Out Today: The Smiths, THE QUEEN IS DEAD Expanded Edition

“You cannot continue to record and simply hope that your audience will approve, or that average critics will approve, or that radio will approve. You progress only when you wonder if an abnormally scientific genius would approve – and this is the leap The Smiths took with The Queen Is Dead.” – Morrissey

“The Queen Is Dead was epic to make and epic to live.” – Johnny Marr

We’ve been teasing it for weeks now, offering up a track here and a track there in order to get you excited about it, but now it’s finally here: the expanded edition of arguably the greatest album ever made by The Smiths, THE QUEEN IS DEAD.

Prior to this, no album from The Smiths’ back catalog has ever received this degree of expansion, so you can imagine that it’s a situation that we here at Rhino take very seriously.

THE QUEEN IS DEAD is being made available digitally, via streaming, and in the following formats:

• Deluxe 3-CD/1-DVD Boxed Set – Featuring the 2017 master of the album; additional recordings featuring demos, b-sides, and alternative versions; the Live In Boston album recorded at the Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts on August 5, 1986; and a DVD featuring the 2017 master of the album in 96kHz / 24-bit PCM stereo and The Queen Is Dead – A Film By Derek Jarman

• 2-CD version – Featuring the 2017 master of the album and additional recordings

• 5-LP box – Featuring the 2017 master of the album, additional recordings, and the Live In Boston recording

Here’s the full track listing for all of the physical formats, so brace yourself accordingly and prepare to make a mad dash to secure your own copy post-haste:

Disc One: Original Album - 2017 Remaster
1.   “The Queen Is Dead”
2.   “Frankly, Mr. Shankly”
3.   “I Know It’s Over”
4.   “Never Had No One Ever”
5.   “Cemetry Gates”
6.   “Bigmouth Strikes Again”
7.   “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side”
8.   “Vicar In A Tutu”
9.   “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
10. “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others”

Disc Two: Additional Recordings
1.   “The Queen Is Dead” (Full Version)
2.   “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” (Demo)
3.   “I Know It’s Over” (Demo)
4.   “Never Had No One Ever” (Demo)
5.   “Cemetry Gates” (Demo)
6.   “Bigmouth Strikes Again” (Demo)
7.   “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” (Demo)
8.   “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” (Demo Mix)
9.   “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” (Take 1)
10. “Rubber Ring” (B-side)
11. “Asleep” (B-side)
12. “Money Changes Everything” (B-side)
13. “Unloveable” (B-side)

Tracks 1-7 and 9 are previously unreleased.
Track 8 was released on 7” for Record Store Day.
Tracks 10 and 11 are 2017 masters of  b-sides from The Boy With The Thorn In His Side.
Tracks 12 and 13 are 2017 masters of  b-sides from Bigmouth Strikes Again. 

Disc Three: Live In Boston (Previously Unreleased)
1.   “How Soon Is Now?”
2.   “Hand In Glove”
3.   “I Want The One I Can’t Have”
4.   “Never Had No One Ever”
5.   “Stretch Out And Wait”
6.   “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side”
7.   “Cemetry Gates”
8.   “Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring”
9.   “Is It Really So Strange?”
10. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
11. “That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore”
12. “The Queen Is Dead”
13. “I Know It’s Over”

Recorded at the Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts on August 5, 1986.

DVD:
The Queen Is Dead on 96kHz / 24-bit PCM stereo
The Queen is Dead – A Film by Derek Jarman