Tony Fletcher's Top 10 Smiths Songs

Described as one of the most influential British bands of all time, the story of The Smiths is extraordinary. In just 5 years the band release 4 studio albums, 3 compilations and a live album, as well as releasing 16 singles. Lead by Morrissey & Marr's songwriting partnership and backed by Andy Rouke (Bass) and Mike Joyce (drums) The Smiths formed in 1982 but by 1987 the band had split. 25 years on, Tony Fletcher has just released his latest book 'A Light That Never Goes Out:The Enduring Saga Of The Smiths' It is the definitive story of The Smiths and the first time band members have been directly involved with a biography of the band.

 

Tony Fletcher has put together his Top 10 Smiths songs for Banging Drums:

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Yes, this one is obvious, but there's a reason for that. It's timeless. It's the Smiths simultaneously at their most credible and their most commercial. Few bands can pull off such a delicate balancing act. The Smiths managed it - and then refused to release it as a single. That took balls. The Smiths had enough for ten bands.




 
Still ill

I always loved this song for its lyrical sentiments, as I note in the book;it may have been the first time I realised the Smiths had such a strong political sensibility. But it is also early(ish) Smiths at their jangliest and jolliest and that's a good thing too.

 


The Headmaster Ritual

I strongly recall hearing this opening up Meat Is Murder and realising that the Smiths had raised their game, that they were more than a singles band or flavour of the month but that they had, excuse the pun, the meat to compete with the best of rock bands. Lyrically it spoke to some of my own experiences; musically it's impeccable, with Marr and Rourke, in particular,intertwining with the ease that comes from having grown up together.

 

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

I never doubted that the Smiths had a sense of humour.But when this single came out I almost fell over laughing; it was tender and it was tragic ("Two lovers entwined...") and yet it was side-splittingly funny at the same time, Morrissey laughing at himself while still desiring to kick certain people in the eye. And Marr, as I note in the book, captured a sense of melancholy in his performance, and that's not easy. This song more than any other Smiths single polarised the British public at the time. I knew which side I was on.

 

Stretch Out And Wait

If I'm honest, I would have to say I only truly came to appreciate this song to such an extent while researching and writing the book;after all, it was a bonus B-side to one of their least successful singles. Perhaps this gorgeous lilting ballad about a girl giving her body to her “juvenileimpulses” should have been the A-side, but that was always the beauty of the Smiths, that they would tuck such magical music away in a format that most bands used as a dumping ground. 

 

Panic

Although Panic led to in a shift in the Smiths audience (again as detailed in the book), and for all that the 'Hang the DJ' line was the start of Morrissey unraveling enough rope to hang himself in the eyes of the media, the power of this song, its retro glam feel, and its lyrical sentiment that seemed blindingly obvious in those pre-acid house days (i.e. I never took it as being anti-dance music, but rather as  in opposition to the high street meat market discos and the inane MOR that dominated their dance floors) made this a supreme anthem in 1986. It still sounds just a little bit dangerous and exciting even a quarter century on. For that matter, so does Metal Guru. The best music always does.



 
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby

I'm a sucker for great pop songs and they don't get much greater in the Smiths' canon than this one, which only saw vinyl release on The World Won't Listen compilation. At the time, I couldn't understand why it wasn't a single; now I realise that the Smiths were nervous about seeming too commercial. They went for Shoplifters Of The World instead, the success of which indicates that they made the right choice. But producer John Porter’s ear for a hit is nonetheless at its most finely attuned here.

           

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

All 17 singles had their merits, and I’veselected a few here already. This one has always been a personal favourite.While I would like to believe I understand and empathise with the sentiment to this song, I love the mood more than anything. I find it enormously uplifting and I love the fact that the Smiths essentially released the demo recording as the single.

 

Paint A Vulgar Picture

I don't know how many people share my high opinion of this song from Strangeways, Here We Come. I have issues with the lyrics, but musically, I felt it was a big step forward for the Smiths. It's rock, but it's not cliched. There's a guitar solo, rare for the Smiths, but it too is not cliched. It reminds me of the R.E.M. song 'The Flowers of Guatemala' from Lifes Rich Pageant; as per Johnny Marr, Peter Buck was not given to solos, and when he finally stepped  up to one on record, he kept it remarkably direct and simple, and it was all the more powerful as a result. When I hear this song, I think of what the Smiths might have become, especially in regard to the onward motion of their aforementioned American cousins.
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William,It Was Really Nothing/Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want/How Soon Is Now?

