Rest in Peace - Andy Rourke

 

Been burning the candle at both ends this week, and then went to Rockville so this forced me to reflect on the passing of the incredible Mr. Rourke, before committing those thoughts to the keyboard.  Any top ten list of bass players that does not include Andy Rourke is shite. Well the Smiths are our favorite band so you are biased you argue. this is also shite and tells me you have never paid attention to one of this bass lines. The Smith's got heavy, not metal but at times were heavy the title track from their "Meat Is Murder" album is one example . Andy was the reason for this. 

With Morrissey and Johnny Marr is a band with you, the music press might overlook you when fully digesting the sonic depth of your band's work. Andy was capable of show boating but always served the song while holding the spine together even when it went into an angular bop"The Queen is Dead" shows his interplay with the drums , and it is flawless. His tone beefy for the music they played and the rubbery grooves he rode stand the test of time. Any bass players who are into post-punk, punk, or any subgenre of rock need to be fluent in this man's work. 

One of the first thoughts I had in regards to his passing is now I do not have to pay a life saving to go to England and see any Smiths reunion was might have been looming in the next five years. Because if it was ever going to happen that would be the time frame for it to. If they still did one which is now even further stacking the odds against, it would not be the Smiths. Idiots like to say the only thing they like about the Smiths is Johnny Marr, in trying to virtue signal to Morrissey fans, but the band could not have happened each member in place Andy being just as key as Moz or Marr. With Rourke dead the final nail is in the coffin for the Smiths future, but in doing so the past  is made pristine, his music is immortalized unblemished.