A Dreaded Sunny Day.

There's no album I take greater joy in spinning on a weekend than this one. My favourite album by The Smiths is likely to change from time to time, but for some reason I always end up coming back to this one more than others. 

The Queen is Dead. This was the second album I owned by The Smiths, but the first I bought with my own money (my Uncle gifted me a CD copy of Meat is Murder). I bought a CD copy at first in around 2000, and this is the latest copy I got on vinyl. This was a present from my wife on my 19th birthday, and sits with my other two vinyl copies. All copies are different too, I have an OG press that was a gift from a friend, and a picture disc copy. I may write about those two at some point. But today is about this one, as it's the one that has taken up the most of my attention over the past few years. 

Back cover and track-listing. Although I was lazy and never photographed it, the inner sleeve is printed as per original copies. So many absolute classics on this record. 

Inside gate-fold, again fairly closely following the OG press. The lyrical content floors me every time, and that photo on the left hand panel is completely iconic. Definitely up there with the Joy Division 'Tunnel' photograph. There is something in the water in Manchester for sure. 

This is where things change and where you get an idea of the pressing. This copy is numbered 0849/? and is the 10'' Rhino re-press from Record Store Day 2011. I don't know how many where pressed. I get that The Smiths are big, and 2011 was the last year Record Store Day was still a relatively low-key affair. I would say no more than 2500 as it was a UK exclusive. 

This was the sticker on the sleeve, and explains that the re-press coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the LP's original release which is pretty cool. 

This copy sounds incredible, and I think the 10'' format is ideal for records, so on principal this is the copy that I go to the most. Also, the sleeve is super thick, and the whole package pays pretty good attention to detail. But being honest, if I only had a bootlegged cassette of The Queen Is Dead, I would still love it just as much. This album followed me through every vital teenage experience, and is still with me every step of the way. It's very seldom a week goes by that I don't spin this album in some form or another. Long live The Smiths.