blevins's review
4.0
630 page biography of the English band The Smiths--not bad for a band that only made four studio albums in their brief existence in the mid-1980s. I was fifteen when I bought "Meat is Murder" and needless to say, I fell for The Smiths hook like and sinker. I still cherish my light blue "Hatful of Hollow" t-shirt! I already knew a fair amount about the band, but Tony Fletcher's book really delves into their early days--the actual band doesn't start until we near page 200. After reading this, it just makes me sad that Morrissey and Johnny Marr didn't make a few different choices--had a real manager, been on a record label they wanted to be on other than Rough Trade, egos been held in check...the band could have continued on. Sure, Morrissey made some decent records [I love "Viva Hate" as much as if it was The Smiths] and Marr joined another of my favorite bands from the era [The The] for two albums...it wasn't the magic of The Smiths. Fletcher's book exposes all their foibles, problems & petty disagreements whilst also discussing the glorious music in tremendous detail. Smiths fans unite over this one!
nabisteph's review
4.0
Great read if you're a Smiths fan, obviously. The author really gives you a comprehensive view of the band, especially the individual members' origins, including family history and even a history of Manchester itself. I was held in thrall throughout, not having been aware of all the particular details of how they came together and what broke them apart fairly early in their careers. I found myself reaching for my phone a lot to listen to a particular song as it was painstakingly described and analyzed, and it gave me a fresh perspective on the tunes I've come to know and love so much. Being a music layman, sometimes all the technical talk about how a particular effect was achieved on a certain song kind of went over my head, but it was interesting overall. The ending was a bit abrupt, though, and I didn't realize it was coming because I thought there were still quite a lot of pages left but it was all the footnotes, bibliography, acknowledgements, etc. I guess in that regard the ending of the book emulated the ending of the band.
kerryanndunn's review
4.0
Wow! This was an exhaustive history of The Smiths! Exhaustive but never exhausting. In fact it was compelling throughout! The main focus is on the relationship between Johnny Marr and Steven Patrick Morrissey and it traces their individual lives from childhood, to the fateful day that Marr knocked on Morrissey's door looking for someone to write songs with, to the formation and eventual dissolution of the Smiths. Morrissey does not come out looking so good, but is there anyone in the world that doesn't believe that Morrissey is a complete diva? Although this book paints a vulgar picture of him (pun intended), I have no doubt that it's completely accurate. Marr comes out looking a lot better, but he has his moments of petulance and assholery too. The detail in this book is staggering and includes not just the personal histories, band drama, and tour chaos, but also very interesting dissections of the songs and albums of The Smiths. There is also a ton of information on Manchester and the music scene there, as well as the bands that both influenced the Smiths and were their contemporaries. It's all fascinating and actually inspired me to keep a Spotify playlist of all songs mentioned in the book. From You're the One by The Marvelettes to Metal Guru by T Rex to Puppet on a String by Sandie Shaw to Billy Bragg's cover of Jeane to Kimberly by Patti Smith to Work is a Four Letter Word by Cilla Black my playlist grew to over 60 songs. If any of you are on Spotify feel free to subscribe to my playlist, simply titled A Light That Never Goes Out.
The only reason for the four stars rather than five is because despite how much information is here there are some things the author alludes to that he then never elaborates on and I found that a little frustrating. The book ends almost right when the Smiths does and I wouldn't have minded reading a little bit more about what happened after the band broke up. How do things stand today, over twenty years later?
I would recommend this book to any Smiths fan, but also to any music fan. It's a compulsive read about the music industry and band dynamics and the things that can catapult a band into the spotlight but also break down their spirits until they can't go on.
And it's interesting to think about what would have happened if only the Smiths had a capable manager from the beginning instead of trying to manage themselves!
The only reason for the four stars rather than five is because despite how much information is here there are some things the author alludes to that he then never elaborates on and I found that a little frustrating. The book ends almost right when the Smiths does and I wouldn't have minded reading a little bit more about what happened after the band broke up. How do things stand today, over twenty years later?
I would recommend this book to any Smiths fan, but also to any music fan. It's a compulsive read about the music industry and band dynamics and the things that can catapult a band into the spotlight but also break down their spirits until they can't go on.
And it's interesting to think about what would have happened if only the Smiths had a capable manager from the beginning instead of trying to manage themselves!
emma_ireland's review
3.0
Would've given this four stars if not for the fact that the technical details of how each song/album was put together sent me into a coma. However, if bashing one out to that sort of thing is your bag, then you're quids in.
suburban_ennui's review
4.0
It’s almost twenty years since I read Johnny Rogan’s seminal tome, Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance. In those pre-internet days, before the Smiths were an “institution” worthy of the covers of such traditionalist music papers as Mojo and Uncut, Rogan’s tell all biography was a revelation. Up until then, verything I’d read about my beloved band had been assembled in snippets – an NME article here, a music encyclopaedia entry there. The fact that Morrissey called down a fatwa on the author only made the content seem more scandalous, and probably a little more believable too.
