Yesterday (04/07/2020), my best friend died, he was 54. In 1984 he introduced me to this album - this track is my favourite of all time. Thank you John for your suggestion ... I will always think of you when I hear it.
Tony Swinburne First, sorry about your friend John. I am also 54 Tony. I listened The The all the time. It’s obviously apparent he was pretty cool in music and friends. Music is my doctor and will never let me forget the times I have shared with my friends. Keep your vibes alive. Russ
And , No One showed me this album...in 1984. My best friend died at 21 from a Cocaine O.D. after a Frat Party at UCLA. While , at the exact same moment in MIAMI.....My suicide wrist was healing and I was dealing in rehab with a crack issue i developed while being drug smuggler. I didn't have TIME for THE THE , I was living The THE. Duh....lol
First heard The The in '89 when a work friend dragged me along to a live concert. OMG I have listened to them non-stop for the last 34 years including 2 pregnancies, 2 divorces & cancer - Thankyou The The for changing the chemistry in my brain so i could forget about the shit happening around me!
Absolute fav song of the 80s. Should have been a hit. Memories of being 18 standing up in the back seat of a 2Cv driving around central London all windows open with this blaring out. Joy ! Jools Holland's piano impro at the end is amazing !!!!!
Was hard to find at the record shop when first released. I remember having to write out the name of the band on paper as the record shop didn't know what I was going on about, thought I had a stammer saying 'the the'
Jools Holland should have many awards for best piano solo featured in a pop tune. What a GORGEOUS tune. After multiple decades, this track is strong, sweet, gentle... and still after all these years FRESH. Loving the The FOREVER. Amen. 🙏🙌💕
Thanks to Dave, my first boyfriend, who introduced me to The the. I always think of him fondly when I hear this tune, or This Is The Day. I hope he's happy and well, wherever he is.
To be totally crorect the solo was recorded in two takes, and the 2nd take was spliced into the tune before the first take. Each take was roughly 120 seconds long. You can hear Take #1 kick in at exactly 5:20 in the song. When he first heard the record, Jools Holland himself was surprised how well the splices worked.
RIP and respect to all your friends who you listened to this song with from the 80s, who haven't made it to 2024. Be a bit sad, but mainly be happy remembering the great times.
A bit of history behind "Uncertain Smile", which to me represents almost seven minutes of pure bliss that is over far too soon & easily ranks as one of my favourite songs EVER, not just within the context of the 80s. ☺ Here's what I recall reading about the song's solo: Apparently, when Jools Holland arrived at the studio, he didn't have a solo mapped out. Matt Johnson had told him very little about the song on purpose, to guarantee spontaneity from the jazz pianist. [ Speaking of jazz.. take note of how the type of the piano chosen & the recording methods used combined to make the solo sound a bit like it had been recorded in a jazz café. It's not quite as distant, muted, and percussive as the signature Rudy Van Gelder piano sound one hears on many of the famous Blue Note jazz recordings from the 1950s, 60s & 70s, but neither is it the bright Yamaha CP-70 piano sound that is foreever associated with the 80s - heck, even Elton John & Biily Joel switched to the CP-70. lol. So, in addition to the notes chosen, Jools Holland's contribution to "Uncertain Smile" just *sounds* like a jazz solo. 😎] Anyway...so, on the day the piano solo was recorded, Jools Holland arrived, absorbed the groove & overall 'vibe' of the song, called upon his artistic instincts, and improvised through a bunch of takes. When Holland was finished, he wasn't thrilled with the results, which he felt were not complete or good enough. However, Johnson liked most of what he had heard, so Johnson spent the next few days cutting & splicing the reel-to-reel tape, choosing the best sections from all the takes & experimenting with different orders for the sections until Johnson was happy with the flow & pace of the entire solo. (BTW, this technique has also been used on some famous guitar solos from the 1960s & 70s) Consequently, what we hear in this masterpiece composition is the huge talent, impressive 'chops' & creative interpretive skills of Jools Holland, but also Jools Holland's creative juices expertly distilled by Matt Johnson into a heady mixture of potent alt-rock & jazz.....and, yes, one of the great piano solos in the history of rock music. 😎
The most-familiar version, which was recorded for the Soul Mining album, replaced the saxophone with a lengthy Jazz piano solo by Squeeze's Jools Holland (better known now as the host of BBC' TV's music show Later). Asked by Uncut magazine August 2014 how they got Holland to play on the track, The The mainman Matt Johnson replied: "The garden (studios) had this beautiful little Yamaha C3 Baby Grand, and the decision was, 'We have this fantastically long outro for 'Uncertain Smile.' We need to put this piano on something. Who do we know who can play it? Jools showed up, cool as a cucumber despite the sweltering heat, dressed in leathers, and he was absolutely charming." "I think he had one run-through, said, 'Let's go for it,' and laid the whole thing down," Johnson added. "There was just one drop-in we did towards the end. We were amazed. He told me years later, he gets asked about that more than anything he's ever done."
