Strangeways, Here We Come
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Album Summary
"Strangeways, Here We Come" was laid down in 1986 and came out swinging in September of 1987 on the beloved independent powerhouse Rough Trade Records — and what a swan song it turned out to be. This was the fourth and final studio album from The Smiths, and the cats in Manchester took the reins themselves this time, producing the record with a lean and hungry focus alongside engineer Stephen Street, cutting the album at The Wool Hall in Bath. With internal tensions simmering just beneath the surface, the band poured everything they had left into those sessions, and you can feel it in every groove — a group of musicians who knew, on some deep level, that the clock was running out, and decided to make every second count before going their separate ways later that same year.
Reception
- The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, held just shy of the top spot by U2's "The Joshua Tree" — a chart position that still stings for Smiths devotees to this day.
- Critical reception was warmly positive, with reviewers celebrating the band's bold sonic experimentation and Morrissey's increasingly literary and mature lyricism.
- "Strangeways, Here We Come" became the best-selling album in Rough Trade Records' history at the time of its release, a testament to the fierce loyalty The Smiths had cultivated in their audience.
Significance
- The album represents a bold and adventurous departure from the band's earlier sound, reaching beyond jangly indie guitar pop into richer, more orchestral and experimental territory — proof that The Smiths were still evolving right up until the very end.
- "Strangeways" stands as the creative pinnacle of the Morrissey and Marr songwriting partnership, with Johnny Marr's increasingly complex studio arrangements elevating Morrissey's darkly poetic meditations on mortality, alienation, and doomed romance to their highest form.
- The album's closing track "I Won't Share You" — the last song the band ever recorded — carries the quiet, devastating weight of a final word, and has since become one of the most emotionally resonant farewell statements in the history of British alternative rock.
Samples
- Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" — the orchestral introduction and emotional strings from this track have been sampled and interpolated across multiple hip-hop and electronic productions, making it one of the more frequently revisited moments from the album in sampling culture.
Tracklist
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A1 A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours 110
2:59
-
A2 I Started Something I Couldn't Finish 135
3:46
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A3 Death Of A Disco Dancer 171
5:24
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A4 Girlfriend In A Coma 104
2:02
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A5 Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before 134
3:31
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B1 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me 201
5:04
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B2 Unhappy Birthday 137
2:43
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B3 Paint A Vulgar Picture 96
5:33
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B4 Death At One's Elbow 124
1:59
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B5 I Won't Share You 92
2:45
Artist Details
The Smiths were a groundbreaking alternative rock band that came together in Manchester, England in 1982, led by the iconic pairing of vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, whose jangly, melodic guitar work wrapped around Morrissey's darkly witty, deeply introspective lyrics to create a sound that was unlike anything else happening in the music world at the time. They became the architects of indie rock and post-punk revival, their records like *The Queen Is Dead* and *Meat Is Murder* hitting the souls of an entire generation of young misfits and dreamers who finally heard their own loneliness and longing reflected back at them. Though they disbanded in 1987 after just five years together, their influence stretched far and wide across decades of music, touching everyone from Radiohead to Arcade Fire, cementing them as one of the most important and emotionally resonant bands to ever grace a turntable.
