His stache is looking great.

Rest In Peace Andy Rourke! One of the best bassists to ever do his thing 😢

Im a huge Smiths fan very ahead of their time and I’m stoked you’re shedding some light and hopefully giving them some new listeners. Morrissey one of the most iconic song writers honestly

The fact that Johnny Marr wrote the guitar riff for This Charming Man when he was still a teenager and was only 21/22 years old when The Queen is Dead was being written and recorded is insane He was already writing some of the best guitar riffs of all time and he wasn't in his 20's yet. Morrisey gets most of the attention (good and bad) but Johnny Marr along with Andy Rourke were the core of the band and remain severely underrated today

This album split more people in England , more best friends, boyfriends and girlfriends brothers and sisters and people than any other album I knew growing up.... There were tonnes of people who adored this album at school and on the dance floor the Smiths would come on and more people who were just dancing groanded and came off and more people who had hung in the wings and waited all night not dancing suddenly lunged onto the dancefloor pretending to throw daffodils in their dance style dancing with wanton abandon... also some songs like How Soon is Now Smiths often played with the singles from this album used to send the strobes going all the way through the song for some reason with Briitsh modern dance club strobes of the era .. so as a grand finale of a run of Smiths songs they would often play How Soon is Now as the strobe would go on all the way through the song in a surreal arm flinging whimsical frenzy of teenage angst and joy from Smiths fans... who had an odd overlap from pop mainstream U@ and Cure fans Goths and just their own element of special people.. it actually meant something to be a Smiths fan... you could be a Smiths fan with your best friends girlfried and your best friend hate them and your sister hate them and some people in your class you all just KNEW something if a fan that others didn't... you felt poetic and literary and with an edge in humour and all you " got " something others didn't ...... I cycled to town in the lunch hour to get Strangeways Here We Come from school... no small journey.. like I did for Sgt. Pepper CD release June 1st 1987.... as had to have it same day of release........ I am not often moved by having to have an album same day release ... Very special album.... I can rarely think of many albums that blew me away on first hearing......... so much..... maybe when a best friend first dropped the needle on The Joshaun Tree and the first time hearing the build up to Where the Streets Had no name ... after an age of loving The unforgettable Fire .. that was a serious moment of OMG!... so was the Smiths and The Stone Roses first album played from start to finish in England and the Smiths The Queen is Dead... were transformative moments for me.... in real time akin to first hearing The Beatles Revolver and The Velvet and Underground ith Nico and Hendrix Electric Ladyland..I can think of many others.... Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory .. but very few albums had the huge impact on my life as The Queen is Dead in England in the 1980's........... whether people remember it or not the 80's were also a retro looking decade with CD's out and parents vinyl mixing in and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floud on CD and a lot of comparing technology and the walkman and cassettes going on....... I never left home with a briefcase full of cassettes and a tonne of batteries and music and books .. now all you need is a phone and kindle or mp3 player and a lead......... For those into The Smiths.... and there were so many.... this has to be one of the foundations and strongest memories for some people.. as some albums..... like The Specials first album ( A SKA group ) summed up England more than Michael Jackson for some folks trying to keep it real and in our view had good taste and were the good guys........ Somewhere along the line I remember Aftermath by the Stones and The Who and Zepplin and a lot else mixed in with out lives but there was always a revered space for The Smiths in with my friends like we also had for The Beach Boys and The Doors and some US bands.... but the general 80's bands of the time .. Bon Jovi. Duran Duran ,( every 14 + girl I knew had posted of Duran Duran in their bedrooms ).. the Pet Shop Boys.. whatever else was coming out at the time.... Iron Maiden ( never really rated them )........ The Smiths forms their own special clicque of fans more than Goths or Greebo or Metal heads or any other trive in England... for we had tribes in the 80's...... The Smiths were like Marmite...( an English toast spread ).... you either loved them or hated than ..... but The Queen is Dead is one of those albums that people wore out in the 80's............ Funny The Cure be mentioned s I loved Head on A Door by The Cure and really my love of The Smiths and U2 and others Beatles etc took over and took me a while to get back into the Smiths I seem to have got caught up at university and house and all sorts of mayhem was going on ... till I was settled again. to backtrack to the Cure only to find some genius had materialized in my absence....... I was very upset at the break up of The Smiths ....... I cannot think of any other group in my life time I was more upset about. breaking up......... Definitely an album of classic genius and one of the very best albums of the 1980's if you were English it had a genuine real scene of adoration in people's lives as few albums ever have in history. Never mind the Bollox was a singularly adored album and experience as well on people's decks.......I had very varied and intelligent friends growing ups where everyone in Generation X was seriously into their music as something REAL... in those days.... it all meant something....... I am still in this vein........ and have enjoyed growing up with this You Tube channels.......... I hear about the albums I don;t know on here to look up more than the ones I do now that are at the core of my being...... but why not look at reviews on all! : )) Special album....... there was a special arm flailingly abandoned to dance to the Smiths.. like Morrissey on This Charming Man video on Top of the Pops in England ..... I always felt Americans did not get The Smiths so much or The Stone Roses or a British SKA thing or Roxy Music .... Rolling Stone Magazine have taken an age to recognise Queen and Pink Floyd and The Cure and knocked Roxy Music from their top 100 artists which from a British angle is a mistake... as the most shagged to albums of the 1970's were ABBA and Roxy Music by all accounts...... Morrisey even called For Your Pleasure by Roxy music the only perfect pop album ..... Personally, i find the first 5 Roxy Albums awesome and as I grew older Bowie and Ferry meant more than Jagger .... Lennon effected me early as I knew Imagine and Mind Games before I heard Revolver and Ruber Soul and the White Album and Abbey Road.......which was just one of those weird time machine accidents that happen from raiding the local record library. with my Dad........ I remember getting The Police and Blondie Parallel Lines and Hendrix Ae You Experienced and so many great vinyl albums from there as a pre teen with my pocket money as well....... Always LOVED music... I would not have stayed in to study so much if it was not for music.. pop and rock and later classical as well...... even now I go weeks without TV and its just music!! Thank full for the reviews......... : ))