Heard this late night radio in the 80s and forced myself to stay awake until the announcer told me who the band was. Spend several years searching unsuccessfully for the tape/album until I found it in a record store in NYC. Bliss ensued.
You know, I never thought about it like that, but how right you are. 🙂 It always made me feel good inside, as all of The The music does... 40 years of it...
You Are Right, this son m id 80 is not Beautiful is ... Not beautiful, But Great, and Piano Solo has no compare at least in Rockn Roll or else is fabuloues not beautiful@@kanak9305
Yeah take me back to the *WHFStivaL* … DuSK has a bunch of goodies *Love Is Stronger ThaN Death* is some slowed down *StairwaY to HeaveN* . You can tell if you strum along …
@@franek_izerski You're right. I was too much a dolt to realize I was thinking about "Infected" instead. And this is one of three? versions floating around back then?
My brother gave me this album on cassette back in the 90s as i went back packing in central america. I was there for 6months and those long bus journeys were spent listening to this album. At the time I was used to 80s pop etc, id never heard songs and lyrics like it. Since then, ive lost it bought it a hundred times as ive travelled and moved around the world. Mind bomb and soul mining are genius and sadly missed by so many people.
Who else becomes the worlds best air piano player when that solo starts?! Pretending that you know where every key is and hitting it just at the right moment! Haha....Magic!
I completely agree! Saw them live a few years back. After the song starts the guy on keys leaves his instrument and walks around to give every one in the band a hug in the middle of the song. I'm like, "Get back to your keys!" He completely played me and I fell for it! He got back in time and the solo was amazing, just like the record at first, then he improvised another few minutes at the end. Incredible. I videotaped it with my old crappy phone, quality is 'ok' a little shaky, and it cuts out just before the end because the song didn't have space I guess for a video that was more than 8 minutes long. LOL Anybody else hear any similarities during the song to Linda Rondstat's Heatwave? Or is it just me.
I was introduced to this gem of creativity in the northern glacial wilds of Smithers, British Columbia. We had just emerged from a brutal multi-month silvicultural, insect-infested , dreary, frigid contract. Sitting in the comfort of civilization… this was put on the stereo. Circa : 1985 A few years later I was in an East London pub. And I saw a bloke with the iconic album cover emblazed on his leather jacket. I had arrived to THE THE homeland habitat.
I’m 21 listening to this album for the first time in 2024 , I wish I could have seen them live in the 80s . This music truly does bring a kind of happiness you can’t find anymore in modern music.
I’m 49 my uncle introduced me to The The. The lyrics helped with the angst of my youth it now helps with the angst of middle age! I still listen to Soul mining, infected, mindbomb and dusk on a weekly basis. This track always gets a rewind!
The 80's rocked the world for music. I share music with both of my sons, the eldest born in 80s and the youngest born in 04. They both play tracks their friends have never heard.........When my 15 year old plays 80s new age, Pink Floyd and Frank Sinatra my life's purpose is complete.
I felt surprised that the time on the clock was the time... Because I was transported back in time to 1984 as a 19 year-old in Santa Cruz, California where a surfing buddy of mine played this song while we were smoking some NorCal green. Awesome song, great band, good memories!
We are getting married on 31/08/2024 and This is our wedding song - both my partner and I adore this song and the joy it brings whenever it comes on! Thank you The The for providing the soundtrack to what will be best day of my life - this will always be our #1 song!
Cuando le escuchaba este tema, entre otros tan especiales, a mi padre, con 7-8 años, no entendía lo grande que era que en aquellos tiempos, con sus maletas de vinilos de 7" , con los cassettes, con sus libros del universo, carl sagan, asimov, su afición al dibujo, sus sesiones de dj en lo que llamaban entre ellos "guateques", con su armónica, con su admiración por stanley kubrick y el western de leone entre otros, sin internet, sin móviles.....tuviese ese gusto tan fino, ese coco tan especial, esa filosofía de vida. Puro sentimiento. Lo he ido entendiendo con los años. Qué grande. Cuanto me perdí. Donde quiera que estéis, gracias por todo papá y mamá. He ido entendiendo lo grandes que eráis con el paso de los años, lamentablemente cuando ya no estábais, me iba haciendo mayor y sólo me quedan mis recuerdos. Sois un orgullo, un referente y una inspiración para mi. Os quiero.
As many others have remarked, this song has an incredible piano solo. Yes, crank it up! The The was a unique 80s New Wave band, and appeared just at the right time in my early 20s when I was wrestling with so much. The Soul Mining tunes, especially Uncertain Smile and This is the Day, continue to take me places no other music can.
matt johnson and jools holland combined the most perfectly crafted pop masterpiece ever it will never die for me this song i love it its defo one my faves ever half the world has not heard of the man and his songs it pains me sheer beauty and talent.
