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“The Smiths is the debut studio album by English rock band the Smiths, recorded in 1983 and released on 20 February 1984 by record label Rough Trade…

…The album was well received by the critics as well as the public; it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for 33 weeks. It established the Smiths as a prominent band in the 1980s music scene in the United Kingdom.” – Wiki

“It is difficult to describe just how different The Smiths sounded when it was released in early 1984. In an era of overproduced crash, bang and very often, wallop, this album defined northern British pop in a manner not unlike the Beatles had two decades earlier. Vocalist and lyricist Steven Patrick Morrissey cut a very singular swathe with lyrics that quoted freely from kitchen sink dramas, great literary heritage, and, in doing so, gave awkward youth its new (and enduring) hero.” – BBC

“Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths' eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era…

…Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality ("Hand in Glove") to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds.” – Allmusic

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