So great to read all your on-point and insightful prognostications for this album’s songs. Enjoying reading these very much. ‘Strangeways’ is very much an album for me - to be digested as a whole, so I won’t break down my adoration by song. I’ll be back at the end to discuss the album itself.
"I Started Something..." Impeccable sound -- this album does sound a lot sharper than anything they did prior. I love playful Morrissey and this is him at his best coy self. "Typical me, typical me Typical me I started something And now I'm not too sure" 4/5
I’m tempted to adopt the same approach, but for a slightly different reason: I love every song on this album and will find it incredibly challenging to find fault with any of them! ‘I Started Something...’ is one of the album’s highlights for me. I also think it’s a great single - although I agree ‘Stop Me...’ would’ve been a bigger hit in the UK if released instead. 5/5
I started..... Effortlessly good guitar from Mr Marr, a nice breezy bit of rock in between the opener and heavyweight to follow, it’s a great album track, but wasn’t supposed to be a single, sadly Stop Me was well, stopped . So a 4/5 My favourite bit is the talking at the fade ...
I started something... for some strange reason (maybe beacause was a single) i always though this song was a favourite amongst Smiths fans, in the same oposite way i thought no one cared about "Well I wonder". Strange things we get in our head with no reason at all. Happy to see "Well i wonder" is highly regarded and this is avegare for most of you. Avergage for me for sure, i can listen to it, but is not a song i want to listen outside the Strangeways sequence. 3/5
I Started Something I Couldn't Fi Other than the absolutely fantastic vocal melody which has been over a bunch now I want to point out Rourke's bass - it's seems lower than he usually plays, a bit more heavy which is fine. The track might suffer a little from the "not enough ideas for one song" though. 4/5 easy.
I started something 3/5 My favorite bit is the “hair brushed and parted” section where he phrases it such that the parted and started register the rhyme but, when you read it, it doesn’t seem like they would. Added benefit of this thread: I am learning so much about songs that I thought were completely exhausted for me
I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish - To my ears this should have been the lead single in the UK. Vocally, I can't help but think Morrissey playful vocal delivery & phrasing on this was influenced by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys. A strong melody; great guitar work by Marr; great lyrics; confidently delivered. As if singing about imminently putting your head in a Lion's mouth (which the band were doing!) 5.0/5
I Started Something.... For me it's an ok Smiths song which is still better than most other artists. 3.5/5
Today's song is Death of a Disco Dancer: This one seems to divide opinion and of all the group's songs, it's probably the one that has grown on me most over the years. I actively disliked it upon first listen, but now can see that it is one of the key tracks on the album. Every Smiths/Morrissey album needs political/themed songs and Death of a Disco Dancer fills that role on Strangeways. Lyrically it's fairly sparse, but the words are effective and it's typical of Morrissey to use the words "love, peace and harmony" in such a non-celebratory context. The way the track builds towards its conclusion works particularly well. While Johnny deserves most of the credit, for the first time we also have to talk about Morrissey's abilities as an instrumentalist. He mentions in his autobiography that Johnny wanted to redo the piano ending and I think that would have been a huge mistake. It is Morrissey's completely bonkers lack of musicianship that makes it what it is. A strong 4/5.
Never listen to it outside the album, but is a great album highlight for me. The way the song builds progressevly is very well donne. A great song overall. 5/5
Love, peace and harmony... Death of a disco dancer has aged very well, superb production, builds nicely , the smiths most gothic song, and wonderful singing. And to top the lot, super duper drumming, hats off to Mike Joyce on this . 5/5 Very nice , very nice , but maybe in the next world...
Death of a Disco Dancer - Yet again for the second time so far on the album, I felt this was the Manchester band exploring new territory. Certainly their most Velvet Underground sounding track in their entire back catalogue. From the brooding intro, to the brilliant bonkers piano outro this is just a classic indie rock recording. As Turk Thrust rightfully mentions, the manner which Morrissey sings the "love, peace and harmony" lyrics in the very opposite menacing meaning exemplifies that at his best he had few peers as a vocalist for expressing himself. A truly remarkable 5 minutes & 26 seconds. 5.0/5
"Death of a Disco Dancer" Again, not a favourite of mine, but the extended jam session really gets going in the last couple of minutes with the intensity being turned up and Marr, Rourke and Joyce letting loose. What little song there is is over within a minute, which some might say is a bit lazy, but it's a format that Morrissey would revisit several times during his solo career. By no means a bad track overall, but I'm only going as far as 3/5.
"Death of a Disco Dancer": So, it's a bit lengthy and repetitive, so that could be a strike against it. And it's not Johnny's most distinctive or original riff or chord progression. But the band plays it with maximum drama, energy, and conviction, and that's how they get over the finish line while keeping things interesting. I like how the song slowly unfolds, starting quiet and spare, and slowly and gradually building, minute by minute, to that crazed crescendo. There's even a dream-like lushness to the song before things start going haywire, that's quite compelling. So, Johnny is playing the same descending riff over and over, but he alternates the chord he ends on. On the odd numbered times, he ends it with a sort of open G chord (and on the even numbered times, he ends with a boring, bluesier E major chord), and that open G chord is heavenly to me - another example of Johnny smartening up and elevating an otherwise simple, basic riff. Morrissey's delivery is outstanding, though the lyrics are a bit repetitive. He manages to convey a lot while saying fairly little. I love how the song was recorded - punchy, full, yet very clear. Strangeways is their best sounding album, IMO, and this might be the best Joyce has ever sounded on a recording. Could've shaved a minute or so off, though I do like how the band descends into near chaos toward the very end, with Joyce pummeling his drums with wild abandon, and that whirring organ and drunken piano plonking adding to the mess. It's highly effective and amusing. Maybe I'm being generous, but I'd give this track a 4/5. It's not their best composition, nor is it really a key song, but it's a great performance, and it's well placed on the album.
Death of a Disco Dancer: If I had to pick a gripe about the album it's that they unnecessarily elongated two tracks to still get to what is a very short album. DoaDD is one of those tracks. I love the quiet nature of the first minute or so with the ice-clinking-in-the-glass guitar and Morissey's subtle singing. Things build nicely for a while but quickly devolve into a mess. Is it symbolic of the disco dancer dying? Maybe, but it still goes on too long. Total opposite of the gem on the album next. 3/5 for Disco.
Death Of A Disco Dancer - The drumming is epic on this song from start to finish and worth a star by itself. Again, the production is elite. One of my bottom 2 songs on the album. The lyrics are repetitive but the music is building nicely as they are sung. Perhaps 60-90 seconds too long but still a quality song. 4 ranking out of 5
Death of a disco dancer 4 out of 5. I like the build up and ending with Moz’s tinkling and Joyce’s effective playing. Back in the day I played drums in a bar band and we used to do Dear Prudence in the middle of it, Disco Dancer was definitely fun to play drums to. Maybe in the next world....
Death Of Disco Dancer 3.5 but cannot round up to a 4, as I don't like the last min and half. Just drags on too long for me. That min and half plodding ending "is a headache to me" So 3/5.
Disco Dancer: 3/5 This was so tough, deciding between 3 and 4. Contrary to most opinions here, I prefer the extended ending vs. the main part of the song. I really love the effect on the drums at the end. And, if you really listen, Johnny has a lot of cool stuff going on in this section. My ratings for this album are lower than I was expecting. Maybe, like some others have said, I appreciate it more from beginning to end vs. an independent analysis of the songs. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and all that...