The song, FANTASTIC All his musicians, FANTASTIC Your name, ‘SMOKYTWOSTROKE’ is also FANTASTIC!! As soon as shoulder is healed BUYING A HUSKU or CR250!!! Few more weeks
I listened to it back then, too, but for some reason I had forgotten about it, until another The The song came on the radio this week. I'm glad I've re-discovered this one.
This along with wire, skinny puppy, the smiths, ten thousand maniacs, siouxie and the banshess, new order, depeche mode, the cocteau twins, psychedelic furs, laibach, ministry, the cure, front 242, omd, kris and cosey, a split second, and bauhaus were all staples on my musical menu back then. All the bands back then were just so much more original and creative setting themselves apart with their own individual style. Its great having it all on youtube to go back to as a reference source for today's youth and future generations to enjoy.
Sweet ... I was / am a fan of most of the artists you mention. I never got to see The The live but was privileged enough to see PIL / New Order / The Sugarcubes in 1987 and Mazzy Star open for the Cocteau Twins in 87 or 88. Uncertain Smile is still one of my favorite songs.
It’s a sophisticated tune from a sophisticated album. I understand the focus on Jools Holland on this - he seems to play from above. What’s interesting is the Gershwin. And it’s such a punch to hear jazz and major chord rumbling at the same time. So much fun. Thanks Jools. But Christ- thanks Matt for this complicated, beautiful lozenge of a song. I adore it.
I lost my partner yesterday (23.12.22) we were together for 23 years. This masterpiece meant nothing to him, but to me, it makes my heart swell and my soul sing.
@@juliewu100 keep singing in the pain that this life brings, and the joy also: becoz Love and hope walk hand in hand.. Helping despair into hope and doubt into faith into Loves Eternal Family: Shalom Sister!!
Matt's album and this particular song have held a special place in my heart upon first exposure. I forced my parents, Juilliard composer dad and classical pianist mom, to listen to Uncertain Smile. My mother's reaction was exactly that. After an awkward silence, she finally smiled fully and said, "I may have to reconsider my opinion about popular music."
I stumbled across this song about a year ago when Spotify randomly played it. Immediately got added to favorites and I enjoy the magnificent piano solo every time it comes on.
Its weird how one unsearched for song can bring a whole clutch of memories you haven't thought on in forever. This song brings back smells of lunch counters from my childhood, long closed down and remodeled or lost. Yet this song brings them that much closer, thank you the The.
I've spent days on the internet searching for this song because the piano solo was stuck in my head. Visited my mom this morning and told her about the issue and she was like: "oh, you mean Uncertain Smile by The The?"
Was at the casino on Halloween and this cut was on the background music track. Damn. I had forgotten who performed it. I searched it out on RUclips *for four days* and, finally, while I was checking out the Psychedelic Furs last night, Nov 3, this link appeared. i clicked on it as i knew I found it.
@@kth333 I am 60 years old, man. The crap on the radio today does not hold a candle to this. This is great Check out Emerson Lake and Palmer's album Brain Salad Surgery since you like piano in rock. Karn Evil 9, all impressions will have you trippin' without taking or smokin' anything. Enjoy...
Brings back too many bittersweet moments to recount. This and infected were better albums than morrissey imo. I used to listen to this leaving college to drive to my night job. The future was WIDE OPEN! Love was young, and the innocence was still in us. Oh, taco bell had the 59/79/99 menu and you could get stuffed for 2 bucks.
Absolute legend of a track from a brilliant often under rated band. Jools Holland genius solo, still shake my head in disbelief at the genius of it. Apparently one take was all that was needed.
I haven't heard them in so long. Why did I forget. I'm 46 yrs old. Reminded me when I watched SLC punk. I was like shit. This soundtrack is awesome. I remembered all those songs.
It was year 2009. Every after school, I would listen to this on my phone on the jeep, during the 1 ½ hour-drive back home. Sometimes it'd be late, around 7pm, not many people around, street lights everywhere, late-night chatter between passersby suspended in the air; a very relaxing atmosphere with that evening cool weather, I'd be listening to The The, Wang Chung, and New Order. ✨
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Listening to this in 03/24. First heard this in 1987 when at college,still brilliant.
Same here. On Election Day 2024. This is the day…
Saw them last month, awesome
I was 13. I'm 51. Still love this song so much❤
The 80’s win, again.
Hearing this for the first time in my life. Speechless😯 so good
I LOVED 8OS
@@riensnijder5712 glad you've discovered it,one of the best songs ever recorded
I'll be listening to the 80's when I'm in my 80's. 17 more years to go.
@@LemonySnicket-EUC me too
Yesterday (04/07/2020), my best friend died, he was 54. In 1984 he introduced me to this album - this track is my favourite of all time. Thank you John for your suggestion ... I will always think of you when I hear it.