It is almost incomprehensible that the Smiths recorded all three of these classics in the same session, for the same single. The B-sides have endured better (at least in the States) than the A-side, but 'William' remains one of my most treasured Smiths singles for its brevity, simplicity, and again, its wit. It's neither fair nor accurate to say that the Smiths peaked at this point- The Queen Is Dead was probably their finest 40 minutes - yet what an astonishing package this was. I'm sure that the band themselves occasionally scratch their heads and wonder how they pulled it off.

 

 
'A Light That never Goes Out:The Enduring Saga Of The Smiths' Is available now in the UK from bookshops & online at Amazon

The author Tony Fletcher has his own Website

The Stone Roses Influenced By....

Simon Spence is the author of  'The Stone Roses: War and Peace, published in June this year. We contacted him and asked for his Top 10 Stone Roses songs. He came back to us with something much more interesting. Compiled from hours of interviews and research he gave us the Top 10 songs that influenced The Stone Roses.

Choosing a definitive Roses’ Top 10 is a deeply subjective and thankless task – much depending on the day, mood and circumstance. At Heaton Park, for instance, This Is The One seemed to win the day. She Bangs The Drums was played as a precursor to the women’s tennis singles final at Wimbledon in 2011 and at that moment it was hard to think of a better Roses tune. In 1994 I was fired by Warner Bros records (where I was staff writer) for playing Love Spreads on repeat for days on end…

Already in late May this year, for QG magazine, I chose ‘the ten best Stone Roses tracks [from their official back catalogue] you might not hear this summer’
http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2012-06/07/stone-roses-best-songs-2012-tour. Among the ten tracks are some of my favourite Roses tunes, such as Ride On, Guernica and two they did, surprisingly, choose to air live this summer; Something’s Burning and Standing Here.

The Stones Roses: War and Peace is heavy on reference to blistering and bewildering diverse selection of songs and acts the Roses listened to (and were influenced by). So, here, instead of a straight Roses top 10, I have compiled a top ten of those tracks. Hopefully this provides enjoyable and informative listening for any Roses fan – old or new. It is a long way from being definitive, missing many punk, psychobilly, reggae, soul, rap and classic rock sounds (maybe Part II awaits).

1. May This Be Love (more commonly referred to as Waterfall) from the Are You Experienced album by Jimi Hendrix, 1967.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QptmMGtzo4

Squire said he ‘spent a lot of time with Red House’, a track from Hendrix’s Are You Experienced. ‘A lot of the licks made it on to Roses records later,’ he added. May This Be Love kicks of side two of the album and it’s not difficult to see the lyrical influence this track had on the Roses. Ian Brown, as a solo artist, also covered a Hendrix track – Little Wing (from the second 1967 Hendrix album, Axis: Bold as Love). In terms of influence on Roses lyrics, it was a toss up between this and Any Way That You Want Me by Evie Sands, 1969.

2. Open My Eyes by Nazz, from the album, Nazz, 1968

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erC9qkaOHnk

This was the only pre-planned cover version the Roses ever did. They played it at their debut gig in late 1984. Nazz was Todd Rundgren’s 1960s breakthrough act and his solo album, Something/Anything?, was also an influence on the Roses. In a similar 60s psych rock vein to Nazz, you could try another Squire favourite, The Misunderstood (I Can Take You To The Sun), The Electric Prunes, Chocolate Watch Band, The Creation or the Nuggets albums.

3. Seventeen – Bank Holiday Weekend single, 1980

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqNU-kLHBaA

Squire and Brown both briefly fell under the influence of the late 1970s mod revival. Brown and original Roses guitarist and songwriter, Andy Couzens, were fans of Seventeen, watching them play live several times. The band’s transformation into The Alarm, however, left a sour taste. ‘We realised they were really just doing it for the money,’ said Couzens. ‘And we didn’t like it.’ The mod revival movement was also a hit with a young Mani and featured bands such as The Chords, The Purple Hearts, The Lambrettas [Poison Ivy] and The Killermeters.

4. Empire – Empire, from the album, Expensive Sound, 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQKdDi-C-lM&feature=related

The opening (instrumental) track from the 1981 album, Expensive Sound; a key influence on the early sound of The Stone Roses. ‘John [Squire] and I were obsessed with them,’ said original Roses bassist Pete Garner. Empire was Generation X guitarist Bob ‘Derwood’ Andrews’s band and Squire had been similarly in thrall to the debut Generation X album. Derwood was the major influence on Squire’s early guitar sound. Squire also had a thing for Slash Records, the hip late 1970s/early 1980s LA punk record label that was home to bands such as The Germs and X (and later broadened it’s remit to release acts such as The Misfits, The Gun Club, Violent Femmes, Robyn Hitchock, Burning Spear, The BoDeans and Green On Red). Try Los Angeles by X.

