"Strangeways, Here We Come" is the unexpected swan song of the Smiths, who disbanded in the months following the completion of this album. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of "The Queen is Dead" or their debut, there's enough to remind us why we fell in love with this Manchester group in the first place. Singer Morrissey gives us his twisted sense of humor in the single "Girlfriend in a Coma," makes a nail-on-the-head commentary on the recording industry's greed in "Paint a Vulgar Picture," and delivers a fine closer, the haunting "I Won't Share You." But "Strangeways"'s peak is the potent "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." After a piano solo that seems to go on forever, the song blasts into a dramatic rocker in which Morrissey moans: "Last night I felt/ real arms around me/ No hope, no harm/ Just another false alarm." With four studio albums within 4 years, The Smiths have secured a place in pop as one of the most beloved and influential groups of all time. "Strangeways" only confirms that belief.

I can't say that this is The Smiths' best album--I can't, because, they have a lot of GREAT albums--but I can say it's my favorite.

"The Queen is Dead" is terrific, but this feels more anthemic, more forceful, alive, and vital.

"Louder than Bombs" is amazing--though many don't even consider it an album, just a compilation--but this feels more focused, directed, and much tighter.

"The Smiths," their first album is experimental and fun and jubilant and dark, but this is the work of a mature band that's seen too much and that, although they're bummed out about things, can't take it all too seriously anymore.

"Strangeways, Here We Come" is an amazing collection of songs. From lyrics like, "And the pain was enough to make a shy, bald, buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder," to a conflicted love song to a girlfriend in a coma, to an amazing, self-referential song about the record industry, lyrically Morrissey had never been better.

And musically, the songs are driving, haunting, deep...and even catchy. It's almost wrong to call this "Eighties music," because it has almost nothing in common with the Thomas Dolbys and the Duran Durans that once cluttered up the airwaves. This was music written ahead of its time, and music that's good anytime: depressing, enlivening, uplifting, thought provoking.

These songs got me through adolescense, and then they just stuck around. I don't think they'll ever leave me, and at this point, I don't want them to.

"Strangeways, Here We Come" brought an end to what is probably the most remarkable 4½-year, organically whole recording career in the history of popular music. The Smiths were wise to not try to follow up "The Queen Is Dead" with "Our Greatest Masterpiece, Part II". However, since they probably did not know that it was to be their last new album, "Strangeways" has the feel of a transitional record, much like "Meat Is Murder". But while "Meat Is Murder" would have ended the band's career (not that it threatened to) with something of a whimper, "Strangeways" ends it with a bang.

The cliché of the "sophomore slump" has been too much of a reality for some artists . The Smiths managed to eschew this with "Hatful of Hallow", which, though it was more of a collection than a proper studio album, contained some of the the band's greatest material. Following what might be called a "junior slump", The Smiths delivered their masterpiece, "The Queen Is Dead". Having leap-froged the sophomore slump, they were now back at square two, so to speak. Following up a masterpiece can be as arduous as delivering on the promise of a great debut. Although a masterpiece gives a band some room to maneuver, it also sets a high standard to live up to. This what The Smiths faced as they entered the studio for what was to be their final recording together.

"Strangeways" turned out to be a Janus-faced record. The band tried to move forward with more ornate production, but they generally ended up sounding better when they stuck to what had always worked for them. The longer and shorter songs sit comfortable among one another, even if the longer songs can feel too long at times. "Girlfriend In A Coma" is a truly classic Smiths song, with its two minutes filled to the brim with every ounce of bitterness, love, and irony that Morrissey can muster. (And what better setting for a Smiths song than a hospital?) On the other hand, "Paint A Vulgar Picture", at 5 ½ minutes, is probably the most entertaining song on the CD, and one of the best songs that Morrissey has ever written. A swipe at the record industry's efforts to milk artists for all that they are worth, Moz still manages to splice in verses about how he has lost his true love. The song has also proven to be pretty ironic given the fact that The Smiths' own catalog has gone through extensive re-issuing and re-packaging, including several best of's and most of's. (Another swipe on the CD, "Death of a Disco Dancer", - featuring Moz on piano - is less effective than "Panic", the band's other swipe at the same subject.)

Among the other songs are the guitar-less "A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours", which kicks of the disc with energy and aplomb, and expresses Morrissey's typical sentiments without crashing into caricature. (Note Morrissey's wonderful growling as well.) "I Started Something..." - in which Moz ruins a perfectly good friendship by saying "I love you" - "Stop Me..." - in which he gets beat up on the way to meet someone he loves - and the string-laden "Last Night I Dreamt..." are also bona fide Smiths classics. Meanwhile, "Unhappy Birthday" and "I Won't Share You" are smaller but equally valuable gems, and "Death At One's Elbow" is a nice slice of Smiths-style rockabilly.