Tony Swinburne First, sorry about your friend John. I am also 54 Tony. I listened The The all the time. It’s obviously apparent he was pretty cool in music and friends. Music is my doctor and will never let me forget the times I have shared with my friends. Keep your vibes alive. Russ
Tony, I just found out about the umpteenth friend suicide.
Turned to this song straight away.
Much love and be strong.
I just started "Really Living" at 54...sorry your friend couldn't make it. Cheers
And , No One showed me this album...in 1984. My best friend died at 21 from a Cocaine O.D. after a Frat Party at UCLA. While , at the exact same moment in MIAMI.....My suicide wrist was healing and I was dealing in rehab with a crack issue i developed while being drug smuggler. I didn't have TIME for THE THE , I was living The THE. Duh....lol
I my thin in english but I"m with You. Regards to You. Robert_1962
First heard The The in '89 when a work friend dragged me along to a live concert. OMG I have listened to them non-stop for the last 34 years including 2 pregnancies, 2 divorces & cancer - Thankyou The The for changing the chemistry in my brain so i could forget about the shit happening around me!
💯💪👍
It's amazing how songs,or new music you're exposed to in your youth can alter,or affect the trajectory of your life
Sounds like quite a memorable experience to see this band live♥️
How much was it to see them in '89?
Well said.
Absolute fav song of the 80s. Should have been a hit. Memories of being 18 standing up in the back seat of a 2Cv driving around central London all windows open with this blaring out. Joy ! Jools Holland's piano impro at the end is amazing !!!!!
A Timeless masterpiece …. C’est Magnifique 🙏
Used to do same myself in 80s .Still do now and still listen to it now
It reached #68 in the UK charts in 1982 so was a hit, though a minor one. . .
Was hard to find at the record shop when first released. I remember having to write out the name of the band on paper as the record shop didn't know what I was going on about, thought I had a stammer saying 'the the'
❤😂
Jools Holland should have many awards for best piano solo featured in a pop tune. What a GORGEOUS tune. After multiple decades, this track is strong, sweet, gentle... and still after all these years FRESH. Loving the The FOREVER. Amen. 🙏🙌💕
Haha yes, I find myself playing it again even now, 30(?) years on! Masterpiece
Thanks to Dave, my first boyfriend, who introduced me to The the. I always think of him fondly when I hear this tune, or This Is The Day. I hope he's happy and well, wherever he is.
The greatest piano solo ever. Improvised in one take by Jools Holland. A masterpiece in and of itself.
you clearly havent heard many piano solos
@@omnibusification you clearly don't own an air fryer
@@maotse-tung4438 you are right :(
To be totally crorect the solo was recorded in two takes, and the 2nd take was spliced into the tune before the first take. Each take was roughly 120 seconds long. You can hear Take #1 kick in at exactly 5:20 in the song. When he first heard the record, Jools Holland himself was surprised how well the splices worked.
I can't agree more. I will learn to play that piano solo in my afterlife.
RIP and respect to all your friends who you listened to this song with from the 80s, who haven't made it to 2024. Be a bit sad, but mainly be happy remembering the great times.
❤
❤
The = Roman espionage
thank you.
nobody in the united states knows this great song but a few like me. sad.
Jools on the piano from 3:25 forward. Masterful. That guy knows his ways across the ivory.
brilliant got to see him live with squeeze a couple of times ,great pie fight at the end of the set
A bit of history behind "Uncertain Smile", which to me represents almost seven minutes of pure bliss that is over far too soon & easily ranks as one of my favourite songs EVER, not just within the context of the 80s. ☺
Here's what I recall reading about the song's solo: Apparently, when Jools Holland arrived at the studio, he didn't have a solo mapped out. Matt Johnson had told him very little about the song on purpose, to guarantee spontaneity from the jazz pianist.
[ Speaking of jazz.. take note of how the type of the piano chosen & the recording methods used combined to make the solo sound a bit like it had been recorded in a jazz café. It's not quite as distant, muted, and percussive as the signature Rudy Van Gelder piano sound one hears on many of the famous Blue Note jazz recordings from the 1950s, 60s & 70s, but neither is it the bright Yamaha CP-70 piano sound that is foreever associated with the 80s - heck, even Elton John & Biily Joel switched to the CP-70. lol. So, in addition to the notes chosen, Jools Holland's contribution to "Uncertain Smile" just *sounds* like a jazz solo. 😎]
Anyway...so, on the day the piano solo was recorded, Jools Holland arrived, absorbed the groove & overall 'vibe' of the song, called upon his artistic instincts, and improvised through a bunch of takes. When Holland was finished, he wasn't thrilled with the results, which he felt were not complete or good enough. However, Johnson liked most of what he had heard, so Johnson spent the next few days cutting & splicing the reel-to-reel tape, choosing the best sections from all the takes & experimenting with different orders for the sections until Johnson was happy with the flow & pace of the entire solo. (BTW, this technique has also been used on some famous guitar solos from the 1960s & 70s)
Consequently, what we hear in this masterpiece composition is the huge talent, impressive 'chops' & creative interpretive skills of Jools Holland, but also Jools Holland's creative juices expertly distilled by Matt Johnson into a heady mixture of potent alt-rock & jazz.....and, yes, one of the great piano solos in the history of rock music. 😎
thanks Derek, this is value added.
