AA.VV.
The Smiths Is Dead

Revisiting one of, if not the best, albums of the 80s: 'The Queen Is Dead' by the most glorious band from Manchester: The Smiths! This "tribute" is a commendable initiative by the more or less alternative rock monthly, "Les Inrockuptibles" (we can never thank them enough!!).

The CD in question was released in 1996: great title/parody, blatantly Smiths-like cover, and the same Running Order. It starts with a reinterpretation by the The Boo Radleys of the Title Track, which leaves those, like myself, who loved The Smiths madly, rather disoriented: musically it has nothing to share with the original, not that a cover must necessarily be exactly like the original, but here it is exaggerated. Next is Frankly, Mr. Shankly, covered by The High Llamas, at least this time a semblance of similarity, good English Pop (English, mind you, not Brit), followed by The Trash Can Sinatras with the beautiful I Know It's Over: as it was beautiful and poignant on 'The Queen Is Dead,' even on 'The Smiths Is Dead' the result does not change. Then comes two great songs from that album: the first is Never Had No One Ever by the good Billy Bragg, who does it in the only way he knows how, and that is... the Billy Bragg way!

At this point, on vinyl, the last track would arrive: the splendid Cemetry Gates played in a somewhat too "academic" manner. At this point, as in '86, the apotheosis: Bigmouth Strikes Again! this precious indie pop rock gem, which had many shouting a miracle, is also amazing here! Entrusted to the expert hands of Placebo, it ends up being the best of the batch, an almost punk Bigmouth, with plenty of effects, simply an explosive version, which Morrissey surely would have liked. Unfortunately, it is followed by an actual assault on The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, it’s an absolutely empty and useless version, by Bis; but let’s move on... immediately after, you are faced with the remake of Vicar In A Tutu by... Therapy?, a version perhaps a little hard rock, but it neither adds nor takes away anything from the original. Beautiful instead, as it always was, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out in the hands of The Divine Comedy, truly good. And the Supergrass are great in covering Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others: they retain the splendid harmonic turn of Johnny Marr's guitar, guitarist of the Smiths, and accelerate it in their way: fantastic!

In the end, a record that certainly is not for those who have not loved and/or known The Smiths; indispensable for every true fan of Morrissey & co., even if the truly high points turn out to be no more than three.