I vividly remembering my older cousins playing this album a lot in the mid-90s during their teenage years. A memory which would eventually go on to become my own teenage action. Yes, I moped around in my bedroom while doing Algebra II homework as Morrissey whined, and Johnny Marrâs guitar jangled out magic. That isnât to say this music should only exist in your teenage years, but there is a certain kind of synchronicity between Morrisseyâs verbose, witty lyrics and adolescent exasperation.
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Look, itâs no secret that the Smiths were a band that loved to release compilation albums as stopgaps between studio albums, they had as many compilations as studio albums during their brief heyday in the 80s, but this one stands above the pack for the simplest of reasons. By no means the lone Smiths album you should own, but a perfect primer for the band, Singles tells their story cleanly, succinctly, and is endlessly listenable. The focus here is on the UK 45s, and that somehow seems like the correct point-of-focus. If this gets you interested in where to go next, then there are rarities albums like Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs, my personal favorite Smiths release.
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Singles underscores that the Smiths were a fabulous singles act. One of the best guitar bands to ever come out of England and one that launched a thousand indie disciples, the Smiths are one of the greatest. Here are there biggest, brightest jewels in a catalogue full of them. Nothing major seems to be missing here and a complete picture of the bandâs various moods and tones is present. âHand in Gloveâ comes right out the gate with Marrâs guitar roiling around Morrisseyâs croon as it regales us with a tale of forbidden, probably queer, love. You can hear their progression as a band so that songs like âI Started Something I Couldnât Finishâ and âBigmouth Strikes Againâ sound like the logical outcome of their words and sound.
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Given the plethora of compilations from this group, if you canât find this one then The Sound of the Smiths would work just as well. That one replicates this with an additional five album tracks and a two-disc deluxe edition that features an entire disc of rarities. So, thereâs options out there, is what Iâm trying to say. I still maintain that this is one of the albums that belongs in just about everyoneâs collection in some way, shape, or form.
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Download: âThis Charming Man,â âHow Soon Is Now?,â âAskâ