Product Description

Arguably the Smiths' masterpiece, THE QUEEN IS DEAD found the band at the artistic apex of a career that knew few lows.More than any of their other albums, THE QUEEN IS DEAD represents the elegance, craftsmanship and humor for which the Smiths are remembered. Opening the album, the explosive titletrack is filled with vintage punk-era iconoclastic rage, wherein Morrissey tears at the very fabric of the British monarchy atop the howling feedback and swirling chords of JohnnyMarr and the pounding fury of Rourke and Joyce (whose punk roots were never so apparent).
THE QUEEN IS DEAD also contains some of the band's most disarmingly beautiful work. "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" bears a lush accompaniment and utterly miserable lyric, while the chiming, heavenlyatmosphere of "The Boy With A Thorn In His Side", as convincing an ode to the sensitive outcast as has ever been penned. "Bigmouth Strikes Again", the album's most recognisable tune, is a dizzying adrenaline rush. And the upbeat tunesmanship of Marr was never in sharper contrast with Morrissey's lyrical ire than on the bouncy, wistful "Cemetry Gates".

Track Listing

1. Queen Is Dead
2. Frankly Mr Shankly
3. I Know It's Over
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Cemetry Gates
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. Boy With The Thorn In His Side
8. Vicar In A Tu Tu
9. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1367 in Music
• Released on: 1993-11-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
This is the value of working at cross-purposes: The Smiths were Morrissey's excuse to undulate his wry, disaffected lyrics and Johnny Marr's vehicle for his sharp, chiming, pop songs. Their favourite kind of compromise made them essentially a singles band, and The Queen Is Dead has a couple of their best (notably "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side", one of the greatest pop expressions of the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name). But it also has some wonderful compromises of different kinds: the bizarrely romantic "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" and "Cemetry Gates", where Marr covers up for Morrissey's floridity with shimmying rockabilly. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

Like being hit by a ten truck truck......full of Morrissey,s flowers
Memory is a curious thing. For instance supposedly important personal events in my life , anniversaries, birthdays and the like pass me by . Yet i can remember with high resolution detail buying the Queen Is Dead. Entering the shop ( A little independent no longer around alas) buying it, getting it home and playing it for the first time. An experience akin to an epiphany...(the playing that is) but then most new releases by The Smiths were.....but this album if anything, went beyond epiphany into whatever it is that describes an experience beyond epiphany.
Released in June 1986 The Queen Is Dead is The Smiths third album and the one considered by just about everyone as their finest moment, though it,s interesting to note that Morrissey and Marr believe that their final album "Strangeways Here We Come" eclipsed it. Many of the songs for The Queen Is Dead were written while The Smiths were touring in 1985 but the album benefited hugely from the conducive collaboration in the studio between Marr and Morrissey who co-produced and engineer Stephen Street.
There are numerous elements that make The Queen Is Dead such a special album. The song-writing is of course exemplary , but there is a mixture of styles, moods, textures and nuances that take this album somewhere out of the context of a traditional pop/rock album. Add to this the peerless lyrics , full of verbose wit and spry humour and you have an album that fully deserves the moniker classic .
Opening up with the iconoclastic blast of the title track , one of Morrissey's greatest triumphs lyrically it segues into the knee popping bounce of "Frankly Mr Shankly" before the head spinning thematic swivel into the forlorn "I Know It,s Over". The plummeting almost dirge like "Never Had No One Ever" will be not to everyone's taste but I feel it has a real hypnotic power and acts as a counterweight to the sprightly "Cemetery Gates" which has a terrific Andy Rourke bass line and trademark cascading Marr chords and the memorable lyrics about plagiarism: "There's,s always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows" which was Morrissey's riposte to critics who had cried foul over his use of quotes from some of his favourite authors.
The opener on the vinyl side two is "Bigmouth Strikes Again " , the lead single off the album , chosen because the band wanted to make an emphatic affirmative statement on their return. The high pitched backing vocals are great and Morrissey employs his own distinctive high range yodel. "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" has a gorgeous Marr arrangement with lilting synthesized strings while "Vicar In A Tutu" is a giddy rush of quintessentially English silliness segueing into the song most consider the albums highpoint "There Is Light That Never Goes Out" . Unusually optimistic for Morrissey , the song about two people whose love would overcome death by double decker buses and ten ton trucks is a rare song, even for The Smiths, that merges genuine humorous pathos with a cracking tune. Final track "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" has a mantra like quality and ends the album on a considerably more lugubrious note than it came in.
The Queen Is Dead is one of the landmark albums of the 1980,s . An erudite multi-faceted work of tumescent genius that feels like a truly complete work. Everytime i hear the album the memories come rushing back in. If only i had bought on a significant birthday then it would be one less thing to worry about remembering. Other than that The Queen Is Dead is perfect.

Thank you Morrissey/Marr
Quite simply, in my opinion this is the greatest album of all time. Morrissey's lyrics are truly sublime. Marr's playing is fantastic. No other album i have ever heard manages to integrate such brilliant pop songs (Bigmouth Strikes Again) with complete and utter despair (I Know It's Over) so well. In a time when pop music was in such a dire state it is amazing that something so brilliant was ever able to get released.

Some albums are better than others
Magnum opus of the most influential band of the 80s or more whining from that guy with the big quiff? Anyone who thinks the latter need read no further. In fact, anyone who feels that way should probably give up completely as there is no hope for you. From the thunderous opening drumbeat and wah-wah guitar sequence of the title track to the intricate picking of closer `Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others', the listener is in the realm of true genius. The talents of Morrissey and Marr are very different. Both demonstrate genius on this record but in very distinct ways. Morrissey's lyrics are, yes, at times, downbeat but there is also wit and humour to be found here in equal measure. The title track, `Frankly Mr Shankly' and `Vicar In a Tutu' could provoke a giggle from even the most miserable human being. Complementing this is Marr's incredible guitar work. At times direct and bold, at others beautifully layered to create a stunning backdrop to Morrissey's observations. The songs take us on a journey through the vast landscape that is Morrissey's mind and, just when you think the journey can go no further, the band hits you with their knockout blow, namely `There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'. The chord sequence is perfect, the orchestration is beautiful and not overstated, the rhythm section is in the background when it needs to be, but the drums play an important part at the outset of the song, and in the build up to each majestic chorus. And, above all of this, Morrissey's greatest ever lyric tells a story of the boy who doesn't belong, the boy who is too afraid to make a move on the one person he desires to be with, and, above all, the boy who can think of nothing greater than to die by the side of the one he loves. This is an album on which everything works. There is nothing here to put the listener off the idea of going right back to the start the second the album ends. The perfect album is yet to be made, but `The Queen Is Dead' comes closer than most. The phrase `classic album' is used very lightly these days, but it is impossible to argue that this record doesn't deserve such a lofty status.