5. The Murder of Liddle Towers - Angelic Upstarts single, 1978

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqbsW5hE8v8&feature=related

Oi! was direct, avowedly working class and aggressively anti-establishment and a surprise influence on the Roses: both Squire and Brown were major fans.  This single was written about amateur boxer Liddle Towers who died in police cells. Brown saw the Upstarts, celebrated for their left-wing stance, play live between fifteen and twenty times, and even acted as roadie for them. The Upstarts’ singer, Thomas ‘Mensi’ Mensforth, was something of a mentor to him. Brown and Squire’s pre-Roses band, The Patrol, also included a cover of The Sweet’s ‘Blockbuster’ in their set. Their version came via the other pre-eminent Oi! band, Cockney Rejects, who often played Blockbuster live. The Patrol also did a cover of the Rejects’ single I’m Not a Fool. Other big Oi! tracks for the Roses were England by Angelic Upstarts, Angels With Dirty Faces by Sham 69 and Stormtroopers In StaPress  by The Last Resort.

6. Outlaw Man - David Blue, from Nice Baby and the Angel album, 1973

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI8lfbx2FKc

Blue was a favourite of Howard Jones, Roses manager (1984 – 1986). Dylan wrote It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue about the singer/songwriter. Jones was obsessed with not just Blue but also his record label, Asylum, formed by David Geffen. ‘I thought David Geffen was a genius,’ said Jones. ‘I transmitted this to John and the band but John in particular. John was fascinated with my Geffen obsession.’ The Roses signed to Geffen Records in 1991. The Roses often rifled through Jones’s record collection, listening to The Byrds (try I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better for Mersey Paradise) or Songs For Our Ancestors by Steve Miller, from the Sailor album. ‘They wore out my copy of Love’s album, Forever Changes,’ adds Jones.

7.  25 O’Clock - The Dukes of Statosphear, from the album 25 O’Clock, 1985

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGF7o_I4mAw

Produced by John Leckie, this track has a familiar vocal melody to Made of Stone. This album was  a pop homage to 1960s psychedelia by XTC in disguise and, prior to meeting him, was the work that persuaded the Roses that Leckie was the man for them. The Dukes mined many of the same influences as the early/mid-1980s American Paisley Underground scene that also had a major influence on the Roses. Bands such as The Rain Parade (You Are My Friend), Green on Red (Gravity Talks), The Three O'Clock (With a Cantaloupe Girlfriend), Plan 9, Husker Du (Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely), REM (Can’t Go There From Here), The Long Ryders (Looking For Lewis & Clark or [Squire picks] The Chesterfield Kings (I Ain’t No Miracle Worker), were all on the Roses playlist.

8. Whatcha Gonna Do – Blaze, 12”, 1986

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVQ5VCN8hHM

Inspired by American dance and electro tracks they would hear at the Hacienda - at Dave Haslam’s Temperance night or Martin Pendergast/Mike Pickering’s Nude nights; by 1986, the Roses - Brown particularly - were taking on board new rhythms. While releasing Sally Cinnamon with FM Revolver in 1987, there was talk of cutting an album for the label. ‘We were talking about what kind of producers they would want to do the album,’ said Dave Roberts, FM Revolver’s A&R man. ‘Ian said we should be using some kind of dance producer. He said, We’re not an indie band, we should be a dance band and we should be trying to bring in those kinds of elements. I was surprised because I pretty much perceived them as an indie guitar band. But Ian had that vision.’ This Blaze track was one of many Hacienda hits but you could choose any from an explosive list that includes: Johnny Kemp (Just Got Paid), SOS Band (Just Be Good To Me), Fonda Rae (Touch Me), LL Cool J (I Can’t Live Without My Radio), Change (Change of Heart), Adonis (No Way Back) or Rythim is Rythim (Strings Of Life).
9. Storm At Sunup / Love Me Now (part 2), Buddy Rich, from the Speak No Evil album, 1976

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCVo9VaAElQ&playnext=1&list=PLC65B59B28551FAD5&feature=results_video

Reni’s impact on the Roses was formidable and immeasurable. When he joined in 1984, a key influence on his drumming style was Ian Paice of Deep Purple (try Black Night) and he listed UFO, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and Van Halen as favourites. He was, as Brown said, a ‘proper rocker’ who used to go to the annual Monsters of Rock festival at Donnington Park. He was also in a vocal harmony group and a fine singer. Later it was Reni who dug deep into Funkadelic (One Nation Under A Groove), Parliament (Tear The Roof Off the Sucker), Miles Davis (Blue In Green) and Sly And The Family Stone (Everybody is a Star). This track from Buddy Rich, often billed as ‘the world’s greatest drummer’, is chosen as an indication of what Reni inspired and and evoked in the Roses – a sense of his spirit. It was a toss-up between this and Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra featuring Gene Krupa on drums.