On the whole, The Smiths may have slipped a bit from "The Queen Is Dead" on their final album, but they had plenty of room to do so. They still ended up with a brilliant record. It was wise and brave of the band to challenge themselves, even if the best songs on "Strangeways" are not necessarily the result of this. Moreover, it was clear from this album that the break-up was not due to the creative well running dry, but rather, to the personal and creative differences between Morrissey and Marr. (I have heard one interpretation of "I Won't Share You" to be Morrissey's way of telling Marr that he didn't appreciate Marr's moonlighting on sessions with other artists.) So while this may not be the *very* best Smiths record or the favorite of most fans, it is still worthy of 5 stars.

And just for the record: Johnny Marr, speaking over a decade after "Strangeways" was released, said the following: "I don't think this album is what we're about to most people. They've decided that "The Queen Is Dead" is the better album and I don't agree. All the songs are better, it's better produced and it's got better atmosphere. I might be wrong but I don't think I am....It's the one Smiths record I've actually sat down and listened to since the break-up." Morrissey, when asked how he felt about Marr's opinion that "Strangeways" was their best album, said, "Well, it is. We're in absolute accordance on that. We say it quite often. At the same time. In our sleep. But in different beds." Food for thought, indeed.

Sigh... as I find so often on Amazon, the reviews tumble down one side or the other. Some proclaim this to be the Smiths best and can't understand why others were disappointed. Others consider it a sad, pale effort at self-imitation. Well please allow arrogant me to set you straight, for I am "someone with a big nose who knows".

Smiths' best? Laughable. The album lacks the creativity and spark of earlier efforts. However the real crime to most fans is the extreme amount of production polish that was applied here. I've heard Aerosmith albums with less heavy-gloss sheen that this. The Smiths were admired for their ability to craft witty, beautiful music that somehow remained raw and jagged. Also there is some truth that Morrissey seems to be doing more than a little bit of self parody. Occasionally it seems as if he took lyrics from past songs and played a game of Jumble just mixing up the order of the words.

Still let's not pile on too much. By any fair standard this is certainly a darn good album. The first 2 tracks are up-tempo, jaunts similar to past songs except that they worked keys and horns into the mix. "Death of a Disco Dancer" is a slow number that some could view as the boys just going through the motions; the band is so minimal here that to me this felt like the first Morrissey solo song. I fail to understand any criticism of "Girlfriend in a Coma", one of the most ironically upbeat tunes in pop history. The playful, bouncey melody betrayed the vocals "I know it's serious." The late 80's MTV success of this video was hilarious because by the time they flashed the info on the screen to introduce the video (Band Name, Song Title, etc.) they were immediately flashing it up again to remind you what you had seen - the gap between intro and extro was seriously maybe 30 seconds. "Stop Me..." is a brilliant hit that would have been the perfect evolution in the Smiths-pop style had they continued. "Stop Me..." also presents some of the strongest lyrical content on the album with likely the fastest flow you've ever heard from Morrissey. Marr has rarely sounded crisper.

OK that's halfway through the CD (listen I just needed a paragraph break somewhere). Some have discounted "Last Night I Dreamt..." as excessive bombast, but that's unfair. This is an epic piece of artfully presented melancholy. "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me. No hope, no harm, just another false alarm." Sure it's more self-pitying than your least favorite Goth song, but it's also hopelessly romantic, beautifully sung and when you heard this as a teenager it was true to your life. Well you're older now and you're a clever swine, but screw you if you don't like this one. "Unhappy Birthday" is Steven at his most cynical but it's also pretty funny; Marr sparkles on this. "Paint a Vulgar Picture" is an attack on the music industry in general but specifically a story about their knack for cashing in on the death of a star... think Tupac... no wait 2-Pac. Strangely it is also somewhat hypocritical. To wit.. "reissue, repackage... extra track and a tacky badge". Hasn't Morrissey done this about 10 different times by now (with his own music and the Smiths legacy)? "Death at One's Elbow" is simply the worst Smiths' song ever written. There is no reason they should have written this. The album ends with the lovely "I Won't Share You". Was this Morrissey speaking about his art? "I won't share you... with the drive and ambition, the zeal I feel, this is my time." Hmm, the final song on the final Smiths album. Coincidence?

I have to agree with the other reviewer that said this album is very much underrated. Despite the turmoil going on behind the scenes The Smiths were somehow able to make their most experimental, breathtaking album of all. It seems to me that their "conventional" songwriting climaxed with the fantastic Queen Is Dead. After that, most any other band would have been hard pressed to find an encore within them that was even close. Instead they went off in an entirely new direction and made perhaps their most haunting, innovative work. Even though Morrissey's solo endeavor, Viva Hate, was great in its own right, to me this album most vividly recalls those eerie, fog-shrouded years gone by. But don't kid yourself, all the Smiths albums are essential and worth their purchase price ten times over. I just find myself going back to this one more than most.