Lasting almost 7 minutes, today's song is the longest track The Smiths ever recorded:-mp3 : The Smiths - Barbarism Begins At Home
One of the most danceable numbers they ever made, the track owes just as much to the bassline of Andy Rourke as it does Johnny's guitar-picking or Moz's lyrics, singing and yepling.
Although Barbarism Begins At Home wasn't released until February 1985 as a track on Meat Is Murder, it was one that many fans had heard before as it had been part of many live sets during 1984, including at their very first Scottish gig in Glasgow:-
mp3 : The Smiths - Barbarism Begins At Home (live)
It is quite unlike anything else they ever recorded, and at one point was mooted as a single. Whether it would have given the band a bit of cross-over appeal away from the Ben Watt lookalikes who made up much of their fanbase, we will never know. What is clear from this early March 1984 TV appearance is that the band collectively enjoyed performing the song:-
Wonderful stuff. You really hear how important the bassline is in the live clip, but its also fascinating to watch Morrissey and Marr shaking their hips. And it wasn't a one-off:-
Just like me and The Kipper at many an office Xmas party.......still don't understand why many colleagues gave us strange looks
1 comments:
I love this track above all other Smiths tracks. Prrof that Andy Rourke was a genius and all those years spent playing in disco bands before The Smiths helped him to nail killer bass lines
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