How Soon Is Now?

Infobox Single
Name = How Soon Is Now?


Artist = The Smiths
from Album = Hatful of Hollow
Released = January 28, 1985
August 31, 1992 (re-issue)
Format = 7" single, 12" single
Recorded = Mid-1984
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 3:53 (7"), 6:43 (12")
Label = Rough Trade
RT176 (7"), RTT176 (12")
Writer = Johnny Marr
Morrissey
Producer = John Porter
Video director = —
Reviews =
* All Music Guide, [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:xmduak1kdm3n]
Last single = "William, It Was Really Nothing"
(1984)
This single = "How Soon Is Now?"
(1985)
Next single = "Shakespeare’s Sister"
(1985)Extra album cover
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Background = khaki


Lower caption = European edition (Autumn 1984)Extra album cover
Background = khaki


Lower caption = US 7" edition (1985 re-issue)Extra album cover
Background = khaki


Lower caption = US 12" edition

"How Soon Is Now?" is a 1984 song written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr and first released by their band The Smiths. Sire Records chief Seymour Stein called it "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties",Simon Goddard (2004). "The Smiths — Songs That Saved Your Life": pp.107-114] Johnny Rogan (2006). "Morrissey: The Albums": p.38] while co-writer Johnny Marr described it as "possibly our most enduring record. It's most people's favourite, I think." ["Uncut", March 2007: p.48] Despite its prominent place in The Smiths' repertoire, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:z88e4j178waw All Music Group review] ]

Originally a B-side with "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" on the 12" single version of "William, It Was Really Nothing" in 1984, the song was subsequently featured on the compilation album "Hatful of Hollow" and on U.S., Australian and Warner UK editions of "Meat Is Murder". It was belatedly released as an A-side in the United Kingdom in 1985, reaching #24 on the singles chart.

Although a club favourite, "How Soon Is Now?" did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right. The original track ran for nearly 7 minutes; however, the 7" single edit cut the length down to under four minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations.

Music and lyrics

The song contains only one verse which is repeated twice, plus a chorus and a bridge. The subject is an individual who cannot find a way to break out of his shyness. Two couplets from the song are well known in pop culture, the opening to the verse: "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am the son and heir, of nothing in particular", and the chorus: "I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does". The opening was adapted from a line in George Eliot's "Middlemarch": "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular". While the track is cited as having changed U.S. media perception of the band as "some wacky gay-rock crusade", the lyrics have also been taken as specifically relating to contemporary Manchester gay club culture.

The tune is built around a guitar chord that rapidly oscillates in volume. As to how the distinctive resonant sound was achieved, Marr gave the following account to "Guitar Player" magazine in 1990:

The vibrato sound is fucking incredible, and it took a long time. I put down the rhythm track on an Epiphone Casino through a Fender Twin Reverb without vibrato. Then we played the track back through four old Twins, one on each side. We had to keep all the amps vibrating in time to the track and each other, so we had to keep stopping and starting the track, recording it in 10-second bursts... We did it in three passes through a harmonizer, set to some weird interval, like a sixth. There was a different harmonization for each pass. For the line in harmonics, I retuned the guitar so that I could play it all at the 12th fret with natural harmonics. It's doubled several times. ["Guitar Player" magazine, January 1990. Retrieved from http://foreverill.com/disc/howsoon.htm]

Releases

The song was originally included as a bonus track on the 12" single release of The Smiths' "William, It Was Really Nothing", released in the United Kingdom on 24 August 1984. According to John Porter: "I thought 'This is it!'...but I don't think the record company liked it...They totally threw it away, wasted it". [Johnny Rogan (1994). "The Smiths": p.75] The track was subsequently included on The Smiths' compilation album "Hatful of Hollow", released on 12 November 1984.

The Italian 12" pressing of "William, It Was Really Nothing", on Virgin Records, featured an out-take version of "How Soon Is Now?", which has not been released in other territories.

