Is It Really So Strange?
Released on March 30, 1987 in the United States as the initial track on the Louder Than Bombs compilation album, ‘Is It Really So Strange’ subsequently appeared as the B-side to the Smiths’ 19th single, ‘Sheila Take A Bow, which was released a couple of weeks later (April 13, 1987).
According to Stephane at PassionsJustLikeMine.com, Johnny Marr composed the song’s music in early 1986, with Morrissey completing the lyrics shortly thereafter. An early version of the song was recorded at Jam Studios in London in June 1986 during the sessions for the ‘Ask" single. This early version of the song saw the participation of Craig Gannon. Apparently, Messers Morrissey and Marr were not too pleased with the track, and it was shelved for the time being. Listen to this scrapped version of the song here:
The Smiths revisited the song, including it in their final appearance on John Peel's BBC program, with it being recorded (along with ‘London’, ‘Half A Person’, and ‘Sweet And Tender Hooligan’) with John Porter as producer on December 2, 1986 at Maida Vale Studios in London. The re-worked song was then broadcasted on December 17, 1986. It is this recording that was subsequently released by the Smiths as an album track and single B-side.
Listen to the John Peel recording here:
‘Is It Really So Strange’ is marked by an upbeat sound with whimsical lyrics touching upon love, longing, violence ("you can kick me/And you can punch me/And you can break my face) and murder (I got confused - I killed a nun) accompanied by Marr’s magnificent rockabilly guitar.
The song possesses a quality that is rather difficult to describe other than to fall back upon hackneyed adjectives such as “magical” - which barely does it justice. Much like trying to relate the delicate beauty of a Renoir to someone who hasn’t viewed his canvasses, or the intricate movements of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 to someone
