B-side, 1987
. . .
“Do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?”
The Smiths kicked off 1987 in full gear, releasing their third straight high-charting single, “Shoplifters of The World Unite,” which topped out at #12 on the U.K. charts. It’s a fine song and everything, but was a too blatant attempt at recapturing the shimmering magic of “How Soon Is Now?,” and while it did contain Johnny Marr’s first actual guitar solo on any Smiths song, and it just never went anywhere for me.
And in fact, “Shoplifters of The World Unite” wasn’t even supposed to be their next single. That was “You Just Haven’t Earned it Yet, Baby,” but it was shelved for, reasons, I guess. We’ll talk about it more when we get there, but the upshot is that after almost dying in a car crash, Johnny Marr decided to record “Shoplifters of The World Unite” instead, and “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby” got shelved.
But they kept the b-sides they’d recorded, “Half a Person” and for the 12,” “London,” a roman a clef based on Morrissey’s first venture into, well, London.
Smoke lingers ’round your fingers
Train – Heave on to Euston
Do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?
“London” opens with a bit of feedback masquerading as a train whistle before taking off into a demented rockabilly rumble, featuring both Johnny Marr’s and Craig Gannon’s guitars racing against each other while fending off Andy Rourke’s bass and everyone losing to Mike Joyce, who’s having more fun than a drummer should have. And drummers should have all of the fun!
You’ve left your tired family grieving
And you think they’re sad because you’re leaving
But did you see the jealousy in the eyes of the ones who had to stay behind?
And do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?
Morrissey is mixed lower than normal here, his voice faded and echoed, making “London” one of those songs that more about the overall sound of the band — including his voice — than a big statement like “Half A Person” or “Shoplifters of the World Unite” or even “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby.”
You’ve left your girlfriend on the platform
With this really ragged notion that you’ll return
But she knows that “when he goes, he really goes”
And do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?
What I like about “London” is the sense of ambiguity: we don’t know if the person in the song has made the right decision or not. And because of the mix, you might be listening more to Rourke’s amazing bass during that part than pondering the lyrics. In the end, Marr takes the whole song to another level with some crazy ass guitar while Joyce tattoos his snare drum in response. Even so, the whole thing is over in a little over two minutes. And sure, it might be one of the more slight Smiths songs, but it’s also one of the more fun ones, showing up on both The World Won’t Listen and Louder Than Bombs.
“London” was also the last recording that Craig Gannon played on. It wasn’t really working out between he and Marr, and he was sacked before they went back in the studio in November to record “Shoplifters of The World Unite.”
“London”
“London” live in London, 1986
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