Louder Than Bombs
1987 compilation album by The Smiths
Louder Than Bombs is a compilation album by the English rock band the Smiths, released as a double album on 30 March 1987 by their American record company, Sire Records. It peaked at number 62 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Popular demand prompted their British record company, Rough Trade, to issue the album domestically as well. Upon its release in the UK in May 1987, it reached No. 38 on the British charts. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 365 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and ranked No. 369 on a 2012 revised list. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1990.
Release
The album was released as the American counterpart to their recent British compilation The World Won't Listen and consisted of all singles and nearly all B-sides that had not at that point been available in the United States, either on single or album, with a few other tracks added.
“Louder Than Bombs” enters the record as 1987 compilation album by The Smiths. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Louder, Than and Bombs can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Louder Than Bombs” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Louder, Than and Bombs provides the most credible route into that argument.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1754791. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987, 2003, 2012 and 1990.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Louder Than Bombs”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Louder Than Bombs primary sources, Louder Than Bombs archive and Louder research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Louder Than Bombs”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Louder Than Bombs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.