Strangeways, Here We Come, the fourth and final album by seminal eighties band The Smiths, was released in September of 1987. If the volatile relationships within the band were unclear after the release of third album The Queen is Dead, they were certainly at the forefront in the months leading up to the release of Strangeways.
Lead guitarist Johnny Marr had already departed the band a month prior to its release and vocalist Morrissey was becoming increasingly frustrated the dynamic of the band as a whole.
Strangeways proved to be a hit in the United Kingdom, striking the #2 spot in the charts, and also saw moderate success in the United States. Three singles were culled from the record, including "Girlfriend in a Coma", "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish", and "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me."
These tracks, indeed the whole of the album, presented a slightly evolved template from which the band created their ambiguous, subterranean odes concerning humanistic observations and literate ruminations.
The lyrical tone was more tongue-in-cheek than previous releases, as if Morrissey was poking fun at the journalists who criticized his typically melancholy demeanor. The compositions were trademark Smiths work, yet showed growth with their expanded synth arrangements.
This decision dates the album considerably, especially compared with their earlier work which is mostly composed with the standard guitar/bass/drum setup, yet the synths did lend a slightly fuller sound to the tracks on Strangeways.
In the wake of the dissolution of The Smiths, Morrissey embarked on a highly successful solo career and Johnny Marr became one of the most sought after session musicians of the nineties. As for the two other members. . .well, who cares about them?
Previous HHDC articles on The Smiths:
"A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours" from Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
"Girlfriend in a Coma" from Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
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