Two decades later, and as Tony Fletcher points out in the forward to his own book, there’s been little else to compete, other than Simon Goddard’s excellent trainspotter guides, Songs that Saved Your Life and Mozapedia, and more fan-orientated books like All Men Have Secrets. However, despite the paucity of books on The Smiths, there has been a shedload of magazine cover stories in the above-mentioned magazines, and the webisphere thrives with numerous comprehensive sites, some sublime, most ridiculous. Given the closed nature of Morrissey’s inner circle, and the very pubic nature of Joyce and Rourke’s legal issues with their ex-bandmates (or should that be employers?) I really had to wonder if there was much more to uncover.
So what does A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths offer? To a newcomer, it is an excellent and comprehensive history of the band, and to anyone who has read all of the above, not a lot more. Given the time that has passed since Rogan’s (apparently tell-all) book, there seems little else to tell. There’s no new scandals (other than Marr – older and wiser, no doubt - being far more forthright on the bands’ drug use) and precious new information for those already initiated into the cult of Morrissey and Marr. Yes, the band was appallingly badly managed from the get-go. Yes, Morrissey had an increasingly annoying habit of failing to show for important appointments. Yes, Andy Rourke got fired for being on the gear and Craig Gannon got hired and fired with little in the way of acknowledgement or recompense. And that’s pretty much the story, retold once more.
Tony Fletcher – an engaging and unfussy writer – is constantly at pains to point out just how young Marr was, and what a prodigy he was, with constant references to his age. (And, to this now-37 year old reviewer, it is quite amazing to consider that Marr wrote The Queen is Dead when he was only 23, and that the first two songs the duo wrote together were Reel Around the Fountain and Suffer Little Children.) Marr is clearly the hero of the book, and Morrissey remains something of an enigma throughout – he’s certainly far less of a ‘character’ or engaging presence than in Rogan’s book. (One interesting point of omission is that of Morrissey’s personal relationships. For all the people who want to “out” Morrissey, it’s quite incredible that no one has ever come forward to dish any dirt of Morrissey’s personal relationships, or lack thereof.) Another issue – and this is a problem of most rock biographies – is that the time spent on the formation of the band is hugely out of proportion to the latter part of their career. Both Marr and Morrissey view Strangeways … as their masterwork, and Fletcher seems to agree, yet the sole chapter devoted to this album flies by far too quickly.
Whilst being a very thorough history of what actually happened, the frustrating thing about this book is that it’s far less enlightening about the more nebulous nature of the band, and what made them such a phenomenon and why the immediately attracted such a fanatical following. Perhaps more oral history with the bands’ fans might had aided in this endeavour? Or close access to Morrissey’s inner circle. I’m really not sure. This is an engaging read, and I’d certainly recommend it, but I still feel the definitive history of The Smiths is yet to be written.
mishiebhat's review
5.0
It's not like I didn't know they broke up, but I still got extremely depressed when I got to the end.
launderground's review
4.0
"The Smiths - A Light That Never Goes Out" é a biografia definitiva sobre a banda que marcou a cena de rock alternativo nos anos 80. The Smiths é uma das minhas bandas favoritas da vida, então obviamente eu adorei ler esse livro.
No livro, o autor retrata com detalhes o início e o fim da banda em meio à situação sócio-política do Reino Unido nos anos 80. Assim, somos apresentados a como Johnny Marr, um jovem guitarrista que almejava o sucesso, conheceu Morrissey, um cara solitário e excêntrico que se tornaria o icônico vocalista da banda, e juntos com o baixista Andy Rourke e o baterista Mike Joyce formaram uma das maiores bandas do rock britânico.
Eu gostei muito de como o autor demonstra o quanto a banda foi importante para o seu grupo de fãs, jovens desajustados que se identificavam com as letras desiludidas e irônicas de Morrissey, que eram acompanhadas pela guitarra eletrizante de Marr. Devido à pressão do sucesso e a problemas com gravadora, contratos, gerentes e empresários, a banda acabou em seu auge, mas as músicas continuam tendo grande influência na vida de várias pessoas.
No livro, o autor retrata com detalhes o início e o fim da banda em meio à situação sócio-política do Reino Unido nos anos 80. Assim, somos apresentados a como Johnny Marr, um jovem guitarrista que almejava o sucesso, conheceu Morrissey, um cara solitário e excêntrico que se tornaria o icônico vocalista da banda, e juntos com o baixista Andy Rourke e o baterista Mike Joyce formaram uma das maiores bandas do rock britânico.
Eu gostei muito de como o autor demonstra o quanto a banda foi importante para o seu grupo de fãs, jovens desajustados que se identificavam com as letras desiludidas e irônicas de Morrissey, que eram acompanhadas pela guitarra eletrizante de Marr. Devido à pressão do sucesso e a problemas com gravadora, contratos, gerentes e empresários, a banda acabou em seu auge, mas as músicas continuam tendo grande influência na vida de várias pessoas.
ljbentley27's review
5.0
An amazing account of the trials and tribulations of being both a "Smith" and a fan of the band. Must read. For a full review go to www.differentscene.co.uk x