The Smiths released their debut album

The Smiths The Smiths

Released: February 20, 1984 Peak: 150 US, 2 UK, 65 CN, 77 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: college rock

Tracks: Reel Around the Fountain [5:58] You’ve Got Everything Now [3:59] Miserable Lie [4:29] Pretty Girls Make Graves [3:44] The Hand That Rocks the Cradle [4:38] This Charming Man [2:41] (10/31/83, 25 UK) Still Ill [3:23] Hand in Glove [3:25] (5/13/83) What Difference Does It Make? [3:51] (1/16/84, 12 UK) I Don’t Owe You Anything [4:05] Suffer Little Children [5:28] * Added to US LP/cassette and UK cassette. Lyrics by Morrissey, music by Johnny Marr. Total Running Time: 45:36 The Players: Morrissey (vocals) Johnny Marr (guitar, etc.) Andy Rourke (bass) Mike Joyce (drums)

Rating: 3.930 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album “Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths’ eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era.” AM It is a showcase for “Morrissey’s morose wit and Johnny Marr’s guitar chime, trudging through England’s cheerless marshes in Still Ill and This Charming Man.” RS On the surface, the Smiths’ sound wasn’t radically different from traditional British guitar pop – Johnny Marr’s ringing, layered guitars were catchy and melodic – but it was actually an astonishing subversion of the form, turning the structure inside out. Very few of the songs followed conventional verse-chorus structure, yet they were quite melodic within their own right” AM and the “juxtaposing of [Morrissey’s] lopsided grin of gloom and the light doodling of [Marr’s] almost always perfectly placed guitar was virtually unheard of.” CL “Marr’s inventive songwriting was made all the more original and innovative by Morrissey’s crooning and lyrics” AM, “cultivated from a batch of Morrissey’s diaries.” CL “Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality (Hand in Glove) to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds.” AM “Reference points were rare, apart from Morrissey’s adopted Oscar Wilde demeanor, to which the press clung with a morbid fascination. It remains a delicate set of knowing quaffs and rounded, innocent eyes, beguiling the listener with some wonderfully crafted pop – when they weren’t laughing behind their hands.” CL “While the production of The Smiths is a little pristine, the songs are vital and alive, developing a new, unique voice within pop music. Though the Smiths continued to improve over the course of their career, their debut remains startling and exciting.” AM

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine CL Colin Larkin (1998). Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin Books: London, England. RS Rolling Stone (2005). The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Edited by Joe Levy. Wenner Media, LLC: New York, NY. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 5/22/2010; last updated 9/16/2026.