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Review
But it was the band’s newfound machismo that makes Rank such a fascinating, thrilling document. Seconds after the intro tape (buried in the background) and faint drum clatters, Morrissey bellows “HAAALLLLO!!” before Johnny Marr’s wah-wah-meets-feedback smeared riff and Mike Joyce’s drum tattoo introduced The Queen Is Dead’s title-track. The album had been out four months, and the band was high on fire. (Morrissey’s original – and rejected – title The Smiths in Heat says as much). The feverish audience reaction was also given its voice in the mix, and the atmosphere was combustible.
Panic follows, as self-contained as The Queen Is Dead was sprawling, with Marr throwing in the (T. Rex’s) Metal Guru riff that inspired the single. Similarly, Rusholm Ruffians began with its original blueprint, (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame, made famous by Elvis; the transition between the two should still make the heart of Smiths fans beat much faster. The slow, striptease-jazzy intro to a full-pelt What She Said is another gleeful addition. Played totally straight, London is super-charged and I Know It’s Over offers a rare moment to catch breath and sway.
Seven tracks had to be hacked off the set list order to make a (14-track) single album, but why I Know It’s Over and the instrumental The Draize Train (whereby Moz gets his traditional backstage breather in preparation for the encores) survive but heart-rending versions of There Is a Light That Never Goes Out and How Soon Is Now? don’t is a mystery. Maybe Moz chose to downplay The Smith’s anthemic qualities but their absence adds to the reason why Rank isn’t the rousing full stop – in effect, a ‘Greatest Bits’ – that The Smiths deserved. Even so, encores of Still Ill and Bigmouth Strikes Again are put to the sword in an exhilarated, exhausted manner, and the crowd react wildly. With anti-Coalition fervour being stoked by students and Morrissey and Marr combined, there is no more perfect time to revisit its molten drama.
--Martin Aston
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Customer Reviews
There's a nice mix of songs, albeit predominately from their later years. There's the catchy ones, such as "Panic", "Ask", "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side", as well as those which reward perseverance, such as "Rusholme Ruffians" and "I Know It's Over".
The Smiths were often bootlegged, but the sound quality on "Rank", despite sounding a bit tinny and confined, is better than you will find on almost all of them, probably only with the exception of their performance at The Apollo Theatre, Oxford, England on 18th March 1985 (also recorded by the BBC, and has been broadcast on radio in the past, so watch out for it).
Now the negative points:
This is not the complete concert! "I Want The One I Can't Have", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", "Shakespeare's Sister", "Frankly, Mr. Shankly", "Never Had No One Ever", "Meat Is Murder" and "How Soon Is Now?" were all played at this concert, so why oh why aren't they here?
Morrissey's harmless comments during the show have also been cut. These would add nicely to the atmosphere, so once again, why aren't they here?
Finally, I expect any officially released live concert to have a seamless changing between tracks (even if a concert has been edited, it's still do-able). For the most part, the track changes are pretty seamless, but, in the middle of the CD, there's a fade-out then a fade-in between tracks, which really destroys the continuation - was this really necessary?!
Conclusion: "Rank" is the only official way to hear The Smiths live, which, for all its faults, makes it essential. Alternatively, you could watch out for the full "Rank" concert to be broadcast on radio, as it has been in the past (including recently on the digital BBC Radio 6).
With their last four singles and various album tracks the set is probably as good as could be expected focusing the more urgent aspect of their cannon with songs such as `Vicar in a Tutu' and `Ask' rather than the lament of songs such as `Suffer Little Children'. My favourite track here is the rockabilly swagger of `Rusholme Ruffians' which with its riff acknowledging swerve from out of Elvis' `Marie's the Name' gives the concert its finest moment. Worth the price of admission on its own.
As vulgar pictures go this is probably as good as it get. Bigmouth strikes the right chord.
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