Wow, I didn't know The Smiths dropped a new album this year! Thanks for letting me know Melon!!!

A Smiths classic review and a Cal appearance, oh my!

YES! Finally my favorite album ever made. Thank you so much Fantano. I am forever satisfied. ❤

he waited for the queen to actually die before he posted this 😂

I got a loan of this in 87 as a teen and never looked back. This opened up my love of music forever. Literally an album that saved a young depressed teen.

I’ve always loved There is a Light That Never Goes Out, but I hadn’t sat down and listened to the full album until a few weeks ago. Gotta say, every song on this album is well-written.

I just know this man waited till this year to review this as a classic for the whole bit I just know it

Their whole discog is just perfect back to back tbh. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I've always regarded Strangeways as my favourite album of theirs.

The Smiths never wrote/recorded a bad/skippable song, which is incredibly rare, and a testament to their brilliance. And their music is timeless--every album sounds as good today as when released.

When I didn't play the guitar yet, I would share your stand on Some girls are bigger than others. Now that I do play the guitar, I can't get around the genius Marr would show in his part. It's mindblowing and easily one of the hardest riffs by the smiths and overall as well. The pure technique did make me love it, even more since the lyrics are trash. Marr was so good, he made one of the best pieces in guitar history to Morrissey puke all over it. It's comedical and I enjoy it.

Oh fantano I thought you already knew…. I’m sorry about your grandmother it must’ve been tough losing her.

Fun fact: The Smiths are simply the best band ever.

Also... My favourite track on the album is "some girls are bigger than others" even though the lyrics might sound a bit silly the guitar melody makes it a wonderful track and the line "send me the pillow, the one that you dream on..." Is just beautiful.

In typical hipster fashion, Melon commemorates the passing of Elizabeth II after everyone else has stopped.

I've been looking forward to this one ever since you started doing Classics Week, I see now that you were patiently waiting for the album's title to be fulfilled. My favorite album of all time.

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others is one of my favorite songs ever. "Send me the pillow, the one that you dream on, and I'll send you mine" - I've always thought this was a criticism on social class; that no matter how richer or "bigger" one is, they still sleep the same way... the humanity within us is all the same, whether rich or poor.

FINALLY.I’ve Been Waiting For A Smiths Review and People Needa Still Appreciate This Album More!!

you know this is a classic when cal "calassic" chuchesta is present

Cal Chuchesta just brings light in my most darkest nights

I have never been so excited for a classic review. Though I just finished and... Some Girls is "just okay"?! That's one of my all-time favourites. Yeah, the lyrics are a ridiculous throwaway, but the fact that they contrast so starkly with the utterly gorgeous instrumentation brings up something in me I can't quite understand, but I love it to no end.

