Smiths and Beyond
by Kevin Cummins

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Book Reviews of Smiths and Beyond

Book Review: Re-issue, Re-package, Repackage
Summary: 3 Stars

There are relatively few shots of the Smiths as a group and no shots of either Mike Joyce or Andy Rourke after 1983. (Although I think there was a picture of a lawnmower on page 35. Does that count?)

Those of you who are long-time fans are bound to have seen 90% of the pictures published elsewhere; in the "NME", online or even on the Morrissey T-shirt you're wearing right now. That having been said, the other 10% of the photos unearthed provide a very pleasant surprise.

As a Smiths and Morrissey fan I haven't followed Electronic; the band that is a collaboration of Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr. Seeing photos of them provided a small albeit incomplete picture of the group.

Some my favorite shots in the The Smiths and Beyond are those not of Morrissey himself, but shots that tell the tale of Morrissey's appeal and fandom; such as: The two old lady fans at the Wolverhampton show December 1988, Japanese fans waiting patiently outside the venue and fans in Wembely arena July 1991.

The photographs of Morrissey on stage, of course, are wonderful and I can't help feeling a ping of jealously that after attending so many Morrissey shows I still haven't been able to capture Morrissey in the same iconic light that Cummins has.

Would I have bought this book if I didn't get it for free? Probably not; but then again I am not a collector. I don't own "Morrissey Shot" a book of photography by former Ludus singer, Linder Sterling who covers the same era of Morrissey's career as Cummins but somewhat more brilliantly.

There's no doubt that Kevin Cummins is a masterful photographer as he has captured the essence of Morrissey on and off stage.

This type book, however, is best suited for those Morrissey disciples who became fans after the "Your Arsenal" era as it provides a nice bit of visual history.

Perhaps my inherit disappointment in the book lies with the fact that I want to see, hear and experience new Morrissey songs/photographs rather than hear/see same ones over and over. Re-issue, re-package, re-package. Stop me if you've think that you've heard this one before...

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• Photography > Portraits
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• Biographies & Memoirs