The song was released on Sire Records in the United States, backed with "Girl Afraid", in November 1984. It was expected to sell well and, for the first time, a video was made to promote a Smiths track. However, the song failed to chart. Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis blamed poor promotion: "I can't understand why 'How Soon Is Now?" wasn't a top 10 single, but perhaps I'm being naive. If only their singles had been played on the radio". [Johnny Rogan (1994). Op Cit: p.103] . Morrissey expressed his disappointment in an interview with "Creem" magazine: "It's hard to believe that 'How Soon Is Now' was not a hit. I thought that was the one..." ["Creem" magazine, 1987] .

"How Soon is Now?" was released as an A-side in the United Kingdom on January 28, 1985. The 7" featured an edited version of the track, and the B-side was "Well I Wonder", from the about-to-be-released "Meat Is Murder" album. The 12" single included a new instrumental track, "Oscillate Wildly". In spite of being considered, by this time, something of a classic, "How Soon Is Now?" only managed to rise to #24 in the U.K. singles chart. According to John Porter, "Everybody knew the Smiths' fans already had it".

Following the acquisition of the Rough Trade catalogue by Warner Bros. Records, "How Soon Is Now?" was issued again as a single in the United Kingdom in September 1992. A 7" single and cassette featured the edited version, backed with a live version of "Handsome Devil", recorded at The Haçienda on 4 February 1983 (this had originally been the B-side to The Smiths' first single "Hand in Glove"). Two CD singles featured tracks from The Smiths' back-cataolgue which were, following the demise of Rough Trade, unavailable in the United Kingdom at that time. The re-issue reached #16 in the U.K. singles chart.

Reviews

"Morrissey and co have once again delved into their Sixties treasure-trove, and produced a visceral power capable of blowing the dust off Eighties inertia. The majestic ease of Morrissey's melancholic vocals are tinted with vitriol, as they move through vistas of misery with plaintive spirals around the pulse of Johnny Marr's vibrato guitar. The string's muted strains conjure wistful signs that bridge the schism between crass sentimentality and callous detachment. Each repeated phrase intensifies the hypnotic waves, with results that outflank anything since 'This Charming Man'. Catharsis has rarely been tinged with so much regret, and shared with so much crystalline purity." - "Melody Maker", 2 February 1985

"For the most part, Morrissey is the Hilda Ogden of pop, harassed and hard done-by. I guess what seems like meat to one man sounds like murder to another."- Gavin Martin, "New Musical Express", 9 February 1985

Artwork

The single's cover art was a still from the film "Dunkirk" (1958) featuring British actor Sean Barrett, praying but looking sufficiently as though he was holding his crotch to have the sleeve banned in the United States, [David Bret (2004). "Morrissey: Scandal & Passion": p.58] where a photograph of the band backstage at the 1984 Glastonbury Festival was used instead. According to Morrissey: "'How Soon Is Now?' was released in an abhorrent sleeve — and the time and the dedication that we put into the sleeves and artwork, it was tearful when we finally saw the record...""Creem" magazine, 1985]

Music video

A music video was made using the 7" edit of the song. It intercut clips of the band playing live (including a shot of Johnny Marr showing Morrissey how to play the guitar), an industrial part of a city, and a girl dancing. Whilst unauthorised and heavily criticised by the band (Morrissey: "We saw the video and we said to Sire, 'You can't possibly release this... this degrading video.' And they said, 'Well, maybe you shouldn't really be on our label.' It was quite disastrous") the video has been credited with helping make the song their most famous in the United States, along with heavy exposure on college radio. [Johnny Rogan (2006). Op Cit: pp.53-54]

Live versions

"How Soon Is Now?" was always considered a "major problem" to play in concert, and live versions are rare. One was used to open Morrissey's album "Live at Earl's Court". Another was recorded during the concert for The Smiths' live album "Rank", but was not used. Instead, a raw version of this song (and entire concert) appeared on the bootleg "A Bad Boy from a Good Family". It has also been played in Morrissey's recent Greatest Hits tour.

Cover versions

"How Soon Is Now?" has been covered by various artists. The guitar track was sampled, with the Smiths' approval, in 1990 by indie-dance band Soho on their UK Top 10 single "Hippychick".