When I first heard the Smiths as a teenager I tried to transform my personality into a loveable, handsome rascal who talked prettily about the beauty and woes of life but in reality I was a 15 year old overweight black child with chunky glasses, braces and an unkempt afro

'I know it's over' is a top 5 all time favorite song of mine

Kanye did what he did so we could openly talk about Morrissey’s work without worrying about looking THAT problematic

Those opening drumrolls are always playing in the back of my head

Finally - and what a lovely wholesome tribute to Elizabeth, Melon.

I legit thought there was already a classic review of this album and went NUTS when realizing it was all made up by my imagination, at last my delusions finally came true

This is probably my favorite The Smiths album. We need a review of The Cure’s Disintegration now.

guy's he said it, it's now ok to like there is a light that never goes out

I know It's Over is a song that will always break me every time I hear it. Every part of that song is just such a vibe :')

Probably my favorite album of the 80's after Doolittle by Pixies.

This is one of very very few albums where I genuinely think every song and second is PERFECTION

A 10/10 album! Some Girls are Bigger Than Others would be their finest work if the lyrics were somewhat more serious. Sonically, it’s brilliant!

My friend got me into The Smiths and I’ve never looked back. I honestly think this and their debut are on par in terms of quality.

A true test of greatest is how supremely well this album as aged. It’s sounds as great today as it did in 1986.

It’s kinda crazy the timing of this as just yesterday I got back into the smiths big time

As much as I adore this album, I always thought that Meat Is Murder is a better record conceptually and thematically. That LP was so unbelievably ahead of its time, it's almost baffling - and in an utmost positive way, to think Morrissey was fighting for animal rights in the 80s.

Their best album. Not a clunker on it. Even "Mr Shankley" and "Vicar in a tutu" are fun. Title track shows their ability to rock out and voice some angst. How do you pick a fave track. I guess it depends on my mood. But a top 10 album of the 80s (imo). "And it's so lonely out on a limb". "And the flames rose to her Roman nose". "I know that it's over but it never really began". "The words that you use should really be your own", "don't plagiarize or take on loan". So many great lines!

I tried listening to this album a couple years ago, but I just couldn’t get into it for some reason. I’ll try again tomorrow. Thanks Melon!

Truly a testament to the lyricism of the group that they are able to write about the struggles of ennui in a way that resonates almost 40 years later. Truly an album that hits different when you are totally finished with the first stage of your life and must find where to go now that structure has been taken away.

This is one of my all time favorite albums. And my fave Smiths album. Culturally the Smiths and Morrissey are huge hot only in Southern California but in the Mexican community. I think it’s the working class sentiments and romanticism. These albums are like Bible for your Latinos. I think this album shows them at their most humorous and bleak at the same time.

Surprisingly Many Smiths fans here. Did not expect that people who listen to BEYONCE and KANYE can still have Taste. 🤔

Marr's riffs were not only ahead of their time, but still to this day almost impossible to replicate in terms of composition style.

Bro you just turned the key to the ignition in My time machine. I'm in the cemetery drinking purple passion with my first love. But wait, it's 2023 and I'm listening to fandango on the tubes! Thank you, Anthony. I mean it. Your internet's busiest music nerd, but you're my most virtual music pal.

The Smiths are a band I haven't listened to all that much but everytime I listen to them, I am blown away by Johnny Marr. Literally perfect guitar lines.

I'm glad to see Cal is still with ya 13 years on

this algorithum sucks man i love this album so much i cant believe it never showed up on my recommended

Get a limp bouquet of flowers to sling around, put on some dark rimmed glasses, get a perfect hair quiff, and fall in love with someone who doesn't know you exist. Riding around on a Vespa looking mysterious and withdrawn is optional, but recommended. Especially so if you have access to a Vespa gang of similarly quiffed young toughs.

My favorite song off the album? Too many great ones to choose. But undeniably, the best is “It’s Smithin’ Time”. Everyone smithed all over the place. Truly a song.

The Clash comparison I can’t personally comprehend though I totally get it from a non English perspective. Think because The Smiths are SO (whether critical of the notion or not) English (albeit on the definitively alternative side), the comparison for me doesn’t quite fit. However fucking wonderful to re-explore such a classic record/band that always has and will continue to prove formative for generations of teens and then adults (despite what Morrissey eventually became).

