Product Description

Formed in Manchester in 1982, The Smiths’ brief but brilliant career lasted just five years. Nonetheless, the music they left behind - from the perfect pop of ‘This Charming Man’ to their masterpiece The Queen Is Dead - distinguished them as one of the greatest British guitar groups of all time. The critically acclaimed The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life reveals the stories behind every track (including unreleased out-takes) and catalogues all the group’s UK television, radio and concert appearances. First published in 2002, it was the first book to properly chronicle the band's studio career in full, lifting the lid on previously unknown recordings such as the ‘lost’ Morrissey/Marr original ‘Matter Of Opinion’. This brand new revised and expanded edition includes exclusive and extensive new commentary from founding member/guitarist JOHNNY MARR; more new and updated interviews with producers John Porter and Stephen Street, ‘Fifth Smith’ Craig Gannon and original bassist Dale Hibbert; an extended epilogue tracing the aftermath of the band’s split, the making of Morrissey’s solo debut Viva Hate and his attempt to reform The Smiths for the 1988 ‘farewell concert’ in Wolverhampton; details of more recently discovered alternate takes including the previously unpublished story of the Amanda Malone single; new appendix detailing cover stars and explaining run-out groove messages; new author introduction; new photo section

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146422 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Time Out
A mighty achievement.

MOJO
Exhaustive and deliciously meticulous.

Uncut
Goddard illuminates the creative process with rare enthusiasm… this book succeeds in rescuing the music from the myth.

Customer Reviews

sheer brilliance
I' ve just finished Simon Goddards book. If you wondered why or if you already knew why The Smiths are the greatest band ever, this is, beside the albums themselves, the best guide to lead you into the sheer brilliance of their immaculate bulk of songcrafting. The way each magnificent song in the Morrissey/Marr songbook is explored, treated, recaptured, and embellished with anecdote, makes you want to put the records on and go back to those days when The Smiths truly saved your life. This wonderful book is an intelligent hommage to a band that is unequelled in plucking the strings, banging the drums and yelping about life. This landmark is an insightful exploration of the wonder that was Smithdom. Absolutely essential.

Much, much better than the Johnny Rogan book
In this book you have an author, Simon Goddard who obviously loves his subject matter, and is a musician to boot. This gives you an extra insight because of his musical appreciation, for instance, on the 'Lost' track 'A Matter of Opinion' he comments on similar chord structure in other songs, and comments that the chords of 'I Won't Share You' are exactly the same as 'Ask'. The book is written in a non-preachy but in a very deeply factual style. You don't get any of the very annoying suppositions in Johnny Rogan's book, but just straight facts, including loads of details regarding lost tracks, and first drafts of lyrics. Having Mike Joyce on board has made a huge difference, and from the foreward onwards you get the feeling that what you read is to be trusted, which makes a huge difference.
The book lists in chronological order all the Smiths' recorded material from 'I Want A Boy For My Birthday' to 'Bengali In Platforms', and there is a wealth of information on every song... All-in-all, a superb read from a real fan, and very highly recommended.

There is a Light that Never Goes Out.
Sometime during the mid 1980s my musical perspective changed due entirely to Messrs Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce.
This book is a must for Smiths enthusiasts everywhere. The author is a fan whose attention to detail is quite remarkable, (hands up who new 'How Soon is Now?' was first performed live at Gloucester Leisure Centre on 24th September 1984?).

A fascinating picture is painted of the band through detailed analysis of their songs/recording sessions. It's a book that reads like a biography while being the ideal accompaniment to the records themselves as a comprehensive reference work. Each song carries details about where and when it was recorded, who produced it, where it can be found, whether it was played live, performed on television, featured on the radio. As a fan, I love it.

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before, I know it's over, but there are some lights that will never go out.