The most-familiar version, which was recorded for the Soul Mining album, replaced the saxophone with a lengthy Jazz piano solo by Squeeze's Jools Holland (better known now as the host of BBC' TV's music show Later). Asked by Uncut magazine August 2014 how they got Holland to play on the track, The The mainman Matt Johnson replied: "The garden (studios) had this beautiful little Yamaha C3 Baby Grand, and the decision was, 'We have this fantastically long outro for 'Uncertain Smile.' We need to put this piano on something. Who do we know who can play it? Jools showed up, cool as a cucumber despite the sweltering heat, dressed in leathers, and he was absolutely charming."
"I think he had one run-through, said, 'Let's go for it,' and laid the whole thing down," Johnson added. "There was just one drop-in we did towards the end. We were amazed. He told me years later, he gets asked about that more than anything he's ever done."
Thanks Derek!
@Derek Baker... Thanks for sharing... Totally badass/punk rock story... Matt Johnson, amazing..... Ss
Johnson is a genius. This album and Infected are two favourites of the '80s.
This was part of the music to my wedding in 86. I listened to it endlessly on the flight to Hong Kong to join my husband. ♥️
Heard this late night radio in the 80s and forced myself to stay awake until the announcer told me who the band was. Spend several years searching unsuccessfully for the tape/album until I found it in a record store in NYC. Bliss ensued.
hortense234, well said. Same, same
This album was the first CD that I ever bought. Love it to this day.
try shazam next time ;)
Ha ha! It came over my radio too, while I was on my phone with my girlfriend. She ID'd it when I cranked it up for her!
@TaichX1138 AMEN. This one takes me back to tears in high school in Detroit, Mi. Sublime and poetic!
The The - Soul Mining - A massive LP back in the day, a bit of a forgotten classic in my humble opinion.
I first heard this song back in 1983 and it's still the best antidepressant ever.
it really is
cheers!
Nicely put.
You are so right!
You know, I never thought about it like that, but how right you are. 🙂 It always made me feel good inside, as all of The The music does... 40 years of it...
I agree!
One of the most beautiful songs to have ever been written.
wrong
Not beautiful, But Great, and Piano Solo has no compare at least in Rockn Roll or else is fabuloues not beautiful
You Are Right, this son m id 80 is not Beautiful is ...
Not beautiful, But Great, and Piano Solo has no compare at least in Rockn Roll or else is fabuloues not beautiful@@kanak9305
This piano solo is actually a HUGE part of my life. CANNOT tell you how many times I have played it and turned people onto it. So fun.
So agree..!!!!!!!!!!
@1unsung In my system since I first heard it, late 1983 or early 1984.
ruclips.net/video/xR2ImlS3v3c/видео.html so good to watch...
Absolutely agree!!!
Yup totally agree, played many times over
This song is at least 36 years old. It's stood some time. You're in good company. Feel some appreciation, because there is plenty.
1983
Yeah take me back to the *WHFStivaL* … DuSK has a bunch of goodies *Love Is Stronger ThaN Death* is some slowed down *StairwaY to HeaveN* . You can tell if you strum along …
The whole Soul Mining album is awesome.
@@franek_izerski You're right. I was too much a dolt to realize I was thinking about "Infected" instead. And this is one of three? versions floating around back then?
❤
This could have been written today,this song was way ahead of it,s time, fantastic 😊.
Saw them with Depeche Mode at the Garden...awsome
Oh,that must've been a really cool and memorable event!🖤🎶♥️
I saw them on Tuesday, awesome. But with Depech Mode too!!! What year?
My brother gave me this album on cassette back in the 90s as i went back packing in central america. I was there for 6months and those long bus journeys were spent listening to this album. At the time I was used to 80s pop etc, id never heard songs and lyrics like it. Since then, ive lost it bought it a hundred times as ive travelled and moved around the world. Mind bomb and soul mining are genius and sadly missed by so many people.
Matt Johnson was 22 when Soul Mining was released. One of the most perfect albums ever.
Agreed.
@@Panoramicromantic1 Double agreed.
Similar :)
Until Infected was released...
I did not know that ❤️ thank you
We didn't know how good we had it back then.
Very true !!
Too busy being broke back then to notice anything.
the world back then was just as fucked as it is nowadays and it 'll allways be like that.
True,but then complicated.
@@henkbrama1437 no it wasnt, it did have some problems but nothing like today
The the best ever. What a voice! It leads us to the place where feelings are raw.
This song will outlive all of us.
