'HEAVY TRACK'

The Smiths' Unfinished Song

According to Stephane at PassionsJustLikeMine.com, two different takes of 'Heavy Track' - Johnny Marr's instrumental - were recorded early on in the Strangeways, Here We Come recording sessions in March 1987 at Wool Hall Studios in Bath. Marr is thought to have written the music at about the time of the recording. It seems that Morrissey never wrote any lyrics for the track, which was subsequently consigned to the proverbial dustbin.

Although two versions of 'Heavy Track' were recorded (each supposedly at over 4 minutes in length), only an excerpt (at 2:03) of one of song's two surviving takes was leaked at the end of 2010 under the title 'Untitled Two' on The Smiths bootleg LP. The full 4:00+ version of that take remains uncirculated, just like the other take.

The Smiths bootleg LP

Listen to an except of 'Heavy Track' here:

While obviously a work that was still in its infancy, the leaked excerpt of one of the two demoes suggest a frenetic, hard-driving track that may have been a bit too afar from the Smiths' musical ethos (with the consequence that Morrissey either would not, or perhaps could not, grace with his lyrics).

Alternately, the more likely explanation is that the Smiths' gave it a try and simply came to the conclusion that it was a track better left behind - surely the completed tracks that appear on Strangeways, Here We Come indicate that this was a sound decision.