Suvarna Garge (Editor)

The World Won't Listen

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Released
  
23 February 1987

Length
  
59:26

Release date
  
23 February 1987

Recorded
  
1984–1986

Artist
  
The Smiths

Label
  
Rough Trade Records

The World Won't Listen httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen885TWW

Producer
  
Various (see main text)

The World Won't Listen (1987)
  
Louder Than Bombs (1987)

Genres
  
Alternative rock, Indie rock, Indie pop

Similar
  
The Smiths albums, Alternative rock albums

The smiths panic official music video


The World Won't Listen is a compilation album by The Smiths. It was released in February 1987 by their record company, Rough Trade Records, and reached No. 2 on the British charts, staying on the charts for 15 weeks.

Contents

The smiths shakespeare s sister


Background

The album was conceived as a collection of the singles and their B-sides from 1985 to 1987. Additionally, the scrapped single "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" (which was passed over for "Shoplifters of the World Unite") and the near-single "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (a single candidate from The Queen Is Dead that was passed over in favour of "Bigmouth Strikes Again") were included.

The title reflects Morrissey's frustration with the fact that mainstream radio and record buyers still weren't paying attention to the band. As the album included many non-album cuts and single versions, it remains a fan favourite. The music press was critical, however, labelling the album "inessential".

The compilation was rendered largely superfluous only three months after its release when Rough Trade decided to release the similar but extended US-intended compilation "Louder Than Bombs" domestically. This was primarily done to save the consumer from paying high import prices. However, The World Won't Listen contains two versions of songs that do not appear on Louder Than Bombs: the single version of "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and the single edit of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore." Additionally, The World Won't Listen contains different versions of two songs that would appear on Louder Than Bombs: "Stretch Out and Wait" features an alternate vocal and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" appears in a slightly different and longer mix. Also of note is the fact that "Ask" appears on both The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs in a slightly different and longer mix than its single version.

After WEA acquired The Smiths' back catalogue in 1992, all Smiths albums were re-released at mid price, including The World Won't Listen, which was expanded to include a cover of "Golden Lights" and the original Rough Trade cassette edition bonus track "Money Changes Everything" (the "Bigmouth Strikes Again" B-side, also later released on the deluxe edition of The Sound of The Smiths).

British artist Phil Collins produced an artwork inspired by The World Won't Listen with the same name, which was filmed in Turkey, Indonesia and Colombia.

Cover

The CD sleeve for The World Won't Listen is based on the cassette version of the sleeve layout; the original album featured a larger picture of a 1950s fairground scene, of which this is a crop. The sleeve was designed by Morrissey, using a photo by Jürgen Vollmer from the book Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans.

Track listing

All tracks written by Morrissey/Marr except "Golden Lights" written by Twinkle.

Personnel

  • Morrissey – vocals
  • Johnny Marr – guitars, keyboard instruments, harmonica on "Ask" mandolin on "Golden Lights", marmimba on single version of "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
  • Andy Rourke – bass guitar, cello on "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Oscillate Wildly"
  • Mike Joyce – drums, tambourine on "Stretch Out and Wait"
  • Craig Gannon – rhythm guitar on "Panic", "Ask", "London", "Half a Person", "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" and "Golden Lights", mandolin on "Golden Lights"

    • Additional musicians

  • Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals on "Ask" and "Golden Lights"
  • John Porter – sound effects on "Ask", drum machine and bass on "Golden Lights"
  • Stephen Street – additional drum machine programming on "London", sound effects on "Asleep", sampling on "Rubber Ring"

    • Production

  • Johnny Marr – producer (track 7)
  • Johnny Marr, Morrissey and Stephen Street – producers (track 3 and 12)
  • Morrissey and Marr – producers (tracks 4, 6, 10–11, 17)
  • John Porter – producer (tracks 1–2, 9, 16, 18)
  • The Smiths – producers (tracks 5, 8, 13–15)

    • Charts

    Album

    Songs

    1Panic2:20
    2Ask3:18
    3London2:07

    References

    The World Won't Listen Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA