The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs

This 1987 collection of Smiths album tracks, B-sides, and singles (and roughly half of Hatful of Hollow) is a worthy essential Smiths due to its scope and size. Twenty-four tracks in all, it includes hits such as the irresistible and bouncy "Ask," the Smiths prototype "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," "William, It Was Really Nothing," "Panic," and "Hand in Glove." Lesser-known tracks like the lovely, piano-driven instrumental "Oscillate Wildly," the dark "Rubber Ring," and the weary "Half a Person" are strong enough to stand without the benefit of support from the hits. There are a few misses here, but they're hardly noticeable when surrounded by all the great tracks. Plus, a number of must-haves ("You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby," "Stretch Out and Wait," "Half a Person") are virtually unavailable elsewhere. --Lorry Fleming Amazon.com essential recording

musica para los oidos

louder than bombs se edito en USA, y recopila los simples que editaron los smiths a traves de su carrera en inglaterra, el resultado de este album es una de las recopilaciones mas fantasticas jamas editadas, ya que incluye tanto simples como caras b y resulta un complemento perfecto tanto para quienes ya hayan adquirido los albumes por separado (ya que los simples que recopila no fueron incluidos en estos) asi como para quienes quieren acercarse por primera vez a la musica de uno de los grupos mas influyentes de toda la histora del rock...


May 27, 2008

God bless Morrissey, Marr, Rourke, and Joyce....

This was my first Smiths album, an embarrassment of riches. It has 24 tracks on it, and there really isn't one in the batch that reeks. In fact, can I say that they are all brilliant? Can I say that I really dig The Smiths? Yes.

The Smiths were one of the best bands of the 1980's, and none of their music has dated. Whenever I listen to it, I don't think "80's Smiths", I just think it's brilliant, timeless music. Many of these songs show off Morrissey's brilliant, sardonic wit, something that many critics of this band miss, and Johnny Marr's amazing melodies. They call the lyrics whiny and they called Saint Morrissey a p***y, but he's the furthest thing from a whiny you-know-what. I think many are just jealous of his enormous talent. There's a lot going on in between the lines. The more I listen to any Smiths music, the better it gets.

Louder than Bombs has some of the best Smiths songs EVER. Is It Really So Strange? is a pop masterpiece. I adore Panic with its brilliant and stunning chours "hang the DJ" and the line "the music that they play/it says nothing to me about my life". Most of the stuff I heard when growing up never said nothing about my life, and it's nice to hear someone saying it so beautifully. I love the prickly, hilarious William, It Was Really Nothing. And Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now is a great, great song. I agree with Morrissey on "why should we give valuable time to people who don't care whether we live or die". The Smiths's music was always universal. It doesn't belong to any time frame. 100 years from now, this stuff will still be awesome. May 3, 2008

Louder Than Bombs...

If you own all four of the Smiths albums..."The Smiths", "Meat Is Murder", "The Queen Is Dead" and "Strangeways, Here We Come"...the album "Louder Than Bombs" is like the Beatles "Past Masters 1 & 2" collection but not as complete. This album does collect a nice piece of The Smiths songs not released on the four albums though. With "Louder Than Bombs", you have all of The Smiths non-album singles along with most of the B-Sides but not all of them...

"Louder Than Bombs" scrapes up the following songs...

Non-Album Singles:

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - 3:34 (1984 non-Album UK Single)
William, It Was Really Nothing - 2:11 (1984 non-Album UK Single)
Shakespeare's Sister 2:08 (1985 non-Album UK Single)
Panic - 2:20 (1986 non-Album UK Single)
Ask - 3:12 (1986 non-Album UK Single)
Shoplifters Of The World Unite - 2:58 (1987 non-Album UK Single)
Sheila Take A Bow - 3:02 (1987 non-Album UK Single)

B-Sides:

Back To The Old House - 3:04 (1984 B-Side of "What Difference Does It Make")
These Things Take Time - 2:23 (1984 B-Side of "What Difference Does It Make")
Girl Afraid - 2:49 (1984 B-Side of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now")
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - 1:52 (1984 B-Side of "William, It Was Really Nothing")
Oscillate Wildly - 3:25 (1985 B-Side of "How Soon Is Now")
Stretch Out And Wait - 2:46 (1985 B-Side of "Shakespeare's Sister")
Asleep - 4:11 (1985 B-Side of "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side")
Rubber Ring - 3:48 (1985 B-Side of "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side")
Unloveable - 3:56 (1986 B-Side of "Bigmouth Strikes Again")
Golden Lights - 2:43 (1986 B-Side of "Ask")
London - 2:08 (1987 B-Side of "Shoplifters Of The World Unite")
Half A Person - 3:36 (1987 B-Side of "Shoplifters Of The World Unite")
Is It Really So Strange? - 2:42 (John Peel Session) (1987 B-Side of "Sheila Take A Bow")
Sweet And Tender Hooligan (John Peel Session) - 3:33 (1987 B-Side of "Sheila Take A Bow")

