Carlos Bazarra |
València (EFE).- Forty years after their debut album of the same name, The Smiths remains the most influential British group since the Beatles and their legacy does not expire because the plot of their music is still valid, even for new generations of teenagers. who take refuge in it, now through Spotify, TikTok or Instagram.
This is corroborated by ‘Morrissey and the Smiths. So much to answer for’ (edited by the Valencian Efe Eme) thanks to the documentary work of its author, the music critic Carlos Pérez de Ziriza (Madrid, 1973), who through 230 pages – which were finished editing on the day that Morrissey turned 65 on May 22 – explains the reason for a cultural phenomenon that began in the catacombs of ‘indie’ as its own genre and became the global benchmark for the best pop-rock with countless descendants.
A light that never goes out
As Morrissey sang in ‘Cemetry Gates’, from his considered masterpiece ‘The Queen is dead’ (1986), ‘at the cemetery gates, Keats and Yeats are at your side, and Wilde next to me’, a declaration of intentions literary that was not the first of his work, but it did make it clear that the cultural references of the tandem he formed with guitarist Johnny Marr – who since the dissolution of the band has had parallel projects in Electronic and The The, as well as alone – They were going to be a cornerstone of their discography.
And apart from the “apostles” (as Morrissey likes to call his fans) who follow them, both the group that marked an era between 1983 and 1987 and the soloist who since then opened a period with ups and downs but always controversial , admired and under the scrutiny of critics, the Smiths universe has been accompanied since its beginnings by a plethora of acolytes who, generally in adolescence but not only in adolescence, have seen in their lyrics and melodies a lifeline to try to understand their world .
“Their message is timeless, it is suitable for any era,” Pérez de Ziriza, a critic in media such as El País, Rockdelux, Efe Eme and Mondosonoro, who has been a faithful follower of the group and its soloist since he was a teenager, tells EFE Agency. but he makes it clear that he is not a mythomaniac, and even less so when it comes to facing this work, the second on the Smiths and Morrissey to his credit after another monograph published in 2005, and who has followed the Mancunian troubadour in different concerts and festivals.
And he is not a mythomaniac because his pulse does not tremble when it comes to sending some of Morrissey’s latest albums to galleys, possessor of an overwhelming personality and generator of striking headlines, who over four decades has championed everything from sexual ambiguity to sentimental defeatism, the defense of animal rights, ideological provocation or the cult of the underworld, always from the poetic trunk of his misunderstood adolescence.
The ‘mouth’ attacks again
This idol of the masses in low times – now he does not have a record contract but he does have enough material for at least a couple of new albums, as he reveals in the interview – survives thanks to his unmistakable voice, his live charisma and the countless legion of admirers who , whatever he does, they will follow him everywhere and will try to get on stage in any way possible to give him a hug and believe that his life has already been worth it.
The author’s icing on this musical and vital mark is found in this new book, with an extensive interview where the co-author of “Bigmouth strikes again”, always elusive, prone to theatricalizing personal drama and indie star of the entertainment business, as a Elvis from the Thatcher era, the Bush era and the Trump era (many eras but nothing to do with those of Taylor Swift’s last tour, whom he called a “fraud” in 2015), opens up to him.
This book seeks to be a reference work – but far from encyclopedism – for fans, and also both an educational introduction for those who barely know the Smiths-Morrissey universe and a journalistic and emotional essay to understand the evolution of an entire sociocultural phenomenon.
Every day is like a Sunday
This began in Manchester in 1983, made the recording leap from a small independent label (Rough Trade) and soon after touched the honey of success in Great Britain and many European countries. Even in Spain, with a historic, massive and free concert on Madrid’s Paseo de Camoens during the 1985 San Isidro festivities that TVE broadcast live.
Massive success in America would not come until Morrissey settled in Los Angeles in the early 2000s and engineered his great musical resurrection there with ‘You are the quarry’ (2004), the album that returned him to the covers and, above all, , opened the doors to the Latin community. The book explains, precisely, the success that he has had since then in countries like Mexico, where tribute albums are even made to Moz, as he is popularly known.
The Smiths age well
“The Smiths’ music ages better, it was so perfect that it didn’t have time to rust,” the author tells EFE. His brief and fruitful career did not have any drop in quality, something that can be attributed to Morrissey during his solo period.
In it he has ended up having his pride “a little hurt” by the media presence of Johhny Marr, who also claims his weight in the creative role of the group. Andy Rourke (bass, died in 2023) and Mike Joyce (drums) never had that aura in the band, and in fact both ended up having Morrissey sued.
For posterity, the musical epics that marked several generations will continue to remain, such as ‘There is a light that never goes out’, ‘How soon is now’, ‘This charming man’ and ‘Please, please, please, let me get what I want’ or, now alone, ‘Everyday is like Sunday’, ‘Suedehead’, ‘First of the gang to die’ or “The last of the famous international playboys”. Adolescence still has a place to take refuge. EFE