Who else becomes the worlds best air piano player when that solo starts?! Pretending that you know where every key is and hitting it just at the right moment! Haha....Magic!
A polar bear can't play air piano, you liar.
You can learn this piano solo, it's not that hard ;-)
Yes, but I imagine myself playing it with my toes. I haven't hit a wrong note yet.
@@nebula0697 It's hard when you are a guitarist and not a pianist! LOL I can play the guitar parts fine.
Possibly the best piano solo ever in a rock song.
I'm a complete spanner with regards to music but if I could play anything in the world it would be Jools' piano solo on this track....
100% agree for sure
i aggree
I completely agree! Saw them live a few years back. After the song starts the guy on keys leaves his instrument and walks around to give every one in the band a hug in the middle of the song. I'm like, "Get back to your keys!" He completely played me and I fell for it! He got back in time and the solo was amazing, just like the record at first, then he improvised another few minutes at the end. Incredible. I videotaped it with my old crappy phone, quality is 'ok' a little shaky, and it cuts out just before the end because the song didn't have space I guess for a video that was more than 8 minutes long. LOL
Anybody else hear any similarities during the song to Linda Rondstat's Heatwave? Or is it just me.
Uplifting like in dnb, makoto...
I was introduced to this gem of creativity in the northern glacial wilds of Smithers, British Columbia. We had just emerged from a brutal multi-month silvicultural, insect-infested , dreary, frigid contract.
Sitting in the comfort of civilization… this was put on the stereo. Circa : 1985
A few years later I was in an East London pub. And I saw a bloke with the iconic album cover emblazed on his leather jacket. I had arrived to THE THE homeland habitat.
I’m 21 listening to this album for the first time in 2024 , I wish I could have seen them live in the 80s . This music truly does bring a kind of happiness you can’t find anymore in modern music.
I’m 49 my uncle introduced me to The The. The lyrics helped with the angst of my youth it now helps with the angst of middle age! I still listen to Soul mining, infected, mindbomb and dusk on a weekly basis. This track always gets a rewind!
Yes on the rewind! Many times. Pure joy.
Oh yeah, I can see that :). How can anyone know me when I don't even know myself?
Good old uncle Bill !
One of the most beautiful songs ever written,lyrics and instrumental..
The solo is really TWO solos by Jools Holland that Matt Johnson edited together. Dead brilliant.
To this day the greatest piano solo ever on a pop song!
I agree 🙏🏾. This song will be played at my funeral. It's in my will.
@@trevoraugustino6636 take Care of you perhaps you will found better song
i first heard this song in 2023. it´s never to late
2024
2024🎧🙃
2023 . you dont know me..... my post is 8 months ago love@@lisasimpson8318
Early 80.s..First album infected was produced in a cellar in London haha. .!!!..jules holland on piano
Well before their time..there's armagedon speaking on rising of Israel anon..
The 80's rocked the world for music. I share music with both of my sons, the eldest born in 80s and the youngest born in 04. They both play tracks their friends have never heard.........When my 15 year old plays 80s new age, Pink Floyd and Frank Sinatra my life's purpose is complete.
I'm happy to say i was a kid in the 80's
Best era ever...wish i could go back
Wish I was
Sure, as long as I didn’t have to go to school…
Matt's a great singer. Has the sound of Lloyd Cole and Commotions. Great track.
i agree. i never made the connection to loyd cole before. good call.
E
@@paulhagan5170 A
Never get tired of listening to this Masterpiece specially the Piano solo...wow!!!
I felt surprised that the time on the clock was the time...
Because I was transported back in time to 1984 as a 19 year-old in Santa Cruz, California where a surfing buddy of mine played this song while we were smoking some NorCal green. Awesome song, great band, good memories!
We are getting married on 31/08/2024 and This is our wedding song - both my partner and I adore this song and the joy it brings whenever it comes on! Thank you The The for providing the soundtrack to what will be best day of my life - this will always be our #1 song!
😊
that is cool as shit. I wish you well.
That's great! All the best for a wonderful day! 🎉
Congratulations. All the best
Congratulations 🎉
Cuando le escuchaba este tema, entre otros tan especiales, a mi padre, con 7-8 años, no entendía lo grande que era que en aquellos tiempos, con sus maletas de vinilos de 7" , con los cassettes, con sus libros del universo, carl sagan, asimov, su afición al dibujo, sus sesiones de dj en lo que llamaban entre ellos "guateques", con su armónica, con su admiración por stanley kubrick y el western de leone entre otros, sin internet, sin móviles.....tuviese ese gusto tan fino, ese coco tan especial, esa filosofía de vida. Puro sentimiento. Lo he ido entendiendo con los años. Qué grande. Cuanto me perdí.
Donde quiera que estéis, gracias por todo papá y mamá. He ido entendiendo lo grandes que eráis con el paso de los años, lamentablemente cuando ya no estábais, me iba haciendo mayor y sólo me quedan mis recuerdos. Sois un orgullo, un referente y una inspiración para mi. Os quiero.