The other 3 songs on the album are:

Hand In Glove - 3:15 (Single Version)
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby - 3:33 (Taken from mispressings of the "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" single)
This Night Has Opened My Eyes (John Peel Session) - 3:40 (Also can be found on "Hateful Of Hollow")


The CD booklet that comes with the album has the lyrics to all 24 songs featured across 10 pages with about 2 or 3 songs per page.

On another note, there are only a handful of songs you don't have with this collection and the four albums released by the band. Below are the remaining 9 songs and where you can get them on CD...


"The World Won't Listen" album:
Money Changes Everything


"Hateful Of Hollow" album:
Accept Yourself
Handsome Devil


"Rank" Live album:
The Draize Train (Live)


"Sweet And Tender Hooligan" single:
I Keep Mine Hidden
Work Is A Four Letter Word
What's The World


and now the last and hardest of the songs to get...


"This Charming Man" Single:
Jeane
Wonderful Woman

...Not all releases of "This Charming Man" has "Jeane" & "Wonderful Woman". You have to find a copy made before the 1992 re-release. There are many different versions but just make sure it has the two songs above on it. There are also two CD Maxi-Singles of "This Charming Man" that are easy to get that were released in 1990...You have to buy both of these to get the two songs "Jeane" and "Wonderful Woman"...


The first CD Maxi-Single features:

1.This Charming Man (Manchester)
2.Jeane
3.Accept Yourself


The second CD Maxi-Single features

1.This Charming Man (Manchester)
2.This Charming Man (London)
3.This Charming Man (New York Vocal)
4.This Charming Man (New York Instrumental)
5.This Charming Man (Peel Session)
6.This Charming Man (Single Version)
7.This Charming Man (Original Single Version)
8.Wonderful Woman

February 16, 2008

A glorious crate-cleaning excersize.

Spanning the Smiths' entire career, Louder Than Bombs is an enormous collection of non-LP singles (every single one that didn't appear on a U.S. album, as a matter of fact), b-sides, rarities, alternate mixes, and other odds and ends. However, don't think of this as a simple scraped together cash-in: The Smiths were simply too good for that kind of thing. Indeed, the best of these songs are every bit as good as the highlights of the group's proper albums. There's the chiming, propulsive "Is It Really So Strange," with its towering melody and lyrics that are by turns funny, beguiling, and vulnerable (and since this is Morrissey we're talking about, it goes without saying that they're stunningly poetic). "Half A Person" is a moody masterpiece with ponderous acoustic guitars chiming beneath brittle vocals. There's the hypnotic sensuality of "Stretch Out And Wait," and the quintessentially Smiths-ian catharsis of "These Things Take Time." You also get the haunting plea of "Back To The Old House" and the brief desolation of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want." Also included is the cavernous Brit-punk surge of "London" and the sneering "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby." "Sweet And Tender Hooligan" is bitterly funny social commentary, and "Girl Afraid" plays like witheringly smart daytime drama, with a shimmering guitar line thrown in to boot. There's a snazzy piano driven instrumental called "Oscillate Wildly," and paean to immortality by the name of "Rubber Ring." "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" is a tense, smokey classic that shows off Morrissey's penchant for storytelling. We've also got an alternate mix of the classic "Hand In Glove." It's not particularly different from the original, but hey, it's another excuse to listen to "Hand In Glove." The seven non LP singles are all fantastic as well- The anthemic "Sheila Take A Bow," the shuffling chime of "Ask," the harrowing "Panic," the storming post-punk breakdown "Shakespeare's Sister," the cheerfully glum "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," the twisted imagery and cavernous production of "William, It Was Really Nothing," the tension of "Shoplifters Of The World Unite," well- it's all just fantastic. Get it. November 26, 2007

Simply Great

I have to say this is The Smiths best compilation album. If you love The Smiths you'll love this album October 17, 2007

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