• Voto:
Volendo fare a tutti i costi una recensione di un disco degli Smiths, poichè "The Queen Is Dead", imprescindibile, era già presente, ero piuttosto indeciso tra il primo, bellissimo, omonimo e "Hatful Of Hollow", pubblicati entrambi durante l'anno di grazia 1984.
Alla fine ho optato per il secondo: nonostante il fascino del primo "The Smiths" rimarrà immutato nei secoli, se dovessi consigliare a un neofita da quale album partire per conoscere al meglio la storica band di Manchester la scelta cadrebbe senza dubbio su questa raccolta di singoli, b-sides e sessions radiofoniche che è da annoverare come uno dei punti più alti della loro intera discografia (non a caso Stuart Murdoch dei B 'n' S si è lasciato immortalare con indosso una maglietta raffigurante la copertina di questo disco). È l'album che proietta gli Smiths nell'iperuranio del culto underground, mantenendo quell'alone mistico e profondamente naif che in un certo senso svanirà con il successivo, più impegnato socialmente e politicamente, "Meat Is Murder". Questa è solo una gran bella raccolta di pop song, evocative, malinconiche, beffarde e a tratti assolutamente struggenti, come non se ne sentiva da nessuna parte a metà dei freddi ed elettronici anni '80.
Non so neanche fino a che punto dovrei avventurarmi a descrivere queste canzoni che, dal mio punto di vista, sono praticamente degli evergreen ormai da molti anni, e l'effetto che provo ogni volta che ascolto i primi 10 secondi di ogni traccia deve essere paragonabile a quello che provano i giocatori di calcio al risuonare dell'inno nazionale prima delle partite.
Posso solo affermare che davvero mi sembra strano come siano state piuttosto snobbate le perle degli Smiths all'interno di questo veramente lodevole sito: non per aprire una debole polemica, ma sinceramente non capisco come mai ancora nessuno (o quasi) non abbia sentito il bisogno di raccontare di quando ha provato i brividi sulla schiena la prima volta che ha ascoltato il ritornello di "Still Ill", che non abbia cercato di esprimere a parole la soave e bellissima malinconia trasmessa da "Reel Around The Fountain" (che in certi momenti è davvero ardua da ascoltare senza farsi scendere neanche una lacrima), che non abbia detto quanto abbia ammorbidito le proprie inquietudini ascoltare una canzone che, nonostante tutto, urlava che il cielo sapeva di quanto era infelice.
La prima fase dell'opera gestita da Morrissey e Marr era il sincero e soffocato bisogno di esorcizzare un disagio che, seppure focalizzato in un preciso e difficile momento storico (ossia l'epoca, disastrosa per il ceto proletario inglese, del Thatcherismo), si è poi assimilato anche negli anni successivi, attraverso i cambiamenti della società e della vita stessa di chi si confidava in quella timida e sperduta band proveniente da una grigia città industriale.
Forse perchè in fondo le emozioni umane sono sempre quelle, e chiunque prima o poi ha chiesto alla vita di potere ricevere ciò che si vuole: non posso sapere se questa preghiera laica sia mai stata esaudita, posso solo dire che a volte ci sono cose, o persone, che in ogni caso non ti fanno sentire solo.
Ascoltate questo disco.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 William, It Was Really Nothing (02:11)
The rain falls hard on a humdrum town
This town has dragged you down
And everybody's got to live their life
And God knows I've got to live mine
God knows I've got to live mine
William, it was really nothing
William, it was really nothing
It was your life
How can you stay with a fat girl who'll say:
"Would you like to marry me
And if you like you can buy the ring"
She doesn't care about anything
"Would you like to marry me
And if you like you can buy the ring"
I don't dream about anyone
Except myself
William, it was really nothing
William, William
02 What Difference Does It Make? (03:11)
All men have secrets and here is mine
So let it be known
For we have been through hell and high tide
I think I can rely on you...
And yet you start to recoil
Heavy words are so lightly thrown
But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you
So, what difference does it make?
So, what difference does it make?
It makes none
But now you have gone
And you must be looking very old tonight
The devil will find work for idle hands to do
I stole and I lied, and why?
Because you asked me to!
But now you make me feel so ashamed
Because I've only got two hands
Well, I'm still fond of you, oh-ho-oh
So, what difference does it make?
Oh, what difference does it make?
Oh, it makes none
But now you have gone
And your prejudice won't keep you warm tonight
Oh, the devil will find work for idle hands to do
I stole, and then I lied
Just because you asked me to
But now you know the truth about me
You won't see me anymore
Well, I'm still fond of you, oh-ho-oh
But no more apologies
No more, no more apologies
Oh, I'm too tired
I'm so sick and tired
And I'm feeling very sick and ill today
But I'm still fond of you, oh-ho-oh
Oh, my sacred one...
Oh...
03 These Things Take Time (02:33)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the sacred wunder-kind
You took me behind a dis-used railway line
And said: "I know a place where we can go
Where we are not known"
And you gave me something that I won't forget too soon
But I can't believe you'd ever care
And this is why you will never care
These things take time
I know that I'm
The most inept
That ever stepped
I'm spellbound but a woman divides
And the hills are alive with celibate cries
But you know where you came from
You know where you're going
And you know where you belong
You said I was ill and you were not wrong
But I can't believe you'd ever care
And this is why you will never care
These things take time
I know that I'm
The most inept
That ever stepped
Oh the alcoholic afternoons
When we sat in your room
They meant more to me
Than any, than any living thing on earth
They had more worth
Than any living thing on earth
Vivid and in your prime
You will leave me behind
You will leave me behind
04 This Charming Man (02:43)
Punctured bicycle
On a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet?
When in this charming car
This charming man
Why pamper life's complexities
When the leather runs smooth
On the passenger seat?
I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
That someone so handsome should care"
A jumped-up pantry boy
Who never knew his place
He said "return the rings"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things
I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
That someone so handsome should care"
Oh, this charming man
Oh, this charming man
A jumped-up pantry boy
Who never knew his place
He said "return the ring"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things
05 How Soon Is Now? (06:44)
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I'm son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You, shut your mouth!
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am Human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry
And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen now
Well, when exactly do you mean
See, I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
You, shut your mouth!
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
06 Handsome Devil (02:45)
All the streets are crammed with things
Eager to be held
I know what hands are for
And I'd like to help myself
You ask me the time
But I sense something more
And I would like to give you
What I think you're asking for
You, handsome devil
Oh you, handsome devil
Let me get my hands
On your mammary glands
And let me get your head
On the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
I crack the whip
And you skip
But you deserve it
You deserve it
A boy in the bush is worth two in the hand
I think I can help you get through your exams
Oh you, handsome devil
Oh let me get my hands
On your mammary glands
And let me get your head
On the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
I crack the whip
And you skip
But you deserve it
You deserve it
And when you're in your scholary room
Who will swallow whom
You, handsome devil
Let me get my hands
On your mammary glands
And let me get your head
On the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
There's more to life than books, you know
But not much more
There's more to life than books, you know
But not much more
Not much more
Oh you, handsome devil
07 Hand in Glove (03:15)
Hand in glove
The sun shines out of our behinds
No, it's not like any other love
This one is different because it's us
Hand in glove
We can go wherever we please
And everything depends upon
How near you stand to me
And if the people stare
Then the people stare
Oh I really don't know and I really don't care
It's not a shame, no..
Hand in glove
The Good People laugh
Yes, we may be hidden by rags
But we've something they'll never have
Hand in glove
The sun shines out of our behinds
Yes, we may be hidden by rags
But we've something they'll never have
And if the people stare
Then the people stare
Oh I really don't know and I really don't care
It's not a shame, no..
So hand in glove, I stake my claim
I'll fight to the last breath
If they dare touch a hair on your head
I'll fight to the last breath
For the Good Life is out there somewhere
So stay on my arms, you little charmer
But I know my luck too well
Yes I know my luck too well
And I'll probably never see you again
I'll probably never see you again
I'll probably never see you again
08 Still Ill (03:35)
I decree today that life
Is simply taking and not giving
England is mine and it owes me a living
Ask me why and I'll spit in your eye
Ask me why and I'll spit in your eye
But we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore
No, we cannot cling to those dreams
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I don't know..
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old dreams anymore
No, it wasn't like those days
Am I still ill?
Am I still ill?
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I don't know..
Ask me why and I'll die
Ask me why and I'll die
And if you must go to work tomorrow
Well, if I were you I wouldn't bother
For there are brighter sides to life
And I should know because I've seen them
But not often
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old dreams anymore
No, it wasn't like those days
Am I still ill?
Oh am I still ill?
09 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (03:34)
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
But heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
In my life
Why do I give valuable time
To people who don't care if I live or I die?
Two lovers entwined pass me by
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
In my life
Why do I give valuable time
To people who don't care if I live or I die?
What she asked of me at the end of the day
Caligula would have blushed
"Oh you've been in the house too long", she said
And I naturally fled
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
But heaven knows I'm miserable now
"Oh you've been in the house too long", she said
And I naturally fled
In my life
Why do I give valuable time
To people who don't care if I live or I die?
11 You've Got Everything Now (04:18)
As merry as the days were long
I am right and you are wrong
Back at the old grey school
I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
But I never heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor
I cannot say
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen
In the back of your car
A friendship sadly lost
Well, this is true and yet it's false
But did I ever tell you, by the way
I never did like your face
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I'm too shy
I've seen you smile
But I never really heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor
I cannot say
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be tied
To the back of your car
15 Reel Around the Fountain (05:51)
It's time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
It's time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
You made him old
Reel around the fountain
Slap me on the patio
I'll take it now
Oh...
Fifteen minutes with you
Well, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people said that you were virtually dead
And they were so wrong
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, well, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people said that you were easily led
And they were half-right
Oh, they ... oh, they were half-right, oh
It's time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
It's time that the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
You made him old
Oh, reel around the fountain
Slap me on the patio
I'll take it now
Ah ... oh ...
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
Oh, but I do.
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
I do.
Oh, I... oh, I do
Oh...
I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
You can pin and mount me like a butterfly
But "take me to the haven of your bed"
Was something that you never said
Two lumps, please
You're the bee's knees
But so am I
Oh, meet me at the fountain
Shove me on the patio
I'll take it slowly
Oh...
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
Oh, but I do.
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, no, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
I do.
Oh, I... I do
Oh, I do
Oh, I do
Oh, I do
16 Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (01:52)
Good times for a change
See, the luck Ive had
Can make a good man
Turn bad
So please please please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time
Havent had a dream in a long time
See, the life Ive had
Can make a good man bad
So for once in my life
Let me get what I want
Lord knows, it would be the first time
Lord knows, it would be the first time
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Altre recensioni
Di luludia
Scie d’argento con impalpabili riflessi d’oro, certe canzoni fanno un’incredibile luce.
Beato chi ha aperto quella finestra. Beato sia quindi Stephen Morissey. Ma anche colui che a quelle parole consentiva il volo, ovvero il signor Johnny Marr, mago della chitarra.
