The Smiths: Every Album Ranked Worst To Best
3. The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths’ most famous record often tops lists of the all time great British albums, but your overall enjoyment of it as a piece may depend on your tolerance for Morrissey’s twee instincts.
The likes of “Vicar In A Tutu” and “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” stray into music hall and outright comedy; the latter is musically impressive but makes for a bizarre album closer.
Elsewhere, though, The Queen Is Dead sees The Smiths at their most immaculate and ambitious, a widescreen sound with unforgettable imagery. The anarchic title track is one of their finest ever, a punky and angry song with the kind of rabble rousing performance Morrissey’s capable of at his best.
“I Know It’s Over” is one of the top ballads in their canon, a lengthy, sincere number whose sparseness stands out all the more on this busy album. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” kicks off side two with a bang, one of Marr’s standout tracks with a goofy but effective chorus.
And then there’s "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out", an all time classic with some of the band’s best poetry, the stuff of many a tattoo, MSN username, and funeral playlist. A timeless track.