This Charming Man

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"This Charming Man" is a song by the British rock band The Smiths, composed by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was the group's second single, which was released in October of 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade. Musically, the song is defined by Marr's jangle pop guitar riff, and Morrissey's characteristicly obscure lyrics,^[1] which revolve around the recurrent Smiths theme of sexual ambiguity. The song was later included on the American release of the band's debut album, The Smiths (1984), and on all versions of the album in later repressings.

Though only moderately successful on its release—peaking at #25 on the British singles chart—the song has been widely praised by critics. In 2004, BBC Radio 2 listeners voted it #97 on the station's "Sold On Song Top 100" poll,^[2] while in 2001 UNCUT magazine journalists placed it as #10 on their "100 singles that changed your life" feature.^[3] In 2006, the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron named it as one of his Desert Island Discs.^[4] The single was reissued in 1992 when Warner Music Group acquired the band's catalogue; the release consequently reached number eight on the British singles chart to become the group's biggest hit.

[edit] Origin and lyrics

Marr wrote the music to "This Charming Man" in preparation for a session on BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel's radio show, the same night that he wrote "Still Ill" and "Pretty Girls Make Graves".^[5] Based on the Peel performance, Rough Trade owner Geoff Travis suggested that the band release the song as a single instead of the slated release "Reel Around The Fountain", which had garnered controversy in the press due to its perceived references to paedophilia.^[6] In September 1983, the band entered Matrix Studios in London to attempt a proper studio recording of the song for release as a single. However, the result (known as the "London" version) was unsatisfactory, and soon after the band travelled to Strawberry Studios in Stockport, Greater Manchester to try again. Here, they recorded the A-side most listeners are familiar with.^[7]

The lyrics of many of The Smiths' songs have been reviewed by academics and the sexual ambiguity, bisexuality and homoeroticism depicted are suggested as providing an insight into the attitudes and past experiences of Morrissey. Ricky Rooksby, in his book Inside Classic Rock Tracks, describes the opening line as "wonderfully evocative" and says that Morrissey's lyrics are marked by a "droll wit" and colloquial phrases such as "I haven't got a stitch to wear".^[8] In discussing the opening lyrics, "Punctured bicycle / on a hillside desolate / Will nature make a man of me yet?", Sheila Whiteley, Professor of Popular Music at the University of Salford, suggests Morrissey is referring to a "rite of passage" and in another part of the song which refers to a "passenger seat" suggests he is referring to a real event in his life.^[9]

Nabeel Zuberi in Sounds English - Transnational Popular Music notes that Morrissey often refers to a "deviant outsider" in his lyrics, which is represented in this case by the "charming man" of the song's title who offers the young man a lift when his bicycle tire is punctured. Zuberi describes the meeting as a "brief encounter" and suggests, on behalf of the songwriter, "partly a homoerotic attraction". He notes that Morrissey's lyrics often place working-class males in a homoerotic situation.^[10]

As with many of Morrissey's compositions, the song features a line taken from a cult film; in this case, the lyric "A jumped-up pantry boy who never knew his place" is adapted from the 1972 film Sleuth.^[7]

[edit] Composition

"This Charming Man" is an up-tempo song, featuring guitar, bass, and drums. The song begins with a short introductory guitar riff; after about four seconds Marr is joined by the rhythm section. Morrissey's vocals are first heard eight seconds after this. His melodies are diatonic, and consciously avoid blues inflections.^[8] The chorus is heard only twice. The first time it is followed by a brief pause and the second time by the closing of the song. The rhythm section of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce provides an unusually danceable beat. The drums were originally programmed on a Linn Drum Computer by Peter Boita under the direction of producer John Porter who used Boita's Linn Drum programme to trigger the sampled sounds of the live drum kit, featuring a Motownesque bassline.^[11]

Marr's guitar part consists of him playing single notes of thirds as opposed to strumming chords. The guitar creates a counter-melody throughout the song. Marr overdubbed numerous guitar parts onto the song.^[8] In December 1993, Johnny Marr told Guitar Player magazine

[edit] Critical reception

Upon its release the song has received nearly unanimous critical acclaim. Paul Morley of the NME wote in his review of the single, "'This Charming Man' is an accessible bliss, and seriously moving. This group fully understand that the casual is not enough... This is one of the greatest singles of the year, a poor compliment. Unique and indispensable, like 'Blue Monday' and 'Karma Chameleon' - that's better!"^[13] A contemporary review in The Face read "Where has all the wildness and daring got to? Some of it has found its way onto The Smiths' record, 'Charming Man'. It jangles and crashes and Morrissey jumps in the middle with his mutant choir-boy voice, sounding jolly and angst-ridden at the same time. It should be given out on street corners to unsuspecting passers-by of all ages."^[3] While the group was little-known in the United States at the time, Robert Palmer of The New York Times described the song, along with The Icicle Works' "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)", as "sparkling, soaring, superlative pop-rock, and proof that the guitar-band format pioneered by the Beatles is still viable for groups with something to say."^[14] The following year Palmer chose the song as the second best single of 1984.^[15]

