The Smiths' seminal 1986 album The Queen Is Dead turned 30 last year, and after a rather dramatic delay, it's finally getting the anniversary treatment. A deluxe reissue is due out on October 20 via Warner Bros. Records.
It will arrive as a two-disc set with an additional CD/DVD, including a remastered version of the original album; a compilation of demos, outtakes and B-sides; and a CD/DVD of a previously unreleased live album recorded on August 5, 1985, at the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts in Boston.
Never one to keep quiet (or modest), former frontman Morrissey has released a statement about the upcoming reissue package. It reads:
You cannot continue to record and simply hope that your audience will approve, or that average critics will approve, or that radio will approve. You progress only when you wonder if an abnormally scientific genius would approve — and this is the leap The Smiths took with The Queen Is Dead.
See the full tracklisting for the forthcoming reissue below, and listen to the band's freshly unearthed first take of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out."
The Queen Is Dead Super Deluxe Edition:
Disc 1:
1. The Queen is Dead (2017 Master)
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly (2017 Master)
3. I know it's Over (2017 Master)
4. Never Had No One Ever (2017 Master)
5. Cemetery Gates (2017 Master)
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again (2017 Master)
7. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side (2017 Master)
8. Vicar in a Tutu (2017 Master)
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out (2017 Master)
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (2017 Master)
Disc 2:
1. The Queen is Dead (Full Version)
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly (Demo)
3. I know it's Over (Demo)
4. Never Had No One Ever (Demo)
5. Cemetery Gates (Demo)
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again (Demo)
7. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Demo)
8. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side (Demo Mix)
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Take 1)
10. Rubber Ring (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
11. Asleep (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
12. Money Changes Everything (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
13. Unloveable (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
Disc 3 — Live in Boston:
1. How Soon Is Now?
2. Hand In Glove
3. I Want The One I Cant Have
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Stretch Out And Wait
6. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
7. Cemetry Gates
8. Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring
9. Is It Really So Strange?
10. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
11. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
12. The Queen Is Dead
13. I Know It's Over
It will arrive as a two-disc set with an additional CD/DVD, including a remastered version of the original album; a compilation of demos, outtakes and B-sides; and a CD/DVD of a previously unreleased live album recorded on August 5, 1985, at the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts in Boston.
Never one to keep quiet (or modest), former frontman Morrissey has released a statement about the upcoming reissue package. It reads:
You cannot continue to record and simply hope that your audience will approve, or that average critics will approve, or that radio will approve. You progress only when you wonder if an abnormally scientific genius would approve — and this is the leap The Smiths took with The Queen Is Dead.
See the full tracklisting for the forthcoming reissue below, and listen to the band's freshly unearthed first take of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out."
The Queen Is Dead Super Deluxe Edition:
Disc 1:
1. The Queen is Dead (2017 Master)
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly (2017 Master)
3. I know it's Over (2017 Master)
4. Never Had No One Ever (2017 Master)
5. Cemetery Gates (2017 Master)
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again (2017 Master)
7. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side (2017 Master)
8. Vicar in a Tutu (2017 Master)
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out (2017 Master)
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (2017 Master)
Disc 2:
1. The Queen is Dead (Full Version)
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly (Demo)
3. I know it's Over (Demo)
4. Never Had No One Ever (Demo)
5. Cemetery Gates (Demo)
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again (Demo)
7. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Demo)
8. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side (Demo Mix)
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Take 1)
10. Rubber Ring (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
11. Asleep (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
12. Money Changes Everything (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
13. Unloveable (Single B-Side) [2017 Master]
Disc 3 — Live in Boston:
1. How Soon Is Now?
2. Hand In Glove
3. I Want The One I Cant Have
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Stretch Out And Wait
6. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
7. Cemetry Gates
8. Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring
9. Is It Really So Strange?
10. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
11. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
12. The Queen Is Dead
13. I Know It's Over