The song was covered by Psychedelic Furs spin-off band Love Spit Love. Their version was used on the soundtrack to the film "The Craft", about a group of teen witches. It was later used as the tune to the witchcraft-themed television show "Charmed", and has since become associated with the series.

Russian pop duo t.A.T.u.'s cover of the song is featured on the album "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane" (2002); Johnny Marr found their version "just silly", ["Uncut", March 2007: p.48] but Morrissey considered it magnificent. [ [http://welshcake.com/september04.html welshcake.com] , 29 September 2004] t.A.T.u.'s version of "How Soon Is Now" is the opening track on the album "Tribute to The Smiths", a compilation of Smiths covers.

Other artists to have covered the song include UK indie band Hundred Reasons, U.S. post-core band Quicksand (bonus track on their "Slip" album) in 1993, U.S. post-grunge band Everclear, US punk band Meatmen (on the compilation "The World Still Won't Listen", UK band Paradise Lost (on the limited edition "Say Just Words" EP), and industrial rockers Snake River Conspiracy.

Critical standing

In 2004, "Rolling Stone" magazine rated the song #486 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2005, "Q" magazine placed it at #28 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2006, "How Soon Is Now?" was voted runner up in VH1’s "Top Lyrics" poll for the lyrics, "So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die" and marginally missed out on top spot to U2’s "One". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4915848.stm BBC News] , April 2006] In May 2007, "NME" magazine placed "How Soon Is Now?" at # 7 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.

Track listing

; 7": Rough Trade / RT176 (U.K.)
# "How Soon Is Now?" (edit) – 3:53
# "Well I Wonder" – 4:00
* in original green sleeve; 12": Rough Trade / RTT176 (U.K.)
# "How Soon Is Now?" – 6:43
# "Well I Wonder" – 4:00
# "Oscillate Wildly" – 3:24; Etchings on vinylU.K. 7" and 12": THE TATTY TRUTH / none

t.A.T.u. version

Infobox Single
Name = How Soon Is Now?


Caption = Russian Cover
Artist = t.A.T.u.
from Album = 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
A-side =
B-side = Ne Ver, Ne Boisia
Released = July 7, 2003
Format = CD single
Recorded = 2002
Genre = Rock/Alternative rock
Length = 03:15
Label = Universal/Interscope
Writer = Johnny Marr, Morrissey
Producer = Martin Kierszenbaum, Robert Orton
Certification =
Last single = "30 Minutes"
(2003)
This single = "How Soon Is Now?"
(2003)
Next single = "Lyudi Invalidy"
(2005)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
Type = studio
prev_track = "30 Minutes"
prev_no = 4
this_track = "How Soon Is Now?"
track_no = 5
next_track = "Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)"
next_no = 6

"How Soon is Now?" is the fourth single from t.A.T.u.'s debut English album "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane". It is a cover version of The Smiths' song of the same name.

Music video

The music video for "How Soon is Now?" shows clips of the girls performing the song live, with saturation transition effects to cut from scene to scene. In addition, it also shows clips of t.A.T.u's everyday life, especially candid moments. The video had a very limited release.

Maxi CD single and release dates

; EuropeMaxi CD-single - July 21, 2003
# "How Soon Is Now?"
# "Ne Ver, Ne Boisia" (Eurovision 2003)
# "30 Minutes" (Remix)
# "Not Gonna Get Us" (HarDrum Mix)
* Note: Track 3 is actually titled "30 Minutes" (RagaMix by That Black)Promo
# "How Soon Is Now?" (Album version)
# "How Soon Is Now?" (Video); GermanyPock-It single
# "How Soon Is Now?"
# "Not Gonna Get Us" (HarDrum Mix); Japan
# "How Soon Is Now?" – 3:14
# "Ya Soshla S Uma" – 3:30
# "All the Things She Said" (Running and Spinning Remix) – 6:13

Remixes

* How Soon Is Now (Black Remix)

* How Soon Is Now (Remix) (feat. z.A.f.)

Charts

Notes

References

*Simon Goddard (2004). "The Smiths — Songs That Saved Your Life". ISBN 1-903111-84-6.