Track Of The Day - This Charming Man

The brightly coloured hyperlink of my previous post was a not so secret indication of what this post was going to entail, a review all about one of The Smiths most famous and successful songs which brought them to mainstream popularity; This Charming Man.

I first heard the song whilst travelling at night in the car which was a common past-time when I was growing up, living in many place and in turn having to travel to and from, most notably the 12 or more hours from Germany to England and vice-versa. This was a period in my life when Brit-pop was played album after album, all influenced by the band I had yet to discover and shape my whole perspective on music. 

The track I first heard was the brilliant unrivalled originality of Hand In Glove, a track I would greatly appreciate in my more seasoned listening of The Smiths. But it was the jangle guitar sounds that came from Johnny Marr's Rickenbacker 330 of This Charming Man that captivated my imagination and astonishment of how beautiful music could completely overwhelm oneself and seemingly makes time stand still, this car journey seemed longer than the trip to Munster and I am forever thankful for that experience.

The lyrics of Morrissey were not all too shocking in terms of interpretation, as I have been a lifelong fan of the sexually ambiguous lyrics of Brian Molko from Placebo. However, it was construction and execution of his lyrics that have inspired me as a writer, music enthusiast and person. Although I was initially hooked to The Smiths by Marr's music as I have been a multi-instrumentalist for years, it has been the re-discovering of the way Morrissey performs his untouchable writings, track after track, album after album which keeps the listener so perpetually engaged with The Smiths. In terms of a delicious Smiths analogy, Marr is the starter; The Smiths in their entirety is the main course and last but not least is Morrissey as the not always sweet desert.

The lyrics I linked in my last post have to be my most favoured of all of The Smiths songs, probably only contended with Hand In Glove and I Know It's Over; personally at least. This Charming Man is one of the rare gems in music where lyrics and music are so perfectly suited for one another that it begs belief how two completely different people could sync their talents into such audible bliss. It is a song where every part of the song is recognisable and yet complexly different from the previous musical assortment, comparable to Jazz but executed in the style of alternative rock and jangle pop.

This Charming Man is a truly breath-taking track which is and will always be my favourite song and the song that 'Changed My Life'.

Fact File:

'This Charming Man'

Recorded: September-October1983

Location: Matrix Studios & London/Strawberry Studios, Stockport/Manchester

Produced By: John Porter

Released: November 1983 (UK Chart Position #25)

First Performed: London The Venue 15/9/83 (John Peel Session)

To get this blog more interactive! Please comment if you agree that This Charming Man is your favourite Smiths song or if you have a different opinion on which is your favourite, let me know. All comments are very much appreciated.