Smiths and Beyond [Paperback]

Kevin Cummins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2004

Kevin Cummins took The Smiths publicity stills, shot countless features for NME and other magazines, tracked their gigs and travelled the world with Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce. When The Smiths emerged from Manchester in 1983, Kevin Cummins was ideally placed to record the group's progress. The former art and design student had been photographing bands in his hometown from the late 70s onwards. Kevin Cummins took The Smiths publicity stills, shot countless features for NME and other magazines, tracked their gigs and travelled the world with Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin Cummins is among the most successful and inventive British photographers to have worked with musicians, actors and sports personalities. He worked as a photographer for NME taking photographs of artists from David Bowie to Neil Young. He continues to contribute to a diverse array of magazines from Esquire to The Big Issue.

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: Vision On (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903399270
• ISBN-13: 978-1903399279
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Re-issue, Re-package, Repackage, October 13, 2002

By 

"morrisseytour" (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smiths and Beyond (Paperback)

With a title such as 'The Smiths and Beyond' your expectations are high from the start. After reading the book three times or more, I've concluded that a more accurate title would be, 'Morrissey in 1991 and random shots of Johnny Marr.'

There are relatively few shots of the Smiths as a group and no shots of either Mike Joyce or Andy Rourke after 1983. (Although I think there was a picture of a lawnmower on page 35. Does that count?)

Those of you who are long-time fans are bound to have seen 90% of the pictures published elsewhere; in the "NME", online or even on the Morrissey T-shirt you're wearing right now. That having been said, the other 10% of the photos unearthed provide a very pleasant surprise.

As a Smiths and Morrissey fan I haven't followed Electronic; the band that is a collaboration of Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr. Seeing photos of them provided a small albeit incomplete picture of the group.

Some my favorite shots in the The Smiths and Beyond are those not of Morrissey himself, but shots that tell the tale of Morrissey's appeal and fandom; such as: The two old lady fans at the Wolverhampton show December 1988, Japanese fans waiting patiently outside the venue and fans in Wembely arena July 1991.

The photographs of Morrissey on stage, of course, are wonderful and I can't help feeling a ping of jealously that after attending so many Morrissey shows I still haven't been able to capture Morrissey in the same iconic light that Cummins has.

Would I have bought this book if I didn't get it for free? Probably not; but then again I am not a collector. I don't own "Morrissey Shot" a book of photography by former Ludus singer, Linder Sterling who covers the same era of Morrissey's career as Cummins but somewhat more brilliantly.

There's no doubt that Kevin Cummins is a masterful photographer as he has captured the essence of Morrissey on and off stage.

This type book, however, is best suited for those Morrissey disciples who became fans after the "Your Arsenal" era as it provides a nice bit of visual history.

Perhaps my inherit disappointment in the book lies with the fact that I want to see, hear and experience new Morrissey songs/photographs rather than hear/see same ones over and over. Re-issue, re-package, re-package. Stop me if you've think that you've heard this one before...