The Smiths - How Soon Is Now

    The Smiths ‎– How Soon Is Now?

    17 Mar

    By

    Label: Rough Trade – RTT176
    Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45RPM, Maxi-Single
    Country: UK
    Released: 1985
    Genre: Rock
    Style: Indie Rock

    “Double star constellations”

     In outer space Mizar and Alcor are two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. Mizar is the second star from the end of the Big Dipper’s handle, and Alcor its fainter companion.

    Sometimes two stars are needed for astronomers to note something out of the ordinary. UK band the Smiths had arguably two stars that shone brightly in the 80’s. An ambitious young Steven Patrick Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr formed the Smiths in 1982 (a Mancunian constellation and probably the most fiercely beloved British band of their generation).

    In a career spent eloquently expressing our collective inner angst, Morrissey explored this on ‘How Soon Is Now’. Morrissey constructed a narrative around the tragedy of loneliness in recession era UK.

    He sang “You could meet someone who really loves you…/So you go and you stand on your own/And you leave on your own/And you cry and you want to die”. He was at odds with the slick New Romantics of the same period. Trash Theory dig deep into the making of the song.

    This is a review of a Single! Yes a 12” Extended single!. No need to get the album (it’s great but if you need a starting point for the Smiths and Marr’s later work this single is it). When I hear Johnny’s opening guitar intro to “How Soon is Now I can quickly transport a world away. Not many albums or singles can do that.

    As an audiophile treat the 12” versions of a lot of these 80’s/90’s artists are worth owning as there were extended grooves which delivered more dynamics and “jam”.

    It’s been called “the ‘Stairway To Heaven of the 80s” (Seymour Stein, head of their US label) and “an acid song” (Richard Cook, reviewing the single for NME in 1985) but to a legion of Smiths fans it was, and remains, much more. It was the sound of Morrissey and Marr at the peak of their powers, pushing each other forward with stunning results.

    Morrisey is now entitled to be a grumpy old man. Most of us of similar ages could rightly be accused of being said same. Marr however has not become grumpy. He’s continued to build a legion of fans and respect as a musician. He now is comfortable playing old Smith’s songs (minus Morrissey) which is great for fans of the original work.

    For me it’s the sound of Johnny Marr’s guitar, Andy Rourke’s bass and Mike Joyce’s drums which create the driving groove of this song and which allows Marr to overlay his signature riffs.

    Johnny Marr is an absolute legend in my book. He’s one of those “guitarist’s guitarists”. Not a purveyor of “cock rock” or “heavy metal” with long solos and distortion. He pares the riffs back to absolute “minimal melodical political arpeggios”. An “anti-rockist” who possibly kicked off the Rickenbacker/Gibson jangle of “indie” music.

    Want to know why I say that? Then check this out. He’s still demonstrating his mastery of the instrument. One guitarist commented “Untuning the guitar in the middle of the song while using a capo and managing to get it back in tune – the first part of the phrase is the definition of courage, the second is the definition of skill”.

    One reviewer said “The song was viewed by some as a black comedy and by others as a hysterical cry for help. In truth, it was probably a bit of both.

    To accompany these heavy sentiments, Johnny Marr create a haunting tremolo-and-slide guitar foundation. Ultimately, the song as we now know it arose from a jam session during which the band played Elvis Presley’s ‘That’s All Right’.”

    I am human and I need to be loved” has to be one of the most raw and honest lyrics in English music from the era or those after.

    ‘How Soon Is Now’ shows pop music can be emotional, intelligent, thought provoking, heart breaking.

    I’ve been a massive Smiths and Morrissey fan ever since the original release. In a discussion over who is the greater star, I fall on the side of Marr as he has kept creating new music and forming the backbone of a bunch of great UK bands (Marr has been a member of the Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs, and he has become a prolific session musician, working with names such as Talking Heads and Hans Zimmer). Morrissey is here and Marr is here as separate stars occasionally travelling past our orbit.

    The constellation of Morrissey and Marr burned brightly in 1982 and imploded around 1987 but the remnants of those stars still shine brightly.

    Track listing

    How Soon Is Now
    Well I Wonder
    Oscillate Wildly

    Musicians

    Morrissey – vocals
    Johnny Marr – guitar
    Andy Rourke – bass
    Mike Joyce – drums

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