BookishBoy
Well-Known Member
Next up in our A-Z project is this unreleased instrumental, recorded in March 1987 and sometimes also referred to as "Untitled Two".
What do we think?
The Smiths A-Z: "Heavy Track"
- Thread starter BookishBoy
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Next up in our A-Z project is this unreleased instrumental, recorded in March 1987 and sometimes also referred to as "Untitled Two".
What do we think?
BookishBoy
Well-Known Member
It seems to be going for the same kind of vibe as "What She Said" but falls well short. I'd love to hear someone have a go at doing a Morrissey impression over the top of this...
The 'full' version was questioned when first shared here and there's nothing tangible to say what was presented is actually the full demo (for many reasons).
That said, it can quite happily exist as 'real' at half the running time and appear in studio quality & it would still only be an idea that got booted.
Not exactly up there in terms of rarities, but possibly a sliver of evidence of a fork in the road for the band?
Regards,
FWD.
That said, it can quite happily exist as 'real' at half the running time and appear in studio quality & it would still only be an idea that got booted.
Not exactly up there in terms of rarities, but possibly a sliver of evidence of a fork in the road for the band?
Regards,
FWD.
That's Enough For Me
Member
This one puts me a mind of a 'London' vibe.
A
Aarne
Guest
Rainbow's Stargazer has the same riff?
A
Anonymous
Guest
As it stands, yes - it's boring, but I think it is merely the opening sketch of an idea (or even just a jam session). Presumably the way it works is that Moz would add some lyrics/vocal melody and then Johnny would go back in and add some interesting guitars around that.
Anyway - I'm guessing the reason this wasn't developed any further is that it sounds so different to anything else on 'Strangeways' - I just can't imagine an energetic song like this on the album at all. It just doesn't fit the mood.
typicalgenius
Member
Of course, comparisons to "Draize Train" are rightly unavoidable. Clear lines can be drawn backward through the catalogue connecting this demo fragment with "London," "How Soon Is Now," "What She Said," and even "Miserable Lie" -- any of which might have begun in a similar way. It's not fruitful to judge people by their fetuses.
Yeah, this is no lost classic but it's still quite an interesting listen.
It's not fair to judge Johnny or the rhythm section based on an unreleased demo like this and it may well have become something wildly different if the group had continued to work on it.
A worthwhile song to include in these discussions, though.
It's not fair to judge Johnny or the rhythm section based on an unreleased demo like this and it may well have become something wildly different if the group had continued to work on it.
A worthwhile song to include in these discussions, though.
ZOOM FROM GLOOM
LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA!
it’s... Smiths-Zeppelin !!!!
Sounds like just a fun jam in the studio, could have been developed. Doesn’t sound like a Strangeways era direction, more like what Marr was trying to move away from.
Try to imagine what Viva Hate lyric would have gone with this
if the Smiths continued and this was turned into a song for their album after Strangeways????
Sounds like just a fun jam in the studio, could have been developed. Doesn’t sound like a Strangeways era direction, more like what Marr was trying to move away from.
Try to imagine what Viva Hate lyric would have gone with this
if the Smiths continued and this was turned into a song for their album after Strangeways????
L
Lujissey
Guest
If zepp jaaa, in one part it resembles the song of the immigrant noo???
J
j*e*t
Guest
SuedeMoz
Well-Known Member
It's hard to tell if you're serious. Do you really think an unfinished and discarded sketch of a track in any way represents The Smiths without Morrissey? As in, this is JM's best he can do and had Morrissey appeared all of sudden it would be brilliant? Do you think every Smiths song began as a sucky track then Morrissey blessed it with fairy dust? The only thing it really shows as @Watson pointed out is that a very high standard for quality was in place.
It does raise a valid question, should unreleased material be part of the A-Z discussions? I know we did with Morrissey's solo work... so I guess it's fair that we do here as well.
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Lujissey
Guest
Yes,temazo!!!!!!
I believe BookishBoy was kindly mirroring the wiki here so everything there had an A-Z entry to link to.
The rationale behind that was simply to reflect the other sites, book references & bootlegs / collated rarity shares et al that have brought extra Smiths bits to the fore over the years.
There's not enough of them to particularly worry about, but with regard to this track specifically: Johnny saying he really liked it and it being shelved might say something about the shape of things to come and seems reasonable to raise as a possibility?
I think the line is pretty well defined in terms of what exists and what hasn't yet made it out in the wild for Smiths tracks full or partial - enough to mention them. The Morrissey A-Z section is pretty similar in that respect.
That said, my own pet project will be to add in a list of song snippets that Morrissey has interjected to live gigs - those, obviously, won't count for much more than curiosities (and thankfully not something done at Smiths gigs).
Generally, anything that helps add detail to a song/demo/leak etc - including discussion of said is useful material to link to.
Regards,
FWD.
The rationale behind that was simply to reflect the other sites, book references & bootlegs / collated rarity shares et al that have brought extra Smiths bits to the fore over the years.
There's not enough of them to particularly worry about, but with regard to this track specifically: Johnny saying he really liked it and it being shelved might say something about the shape of things to come and seems reasonable to raise as a possibility?
I think the line is pretty well defined in terms of what exists and what hasn't yet made it out in the wild for Smiths tracks full or partial - enough to mention them. The Morrissey A-Z section is pretty similar in that respect.
That said, my own pet project will be to add in a list of song snippets that Morrissey has interjected to live gigs - those, obviously, won't count for much more than curiosities (and thankfully not something done at Smiths gigs).
Generally, anything that helps add detail to a song/demo/leak etc - including discussion of said is useful material to link to.
Regards,
FWD.
The.Truth.
Every.Single.Time.
I can almost hear Morrissey wailing something over this. It sounds more like something that would have been trimmed down and used as a section of a song but it's not bad. Especially if you consider what it is. And it's fun to roast Johnny after Morrissey's little "open letter" but The Smiths was a pretty good band and every member was important to the overall end result.
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