Recorded as the relationship between
Morrissey and
Johnny Marr was beginning to splinter,
Strangeways, Here We Come is the most carefully considered and elaborately produced album in the group's catalog. Though it aspires greatly to better
The Queen Is Dead, it falls just short of its goals. With producer
Stephen Street,
the Smiths created a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before.
Morrissey and
Marr also labored hard over the songs, working to expand
the Smiths' sound within their very real boundaries. For the most part, they succeed. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before," and "I Won't Share You" are classics, while "A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours," "Death of a Disco Dancer," and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" aren't far behind. However, the songs also have a tendency to be glib and forced, particularly on "Unhappy Birthday" and the anti-record company "Paint a Vulgar Picture," which has grown increasingly ironic in the wake of
the Smiths' and
Morrissey's love of repackaging the same material in new compilations. Still,
Strangeways is a graceful way to bow out. While it doesn't match
The Queen Is Dead or
The Smiths, it is far from embarrassing and offers a summation of the group's considerable strengths. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine