Album of the Day

The Smiths performed their last concert on this day in 1986; some 10 months later, the U.K. quartet's fourth and final album arrived in stores. The title of STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME references a notorious Manchester prison and if it was recorded as the band was splintering, you wouldn't know it from the music, which stands as the group's most varied and elaborately produced. On the strength of such tracks as “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “I Started Something I Couldn't Finish” and “Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before,” the collection went Gold on both sides of the Atlantic. Frontman Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr and drummer Mike Joyce have all called STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME the best Smiths album - tt's a terrific finale for the indie icons.