The Smiths A-Z: "Fast One"

[BookishBoy]

Very odd that we're doing two non-Morrissey tracks in our Smiths A-Z project, either side of the recent kerfuffle, but we'll get back to more "normal" songs very soon...

Anyhow: next up is this unreleased instrumental track, apparently recorded in July 1984 and also known as "The Click Track". There are two or three versions floating around in terms of sound quality, and I've put a couple of them above.

What do we think?

 

[Famous when dead]

This is cited by a couple of places as what it may actually sound like with 'fuller' sound (although still brief):



Joyce turning up on Mint/BBC, about to Ebay off things including this track (where the initial leak came from) started a whole chain of events off - links for the inquisitive:

Mike Joyce on BBC Radio 6, mentions "The Click Track" (clip), selling rare Smiths on eBay - Morrissey-solo

Mike Joyce on BBC Radio 6, mentions "The Click Track" (clip), selling rare Smiths on eBay -- article related to Index and News/Media.

www.morrissey-solo.com

And topically, as a result in part of this song airing:
Morrissey's long Joyce post:

Statement from Morrissey | True To You

A Morrissey website and magazine dedicated to the artist and his work.

web.archive.org

Probably now destined to oxidise in to dust.
Need to hear the full 3+ minute Smiths' version before saying if it would suit lyrics, but that's just me.
Didn't want to conflate Joyce with this track , but he kind of involved himself
Regards,
FWD.

 

[Flibberty]

I think Simon Goddard's book suggested that Johnny was privately just as angry as Morrissey at Mike's behaviour there.

Not a particularly interesting snippet to me and there are only a few moments where it feels like Johnny's abilities are threatening to shine through.

 

[That's Enough For Me]

Sounds like a precursor to 'Some Girls...'

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds to me more similar to 'Nowhere Fast'?

 

[Watson]

I guess there is a very good reason why the music was not developed into an actual song...it sounds a bit pub rock compared to the incredible things they were putting together at the time. A curious 60-odd seconds...nothing more.

 

[SuedeMoz]

Had not heard this one or even heard about it. Based on the brief clip it's difficult to tell if it had any potential, but the fact that it was scraped probably says it all. Anyway, from the brief bit we hear, it seems to be in the style of some of the songs on MiM.

EDIT: I feel like you start to get a better glimpse of potential and the MiM sound in the multitracked version @Famous when dead posted, but still not much to go on and rather forgettable.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Even by this clip, it’s long enough to hear that it was going nowhere fast, but nowhere as good.

It’s a bit unfocused, and sounds closer to a jam. It’s no wonder why Morrissey passed on it.


Next !

 

[CrazyFaceGenes]

It's alright, could have been 12" B-side material with a bit of work.
But it feels like something they had made better versions of anyway.

 

[Deleted member 30524]

Never heard this before and I don’t think I’ll be hearing it ever again.

 

[Anonymous]

It makes me wonder how many pieces there are like this, slowly rusting to death in Mike Joyce's tape collection? Was an unused instrumental a fairly rare occurance, or was this standard working practice for the band, and there are dozens of these abandoned musical fragments lying around?

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

I guess there is a very good reason why the music was not developed into an actual song...it sounds a bit pub rock compared to the incredible things they were putting together at the time. A curious 60-odd seconds...nothing more.

Agreed.
I can see the point of demos and such like in a anthropological way, as a listening experience, they are usually awful. Though there are lots of exceptions to than rule

 

[Mayfly]

Never heard this one before Esther. But it is interesting as it gives you an idea of the demos that are given to Morrissey to work with (if he acceptes them), how he adds a lot to a song through his vocal melodies and how it is then given back to his song-writing partner and other musicians to finish it of.

I might be completely off, but to me it sounds like a first demo that would become Girl Afraid.
looking forward to the real Girl Afraid to turn up (soon enough).

 

[SuedeMoz]

I might be completely off, but to me it sounds like a first demo that would become Girl Afraid.
looking forward to the real Girl Afraid to turn up (soon enough).

If the above info is correct and 'Fast One' was recorded in July 1984 then Girl Afraid had already been recorded 4 months earlier. As mentioned by someone earlier, I do vaguely hear something that might have been scrapped and reworked as Nowhere Fast.

 

[Nikita]

It sounds like a rough sketch rather than a proper demo.

 

[Anonymous]

It's not THAT fast. Needs more blastbeats. [6 out of 10]