10. Loving On The Losing Side - Tommy Hunt, from the album, Sign Of The Times, 1976

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEwVX-UMdSU

Northern soul was a major influence on Squire, Brown and Mani when they were scooterboys. Brown liked to dance and Squire looked for bass lines to pinch. In the early 1980s Mani met Squire for the first time in the Northern Soul room at the Pips club in Manchester. ‘Northern soul was doubly important to all of us,’ Mani said. ‘You can hear it in the music.’ There is a wealth of material here to cherry pick: you could easily have Little Anthony And The Imperials (Better Use Your Head), or Everything’s Gonna Be Alright by PP Arnold. I like the sentiment of this Tommy Hunt track – and this re-recorded version.

For more information on The Stone Roses: War and Peace:

http://www.thestoneroseswarandpeace.com/

https://twitter.com/StoneRosesBook

http://www.wordsonmusic.co.uk/

CLUB PROFILE: DOTS AND LOOPS, Manchester

Where can we find Dots and Loops?

The next Dots & Loops will be at Kraak Gallery on August 3rd. We start at 11pm and go on til 4am. You can expect to find us there again at some point in September.

How long have you been around?

6 years. We started out at Font and have since been in Cord, Tiger Lounge, Kro 2, Tiger Lounge again, Cord again, M20, Fuel and lots of other places. It’s certainly been interesting, if not exhausting. I remember a particularly rough evening at a place called Overdraught, I don’t think it’s still there. Some of the old timers will remember we used to be called ‘One Step More & You Die’, but I think naming it after a Mono album gave people the wrong idea. It’s not all Stars of The Lid and Mogwai yunno....

What should we expect at Dots and Loops?

A lot of drinking and a lot of Guided by Voices... Shoegaze, Indie, Electronica, Kraut-Rock,Psych, Post-Punk. Wire followed by Kraftwerk followed by Pulp followed by Loop followed by Neil Young...It’s a mixed bag. There’ll be some Reggae too, just whatever takes our mood at the time. I just found out on twitter that not everyone likes ‘You Can Call Me Al’, so maybe we will leave that at home this time. Great song though isn’t it? It’s hard to sum it up, but you can see the full list of what we play over at facebook.com/onestepmore. It’s gonna be a pretty upbeat affair this time round. After 6 years, we want everyone to be up for it from the first til the last track. I’m not sure what to play first, it’sbeen on my mind a fair bit this time. Maybe ‘How You Satisfy Me’ by Spectrum...I like the idea of kicking off with the Beastie Boys though, kinda sets the tone doesn’t it?

Do you have a dress code?

Absolutely not.

Who is behind the decks?

There are 2 of us who promote and run the night, but this month we will have guest DJs from ‘Plank!’ They’re an instrumental rock group from round here and they’re excellent.I think they’re on the BBC tonight with Marc Riley We don’t have DJ names, just James and Mat will do. I wouldn’t mind taking on the name Lion Eno though. One day...

What's special about Dots and Loops?

I hesitate a bit with this one. Not sure it’s my place to say what’s special about my own night. I’d like to think people think it’s doing stuff that some nights don’t do. Manchester is a great place for going out and hearing good music, but maybe some other nights don’t play as wide a variety of stuff. I’m not sure, it’s up to you. It’s exactly what I would be looking for in a night,so hopefully that means some other people think that too. We’ve been going 6 years, so that’s a good sign.

What's been the highlight of Dots and Loops?

We’ve done a lot of nights now, and there’s been some great evenings. I remember our 1st birthday was pretty special. Starting out when I was just 18 with not much clue about it all, I didn’t really expect to reach a year, let alone 6! I remember a night at Cord after an Animal Collective show that got really packed, that was a lot of fun. DJing with ‘...and you will know us by the trail of dead’ was pretty wild. They’re coming back over in October, maybe we can do that again... This next night at Kraak will be the highlight though, I’m 100% about that.

Anything else you think we should know?

Brian Eno’sfull name is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la SalleEno
We ruin twitter over at twitter.com/dotsandloopsmcr
You can RSVP our event here... http://www.facebook.com/events/370627229657191/