The Smiths “Rank” 1988. Rough Trade Records. Recorded live on October 23rd, 1986 at the National Ballroom in London, originally broadcast on BBC Radio One in Concert on April 18th, 1987. Rank, released over a year after The Smiths split, went to #2 in the UK and to #77 in the US. Since they were touring for The Queen Is Dead, the set list skews heavily toward that album’s tracks including the concert (and album) opener “The Queen is Dead,” “Vicar in a Tutu,” an absolutely beautiful rendition of “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side,” a perfectly jangled “Cemetry Gates,” a devastating “I Know It’s Over” and a killer, Morrissey-growling “Bigmouth Strikes Again.” The Smiths performed other songs at the show from The Queen is Dead that didn’t make it onto Rank: “Frankly Mr. Shankly,” “Never Had No One Ever” and “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” They get an excited response from the audience with “Ask,” which Morrissey introduces as their new single (The Smiths had released it just three days earlier, on October 20th, 1986). I love their live version of “What She Said” (from Meat Is Murder, 1985) and on “London” Johnny Marr’s guitar is wild and propulsive.

What I didn’t know about Rank: Morrissey wanted the title to be “The Smiths in Heat” but Rough Trade wasn’t too happy about that choice. So Morrissey, the clever asshole that he is, chose “Rank” which apparently is shorthand for the Cockney slang “J. Arthur Rank” – meaning “wank.” Either the management at Rough Trade didn’t realize or thought it was hilarious and went all in on the joke.