The Smiths

/
0 Comments


The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. The band consisted of vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassistAndy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. Critics have called them the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the Britishindependent music scene of the 1980s. Q magazine's Simon Goddard argued in 2007 that The Smiths were "the one truly vital voice of the '80s", "the most influential British guitar group of the decade" and the "first indie outsiders to achieve mainstream success on their own terms".The NME named the Smiths the "most influential artist ever" in a 2002 poll.
Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, the group signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records, on which they released four studio albums, The Smiths (1984), Meat Is Murder (1985), The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come(1987). Four of their albums (including three studio albums) appeared on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. They have also released several compilations, and numerous non-LP singles.
The Smiths had several singles reach the UK top twenty and all four of their studio albums reached the UK top five, including one which topped the charts. They won a significant following and remain cult favourites, although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together. The band broke up in 1987 and have turned down several offers to reunite.
The band's focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and their fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk, were a repudiation of synthesizer-based contemporary dance-pop – the style popular in the early 1980s. Marr's guitar-playing on his Rickenbacker often had a jangly sound reminiscent of Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. Marr's guitar-playing influenced later Manchester bands, including The Stone Roses and Oasis. Morrissey and Marr's songs combined themes about ordinary people with complex, literate lyrics delivered by Morrissey with a mordant sense of humour. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Formation and Early Singles


The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Steven Patrick Morrissey, a writer who had briefly fronted punk rock band The Nosebleeds (which included guitarist Billy Duffy, who later joined The Cult); and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter who had been in bands called The Rhythm Method and Freak Party with his schoolmate bassist friend Andy Rourke. Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks drummer John Maher, and Morrissey performed under his surname alone. After recording several demo tapes with Simon Wolstencroft(later of The Fall) on drums, Morrissey and Marr recruited drummer Mike Joyce in the autumn of 1982. Joyce had formerly been a member of punk bands The Hoax and Victim. They also added bass player Dale Hibbert, who provided the group with demo recording facilities at Decibelle Studios where he worked as a recording engineer. After just one gig, Hibbert was replaced by Marr's friend Andy Rourke, because Marr felt that neither Hibbert's bass playing nor his personality fitted the group.
The band picked their name in part as a reaction against those used by synthpop bands of the early 1980s, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Spandau Ballet, which they considered pretentious. In a 1984 interview Morrissey said that he chose The Smiths "because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces." Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove", in May 1983 which was the result of the Decibel Studios demo. The record was championed by DJ John Peel, as were all of their later singles, but failed to chart. The follow-up singles "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.

Music

Morrissey and Johnny Marr dictated the musical direction of The Smiths. Marr said in 1990 that it "was a 50/50 thing between Morrissey and me. We were completely in sync about which way we should go for each record". The band's "non-rhythm-and-blues, whiter-than-white fusion of 1960s rock and postpunk was a repudiation of contemporary dance pop" – the style popular in the early 1980s. The band purposely rejected synthesisers and dance music. They sometimes used Sergei Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets as entrance music at live shows.

Marr's jangly guitar-playing was influenced by Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, Neil Young's work with Crazy Horse, George Harrison (with The Beatles) and James Honeyman-Scott of The Pretenders. Marr often tuned his guitar up a full step to F-sharp to accommodate Morrissey's vocal range, and also used open tunings. Citing producer Phil Spector as an influence, Marr said, "I like the idea of records, even those with plenty of space, that sound 'symphonic'. I like the idea of all the players merging into one atmosphere". Marr's other favourite guitarists are James Williamson of The Stooges,Rory Gallagher, Pete Townshend of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan of T. Rex, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones and John McGeoch ofMagazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Morrissey's role was to create vocal melodies and lyrics. Morrissey's songwriting was influenced by punk rock and post-punk bands such as the New York Dolls, The Cramps, The Specials and The Cult, along with 1960s girl groups, and singers such as Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, and Timi Yuro. Morrissey's lyrics, while superficially depressing, were often full of mordant humour; John Peel remarked that The Smiths were one of the few bands capable of making him laugh out loud. Influenced by his childhood interest in the social realism of 1960s "kitchen sink" television plays, Morrissey wrote about ordinary people and their experiences with despair, rejection and death. While "songs such as 'Still Ill' sealed his role as spokesman for disaffected youth", Morrissey's "manic-depressive rants" and his "'woe-is-me' posture inspired some hostile critics to dismiss the Smiths as 'miserabilists.'"
A study has found that The Smiths employed the greatest vocabulary range of all bands to emerge from Manchester, using more than 1,100 different words in their first three albums.


About Post Author

Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus.

You may also like

Tidak ada komentar:

Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Bonjour & Welcome

Image Credits

Pages

Popular Posts

  • The Stone Roses
    The Stone Roses  are an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the  Madchester mo...
  • NIRVANA
    Nirvana   was an American   rock   band that was formed by singer and guitarist   Kurt Cobain   and bassist   Krist Novoselic   in   ...
  • The Doors
    The Doors  were an American  rock  band formed in 1965 in  Los Angeles , with vocalist  Jim Morrison , keyboardist  Ray Manzarek , guitar...
  • U2
    U2  are an Irish  rock  band from  Dublin . Formed in 1976, the group consists of  Bono  (vocals and guitar),  The Edge  (guitar, keyboa...
  • The Smiths
    The Smiths  were an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1982. The band consisted of vocalist  Morrissey , guitarist  Johnny M...
  • Ramones
    Ramones  were an American  punk rock  band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of  Forest Hills, Queens , in 1974. They are of...
  • OASIS
    Oasis  were an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1991. Developed from an earlier group,  the Rain , the band originally cons...
  • System of a Down
    System of a Down , often shortened to  SOAD  or  System , is a four-piece  Armenian-American   rock band  formed in 1994 in  Glendale, Ca...

About

Article about band

Popular Posts

  • The Stone Roses
    The Stone Roses  are an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the  Madchester mo...
  • NIRVANA
    Nirvana   was an American   rock   band that was formed by singer and guitarist   Kurt Cobain   and bassist   Krist Novoselic   in   ...
  • The Doors
    The Doors  were an American  rock  band formed in 1965 in  Los Angeles , with vocalist  Jim Morrison , keyboardist  Ray Manzarek , guitar...
  • U2
    U2  are an Irish  rock  band from  Dublin . Formed in 1976, the group consists of  Bono  (vocals and guitar),  The Edge  (guitar, keyboa...
  • The Smiths
    The Smiths  were an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1982. The band consisted of vocalist  Morrissey , guitarist  Johnny M...
  • Ramones
    Ramones  were an American  punk rock  band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of  Forest Hills, Queens , in 1974. They are of...
  • OASIS
    Oasis  were an English  rock  band formed in  Manchester  in 1991. Developed from an earlier group,  the Rain , the band originally cons...
  • System of a Down
    System of a Down , often shortened to  SOAD  or  System , is a four-piece  Armenian-American   rock band  formed in 1994 in  Glendale, Ca...

Twitter

https://twitter.com/muchamadxirfan

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/muchamad.irfan.14