BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983
“This Charming Man” is a song by the English band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Released as the group’s second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade, it is defined by Marr’s jangle pop guitar riff and Morrissey’s characteristically morose lyrics, which revolve around the recurrent Smiths themes of sexual ambiguity and lust.
Feeling detached from the early 1980s mainstream gay culture, Morrissey wrote “This Charming Man” to evoke an older, more coded and self-aware underground scene. The singer said of the song’s lyrics: “I really like the idea of the male voice being quite vulnerable, of it being taken and slightly manipulated, rather than there being always this heavy machismo thing that just bores everybody.”
Although only moderately successful on first release—the single peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart, “This Charming Man” has been widely praised in both the music and mainstream press. Re-issued in 1992, it reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart (making it the Smiths’ biggest UK hit by chart position). In 2004, BBC Radio 2 listeners voted it number 97 on the station’s “Sold on Song Top 100” poll. Mojo magazine journalists placed the track at number 1 on their 2008 “50 Greatest UK Indie Records of All Time” feature. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2015.
SIDE A:
This Charming Man (New York Vocal) 5:34
SIDE B:
This Charming Man (New York Instrumental) 4:18
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Rough Trade – RTT 136 NY, Rough Trade – RTT 136 (NY)
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Indie Rock
CREDITS:
Mastered By – timtom*
Producer – John Porter
Remix – Francois Kevorkian*
Written-By – Marr*, Morrissey
NOTES:
Remixed at Right Track Studios New York.
Mastered at CBS Studios, UK.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Any Smiths or Morrissey vinyl is GREAT! TYVM! 🙂
I bought this from Probe Records in Liverpool when it came out – it was quite expensive as initially, it was an import. When I was DJ-ing at University, it was pretty much a staple of all my sets (Town Called Malice by the Jam mixes really well out of the drum break). Such a shame that Morrissey has degenerated into the kind of right wing, reactionary person that so many of his songs were against.
Amaaaaaazing!! Thank you so much!
Wow, this sounds absolutely amazing, probably the best Smiths recording I’ve ever heard. Johnny Marr’s guitar line that weaves it way throughout the song is glorious, and damned hard to play as well. Thank you!
Smiths indeed! Great song choice Paul. Morrissey loathed these remixes and publicly disowned them. 😀 I guess that’s why this is the only Smiths song that got such a treatment. It was just so far away from what he was trying to do with the band at the time, you can kind of understand it. I think it was around the same time he also declared that the synthesizer should be symbolically burnt. 😀 There’s a great bit of detail from Johnny Marr on wikipedia about the guitars, it’s just insane how much work is in there for an unknown… Read more »
Paul. great post! You expand my horizons with posts of 12″ singles I never discovered (or even knew about) back in the day. I love this song and the mix. And great rip! I echo Jeff and marvel at your generous posts. My collection from the “Paul-ography” brings me so much happiness. There are so many songs and mixes that you have shared that have really enriched my listening and enjoyment. So, thank you as always! 🙂
This is pure gold, Paul! Thanks 🙂
Wow, PSB and The Smiths in the same week. This is like revisiting my golden era of early 90’s crate digging. Thank You!
One must guess Cindy Lauper or her art director must have been into The Smiths or liked this record sleeve enough to adapt it for True Colors.
THANK YOU!! I’ve had three copies of this over the years, one was stolen, one was broken and the last one I have no idea what happened to it. (Probably stolen, too. I need new friends LOL)I’ve only had this on a really bad cassette back-up that I made back in the day, and it was barely listenable even then.
Paul, Every time you went away please come back and stay !
You’re welcome Neil 🙂
Oh God what better surprise than to find this published today, The Smiths will always be my favorite band, and this song is very special for me, also this version (New York Vocal) is very different from the original and I really like it! Thank you very much Paul, I’m sure today will be a very special day! So many memories that this song brings me, millions of things come to my mind! More SMITHS please….!!!!
THANKS!
Rafa
You are very welcome Rafa. 🙂
You impress upon me so much Paul with all of your selections. This morning, long before you posted anything for today, I was marveling at your vast discography of songs. So many, in fact, I was overwhelmed in awe and extreme emotion! Then, coupled with a lunch outing with Karen of which we were playing a CD of some of your latest entries, just fills me up with phenomenal pleasure. I just had to think and then declare, “Aren’t we fortunate to have DjPaulT in our lives?” Oh Paul, words can’t express my devotion and gratitude for all you’ve done.… Read more »
You’re welcome, Jeff. Enjoy the record and your day 🙂
Thanks Paul.
You’re welcome Omar 🙂