Sem comentários!!! Bela declaração 👏👏👏👏
So true
The ultimate piano solo on one of the best albums ever made! Soul Mining was way ahead of its time.
well well well did you ever listened the mind bomb album so far?????
So good that my 2 grandsons will be listening asap.
Jules and Matt
@@yannledru7685
Everything Matt done was pure class
Yann ledru I think Soul Mining is better. I still listen to it now, thirty odd years later. Mind Bomb is gathering dust.
This and Midnight Oil hit at the exact same time. We played this and MO for HOURS and partied in the 80s!
This bass is singing his own lyrics. Genius, bloody GENIUS
Strong memories of teenage years, driving through the Utah desert with friends to go camping.....this song....bliss!
Yes I know same here
Nothing can replace replace this feeling
As many others have remarked, this song has an incredible piano solo. Yes, crank it up! The The was a unique 80s New Wave band, and appeared just at the right time in my early 20s when I was wrestling with so much. The Soul Mining tunes, especially Uncertain Smile and This is the Day, continue to take me places no other music can.
I too....
My favourite album of all time
matt johnson and jools holland combined the most perfectly crafted pop masterpiece ever it will never die for me this song i love it its defo one my faves ever half the world has not heard of the man and his songs it pains me sheer beauty and talent.
How can anyone ever disagree
It is not pop. it is jazz fusion. Yes it is a masterpiece.
@@24kGoldenRocket Actually Jools is a Boogie Woogie piano player.
@@mattmale7183 Correction noted and appreciated..
Every track on this album is so fresh, never dates , always makes me feel good
Love this album
Yup, timeless. Could have been written yesterday.
Uncertain Smile. Driving along Queen Sreet in Edinburgh early 80s, helped me make a huge decision. Thanks Matt and Jools
Umm...what was the decision about?
The song, FANTASTIC
All his musicians, FANTASTIC
Your name, ‘SMOKYTWOSTROKE’ is also FANTASTIC!! As soon as shoulder is healed BUYING A HUSKU or CR250!!! Few more weeks
That piano solo is magic.
Yeah Jools Holland is magic on the Piano
Best piano solo ever!❤
One of the best songs ever heard by ears.
Quintessential 80's yet timeless.
Perfection.
reminds me of my friend Paul, we worked together, making circuit boards?! In the 80s, never forgotten :) you played this constantly, it raised us up x
Thank you Derry girls for introducing me to this
Brilliant show!
Get it. Got it. Good.
Remember walking into Wax Trax records in Chicago in 1983, freshman year at Lincoln Park H.S. and hearing this piano solo...spellbound 🎹 🎹 🙏
Early 80s this and Midnight Oil, Boy-U2, all of it all at once!
Thanks Shazam!!! 🙏🏽 Never too late for discover good music 🥰
The album is gold, but that piano solo on this track makes my hair stand on end. Every. Single. Time.
I'ma gonna like my own comment 7 months downs. Because I have listened again 3 weeks in a row and it is a hella good solo.
Haha cracked me up that. Such a class song and album
It never fails to make me have the biggest grin on my face throughout the solo
Just sat here on my Narrowboat at 1am and still love this song, nearly 40 years old and still play it now. Fond memories and a great band.
Outstanding. (Sober. drunk. stoned. tripping. thirty years ago. twenty years time.)
I've just arrived of seeing them in Concert here in Brussels ❤😊🎉 It was AMAZING ❤😊
2 hugely underrated bands, the the and talk talk. Uncanny!
THEEEEEEEE greatest piano solo in rock music ... EVER!
I just realized that I first listened to this 32 years ago. Still feels like I just discovered this masterpiece. Unbelievable...
I listened to it back then, too, but for some reason I had forgotten about it, until another The The song came on the radio this week. I'm glad I've re-discovered this one.
For the Ages. A Masterpiece, through and through. How lucky are we.
This along with wire, skinny puppy, the smiths, ten thousand maniacs, siouxie and the banshess, new order, depeche mode, the cocteau twins, psychedelic furs, laibach, ministry, the cure, front 242, omd, kris and cosey, a split second, and bauhaus were all staples on my musical menu back then. All the bands back then were just so much more original and creative setting themselves apart with their own individual style. Its great having it all on youtube to go back to as a reference source for today's youth and future generations to enjoy.
You forgot REM!
@The Wayward. Bless you bless you bless you for mentioning Bauhaus
@@karenlong4786 and The Bunnymen 👍
@@karenlong4786 Much later...
Sweet ... I was / am a fan of most of the artists you mention. I never got to see The The live but was privileged enough to see PIL / New Order / The Sugarcubes in 1987 and Mazzy Star open for the Cocteau Twins in 87 or 88.
Uncertain Smile is still one of my favorite songs.
