Meat Is Murder may have been a holding pattern, but The Queen Is Dead is the Smiths' great leap forward, taking the band to new musical and lyrical heights.
Opening with the storming title track, The Queen Is Dead is a harder-rocking record than anything the Smiths had attempted before, but that's only on a relative scale -- although the backbeat is more pronounced, the group certainly doesn't rock in a conventional sense.
Instead, Johnny Marr has created a dense web of guitars, alternating from the minor-key rush of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the faux rockabilly of "Vicar in a Tutu" to the bouncy acoustic pop of "Cemetry Gates" and "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," as well as the lovely melancholy of "I Know It's Over" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." And the rich musical bed provides Morrissey with the support for his finest set of lyrics.
Shattering the myth that he is a self-pitying sap, Morrissey delivers a devastating set of clever, witty satires of British social mores, intellectualism, class, and even himself.
He also crafts some of his finest, most affecting songs, particularly in the wistful "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and the epic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," two masterpieces that provide the foundation for a remarkable album.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankly, Mr. ShanklyJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 2 | I Know It's OverJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 05:49 | 13 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | Never Had No One EverJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | Cemetry GatesJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Bigmouth Strikes AgainJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | The Boy With the Thorn in His SideJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Vicar in a TutuJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 02:22 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 8 | There Is a Light That Never Goes OutJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | Some Girls Are Bigger Than OthersJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty Medley) | The Smiths | Play | 06:24 | 14 MB | 37 MB |
| 37 mins | 84 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 222 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ann Coates | Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Alain Delon | Photography |
| 3 | Caryn Gough | Artwork |
| 4 | Mike Joyce | Drums |
| 5 | Johnny Marr | Composer, Guitar, Producer, Songwriter, String Arrangements |
| 6 | Morrissey | Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Sleeve Art, Vocals, Voices |
| 7 | John Porter | Engineer |
| 8 | Andy Rourke | Bass, Guitar (Bass) |
| 9 | The Smiths | Primary Artist |
| 10 | Stephen Street | Engineer |
| 11 | Steve Wright | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |