Originally released June 16, 1986

Reissued November 7, 2012

Rhino

1xLP

The band that inspired a million jangly guitar groups, a million more embarrassing diary, Live Journal or Tumblr entries (depending on what era you’re listening in) and lead to the purchase of even more millions of pairs of horn-rimmed glasses made their masterpiece with 1986’s The Queen is Dead. Johnny Marr and Morrissey are operating at the peak of their powers here with Marr’s multi-layered guitar arrangements at their catchiest and most inventive, putting to use elements of punk, garage rock, rockabilly, doo-wop and even reggae at different points throughout while Morrissey is at his wittiest and shamelessly melodramatic throughout. While the band would implode not long after, The Queen is Dead is an enduring document of a musical partnership as brilliant as it was short lived.