''Rank'' is the only standalone official live album by English band

the Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

. It was released a year after the band’s breakup in September 1988 by their British record company Rough Trade, and reached No. 2 in the British charts. In the United States, the album was released on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

and made No. 77.

Background

''Rank'' was released as a contractual obligation. It was recorded almost two years earlier on 23 October 1986 at National Ballroom in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: London Borough of Camden, Camden to the east, City of Westminster, London Borough of Brent, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City ...

, and is a fourteen-track distillation (of 21 songs) by singer

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

from the complete concert recording that had earlier been transmitted by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. The album rode high on the Smiths nostalgia and the success of Morrissey's debut solo album, ''

Viva Hate ''Viva Hate'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1988 by HMV, six months after the final studio album by the Smiths, '' Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987). Vini Reilly, the leader of the E ...

'', earlier the same year. The songs omitted from the recording of the Kilburn show are: "I Want the One I Can't Have", "

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'', it was not released as a ...

", "Frankly, Mr. Shankly", "Never Had No One Ever", "Meat Is Murder", and "

How Soon Is Now? "How Soon Is Now?" is a song by English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. Originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing", "How Soon Is Now?" was subsequently featured on the co ...

" Also, some edits can be readily heard in the concert itself, such as at the end of "I Know It's Over" when the crowd starts cheering. In late 2008 video footage appeared from the show on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. According to the Smiths biographers

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

and

David Bret David Bret (born 8 November 1954) is a British author of show business biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of film stars and singers. Life Born in Paris, France, in 1954, Bret was adopted by an English couple and raised in Wath ...

, Morrissey originally titled the album ''The Smiths in Heat''. Rough Trade objected and Morrissey proposed ''Rank'', "as in ' J. Arthur'" (''J. Arthur Rank'' is

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

for "

wank Wank may refer to: * WANK (computer worm), a computer worm that attacked DEC VAX/VMS systems through DECnet in 1989 * WXTY, a radio station (99.9 FM) licensed to serve Lafayette, Florida, United States, which held the call sign WANK from 2010 to 2 ...

").

Packaging

The album cover for ''Rank'', designed by Morrissey, is a photo of actress

Alexandra Bastedo Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series ''The Champions''. Bastedo was a vegetar ...

. The image is from photographer John D. Green's 1967 book ''Birds of Britain''. The

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

album's interior features a photo of several Smiths fans ripping apart Morrissey's shirt. That picture was taken by Ian Tilton at the 1986

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

Festival of the Tenth Summer The Festival of the Tenth Summer was a music and art festival that took place in Manchester in July 1986. The festival was organised by Factory Records to 'celebrate Manchester' specifically with reference to the first performance by the Sex Pisto ...

" concert at

G-Mex Centre Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, Engl ...

in Manchester, England.

Track listing

All tracks written by

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

and

except "

His Latest Flame "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" is a song recorded in a hit version by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1961. It was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and first recorded by Del Shannon on the album ''Runaway With Del ...

" (

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as ...

), "The Draize Train" (Marr) and the very beginning of "The Queen Is Dead" where an audio recording of

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's classical piece "

Montagues and Capulets ''Romeo and Juliet'' (russian: Ромео и Джульетта, Romeo i Dzhulyetta), Op. 64, is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. First composed in 1935, it was substantially revised for its ...

" was played to introduce the band.

Charts

Personnel

The band

– vocals *

– lead guitar *

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

– bass guitar * Mike Joyce – drums *

Craig Gannon Craig Gannon (born 30 July 1966) is an English guitar player, best known as the second guitarist in the Smiths. He is now a composer for film and television. Career Born in Manchester, Gannon had played in bands with friends since he was 12 ye ...

– rhythm guitar

Technical staff

* Pete Dauncey and

Grant Showbiz Grant Showbiz (real name Grant Cunliffe) is a British record producer principally known for his work with The Fall, The Smiths, and Billy Bragg plus as an artist in his own right with Moodswings. He has worked on more albums by both The Fall (1 ...

–

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Paul Nickson Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rank (Album) The Smiths live albums Albums produced by Grant Showbiz 1988 live albums Rough Trade Records live albums Sire Records live albums