I swear at least one Smiths song always makes me emotionally drained and linger the days that are past gone. Its something majestic and heartbreaking listening to this group. I can never unhear 'Suffer Little Children' after witnessing for the first time when I was 10 in 2000. This and Pat Metheny Group's earlier albums from EMI. Only less than a tiny fraction of artists can do this.

Morrissey be like "I Cannot Fucking Wait Until the Queen Dies"

You should do Magnolia Electric co. next. Fantastic album from the late and great Jason Molina.

Why did Cal find comfort in the fact that the queen fucking died, but that it happened a little while ago

As much as I adore this album, as I do most Smiths albums, Meat is Murder is one of my favorite albums ever. But yes, the Queen is Dead is phenomenal. This was written before watching, you mentioned Meat is Murder and all valid points.

Here for the engagement. Thank you for spotlighting this album. Life changing and for many, life saving.

If you haven't listed to it, The Holy Bible by the Manic Street preachers is fantastic. Completely overlooked in the US though. Edit: just remembered that you own the record, would it be in the running for a classics review? It's certainly an album that deserves more of a spotlight in the US

Fantano was one day off the ‘Queen is Dead on January 5th Gibby meme’ from 2019. I remember the endless calls in the comments for this review back then, shame he missed the date again.

As a 45 year old guy who was informed by the Thatcher years, this was the first album that made me realise the power of music. I almost mourn it today though and can't help think 'WTF happened to Morrisey?'

Anthony mentions London Calling yet again. It would be really interesting to hear what he has to say if it got a full review, best he has mentioned it a lot and it's one of my favorite albums

Top 3 best 80's album

Oasis fan here. I picked up this record in the knowledge that Noel Gallagher write much of the Morning Glory record on the same guitar on this recording. I have since fallen in love with The Smiths long term.

Really hoping for a Kanye and Morrissey collab

Review Pelé's gol against Sweden In 1958 World Cup

One of my top 10 albums of all time. If it weren't for The Smiths I'm not sure I'd still be here. 🎸🐐

Rusholme ruffians really relates to such a phenomenon specific to Manchester but for me having lived there the words are just amazing

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others has maybe the greatest guitars on a track ever.

I love the lyrics on Cemetery Gates. Keats and Yeats are on your side While Wilde is on mine I don't think we can know what he meant by this on the surface. It could be that he agrees more with Wilde, or that he found some common ground between himself and Wilde. But on the funny side, the whole song is scoffing at romanticism and romantic poets. Morrissey is parodying them, trying to write a profoundly profound romantic song about the tragedy of cemeteries, and failing miserably. Also, Keats and Yeats were both poets, and in brutal irony, although it seems like their names should rhyme, they don't. Okay, so Wilde is apparently on Morrissey's side. Famously, Wilde said, "Talent burrows; genius steals," which was fittingly, stolen from T.S. Eliot (probably; can't tell old stuff for certain, and I'm no researcher). If you recall, the song itself is the hypocrisy of admonishing others from stealing, while Morrissey himself is a renowned thief, and the self-awareness of it. And, not to be forgotten, Wilde was homosexual, so... yeah.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG THANK YOU ANTHONY THANK YOU 🙏🏻

Some good observations in this review, the only thing I wish melon focused more on is the cohesion and concept of the album as a whole

I love this album ! “I know it’s over” especially is a master piece. Only one or two bad songs max on here.

The smiths give a vibe i cannot describe and i love it so much

Morrissey is someone who I can respect no matter what. He says what he thinks and he has the balls to stand by it. Such a legend

A tale of two guitars...the opening track TQiD is such an awesome groove - with a bassline that makes you stand up and salute. The closing track Some Girls Are Bigger than Others is a total earwig of a guitar riff, and the live version (from their last ever gig) is even more sumptuous.

Review Disintegration Review Disintegration Review Disintegration

bought this the week in was released in the US. life changing

Definitely the best year for this review-- even aside from the title, this is probably the longest we're ever gonna go without any garbage statements from Morrissey during his lifetime

Some Girls was a frivolous lyric lending necessary levity, Vicar had a less terse and original texture than their other rockabilly influenced output. I regard Queen as one of their two high watermarks, clearly one of the 80's best LPs.

Finally a review of Morrizzey and The Smiths

Is this classics week? Are you gonna review,Various positions by Leonard Cohen, Transformer by Lou Reed or Blood money by Tom Waits?

Morrisey's live cd from earls court 2004 are my preferred versions of both his and the smiths, they have more punch.