All Music Guide's Ned Raggett noted that "Early Elvis would have approved of the music, Wilde of the words," calling it "an audacious end result by any standard."^[1] Tim DiGravina, of the same organization, writes that "Debating the merits of the track here would be a bit pointless, as it's a classic song from one of the last great classic bands. It might as well be called 'This Charming Song', as Johnny Marr's jangling, chiming guitar sounds as if it's being recorded in the heavens, and Morrissey's vocals are astonishingly deep. The song is dear to the heart of every fan of the band."^[16]

[edit] Fan reaction

Fan reaction was similarly ecstatic. In "This Is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco", Garry Mulholland wrote "It felt much bigger than No. 25. Jesus, it felt seismic. Everyone I knew (who wasn't a black-music obsessive) fell instantly in love with 'This Charming Man', and then whimpered like The S.O.S. Band for the attentions of Morrissey and Marr."^[11] Lead singer of Suede, Brett Anderson, himself a teenager at the time, called it "a truly magical, beautiful song," remarking that "it's so ultimately charming and has some of the most brilliant lyrics ever ... incredibly idiosyncratic but incredibly self-confident within that."^[3]

The song has been covered numerous times by different artists and in various styles. One of the earliest Death Cab for Cutie recordings is a cover version, dating from November 1996. It was released as part of the band's rarities collection You Can Play These Songs with Chords in 2002. Canadian indietronica outfit Stars released their own take on the song in 2001. The heavily modified cover was featured on their A Lot of Little Lies For the Sake of One Big Truth EP, as well as their debut Nightsongs.

[edit] Versions and release history

The earliest version of "This Charming Man", performed for John Peel's radio programme in Maida Vale Studio 4, was recorded on September 21 1983. This version of the song was first included on the 1984 compilation Hatful of Hollow.

On 28 October 1983, the "Manchester" version of "This Charming Man" was released in the UK in 7" and 12" formats, reaching #25 in the UK charts. The record sleeve uses a frame from Jean Cocteau's 1949 film Orphée, featuring French actor Jean Marais. The song was also included as a bonus track on the American version of the band's eponymous debut, The Smiths—though it was not featured on Rough Trade's original UK and European run of the album. In 1992, WEA re-issued group's catalogue and all subsequent pressings of The Smiths have incorporated "This Charming Man" as track six. WEA additionally re-released the single itself in 1992 to support the Best...I compilation album. The reissued single reached number eight on the British singles chart to become the group's biggest hit ever.^[17]

In December 1983 a "New-York" mix of the single by DJ François Kevorkian was released. Kevorkian geared the song towards the dancefloor, and it was originally intended to only be pressed in limited numbers for use by New York club DJs. However Geoff Travis, head of the Smiths' record label, Rough Trade, liked the mix and gave it a wide release in the UK. However, it met with a chilly reception from fans of a group that seemed almost at odds with dance music and culture, and was quickly deleted.^[18] Morrissey later laid the blame on Rough Trade, saying in a February 1984 interview, "I'm still very upset about that. It was entirely against our principles, the whole thing, it didn't seem to belong with us. There was even a question of a fourth version, which would have bordered on pantomime. It was called the Acton version, which isn't even funny."^[19] Travis has countered this, claiming "It was my idea, but they agreed. They said 'Go ahead', then didn't like it so it was withdrawn." He also said, "Nothing that ever happened in The Smiths occurred without Morrissey's guidance; there's not one Smiths record that went out that Morrissey didn't ask to do, so there's nothing on my conscience."^[18]

[edit] Live performances

Performances of the song were notable for Morrissey's stage antics. During a famous appearance on Top of the Pops, and in both videos Morrissey, appeared waving gladioli. UNCUT magazine, commentating on this nationally televised debut, wrote that "Thursday evening when Manchester's feyest first appeared on TOTP would be an unexpected pivotal cultural event in the lives of a million serious English boys. His very English, camp glumness was a revolt into Sixties kitchen-sink greyness against the gaudiness of the Eighties New Pop World, as exemplified by Culture Club and their ilk. The Smiths' subject matter may have been 'squalid' but there was a purity of purpose about them that you messed with at your peril."^[3] BBC Radio 2's feature on the song remarked that the performance "...marked most people's introduction to The Smiths and, therefore, to the weird, wordy world of Morrissey and the music of Johnny Marr."^[2]

The Top of the Pops performance would be cited by many Smiths followers as being a key event in their musical upbringing. Noel Gallagher, lead guitarist of Britpop band Oasis, said that "When The Smiths came on Top of the Pops for the first time, that was it for me. From that day on... I wanted to be Johnny Marr."^[20]

[edit] Music videos

Two similar music videos were made for "This Charming Man". The first was filmed by the British television show The Tube, and features the band playing the song in an empty room. The second is from the Riverside television programme (7 November 1983) and shows the band playing the song in a room with a floor covered by flowers. The latter was used as a promotional film upon the single's re-release in 1992^[21] and is featured on The Smiths - The Complete Picture video compilation.

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Notes