It’s a sophisticated tune from a sophisticated album. I understand the focus on Jools Holland on this - he seems to play from above. What’s interesting is the Gershwin. And it’s such a punch to hear jazz and major chord rumbling at the same time. So much fun. Thanks Jools. But Christ- thanks Matt for this complicated, beautiful lozenge of a song. I adore it.
Every song on this album is gold.
You’re not wrong
Got the album . Absolutely stunning. The bass line and piano line is sublime.
I lost my partner yesterday (23.12.22) we were together for 23 years. This masterpiece meant nothing to him, but to me, it makes my heart swell and my soul sing.
so sorry for your loss but the memorie shall travel in time
I'm so sorry for your loss. ❣️
Oh I'm so sorry. ❤️
@@juliewu100 keep singing in the pain that this life brings, and the joy also: becoz Love and hope walk hand in hand.. Helping despair into hope and doubt into faith into Loves Eternal Family: Shalom Sister!!
You're not alone.
Matt's album and this particular song have held a special place in my heart upon first exposure. I forced my parents, Juilliard composer dad and classical pianist mom, to listen to Uncertain Smile. My mother's reaction was exactly that. After an awkward silence, she finally smiled fully and said, "I may have to reconsider my opinion about popular music."
That's wonderful! What did your Dad think, if you don't mind me asking?
Snobs haha
Brilliant, what a piano solo from Jools Holland!!
This song, this piano solo!
Josh Novel just fenomenal ❤️❤️
One of the many tunes that blew my 15 year old mind in 83.
My mind as well
My exact experience!
Born late, '68, England
same. Great tripping down memory lane to this
WHEN I DIE,THIS TUNE WILL BRING ME TO HEAVEN,I SWEAR!
LOL low expectation much?
@@GiorniVenibato did anyone ask for your opinion?
When you wish the song would never end...
its got that riff and then the piano kicks in ;-)
Can never just play it once!
Exactly!
1983...living in a freezing unheated attic...this and the Bunnymen kept me alive!
@999minimal, same year, freezing Edinburgh flat. Same result 👌🏻
Were we u m8 lpool?
Lpool?
Sames
Unheated attic.......luxury, we used to live in a septic tank.....you know the rest 😂😂😂 but agree great bands back then 👍👍🤟🤟
Still loving this track in June 24…..always fills me with joy
Good music brought you here ..
One of the best songs ever written. Thank you Matt.
This is simply ONE GREAT SONG.
I have been a fan of The The since the '80's and for some reason, I have never heard this song before - one word -Masterpiece!
What The the were you listening too ??😄
You missed out on forever!
bollocks
I stumbled across this song about a year ago when Spotify randomly played it. Immediately got added to favorites and I enjoy the magnificent piano solo every time it comes on.
wow 👏. this song shaped my 20s
Jools Holland on piano. You may find more of his brilliant piano playing on the first few SQUEEZE albums.
Still actual at 01 January 2024 ! 80s forever!!!
The more finest music Wich the world can do it , was made it there ! 🎉
Its weird how one unsearched for song can bring a whole clutch of memories you haven't thought on in forever. This song brings back smells of lunch counters from my childhood, long closed down and remodeled or lost. Yet this song brings them that much closer, thank you the The.
My friend just saw them, 10/25/2004 Chicago at The Salt Shed; sheposted a snippet- STILL INCREDIBLE !
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICALLY FABULOUS!!!
Must b the 10,975th time hearing this jewel
Cheers to all nice and wonderful people!!
I've spent days on the internet searching for this song because the piano solo was stuck in my head. Visited my mom this morning and told her about the issue and she was like: "oh, you mean Uncertain Smile by The The?"
Was at the casino on Halloween and this cut was on the background music track. Damn. I had forgotten who performed it. I searched it out on RUclips *for four days* and, finally, while I was checking out the Psychedelic Furs last night, Nov 3, this link appeared. i clicked on it as i knew I found it.
@@kth333 I am 60 years old, man. The crap on the radio today does not hold a candle to this. This is great
Check out Emerson Lake and Palmer's album Brain Salad Surgery since you like piano in rock. Karn Evil 9, all impressions will have you trippin' without taking or smokin' anything.
Enjoy...
How improbable! Yet...true.
Ha...Never underestimate how much mums know!
It was so easy...
Brings back too many bittersweet moments to recount. This and infected were better albums than morrissey imo. I used to listen to this leaving college to drive to my night job. The future was WIDE OPEN! Love was young, and the innocence was still in us. Oh, taco bell had the 59/79/99 menu and you could get stuffed for 2 bucks.
C’est vraiment une pièce qui m’a marquée au cours des années 80
Kindom of rain with Sinead O'Connor is Definitely another great song from the The , I highly recommend it....Live on children of the 80s
one of my fav albulms of all time
Great album i agree
Yes. The whole album is excellent.
Mine too!
Timothy Coles brilliant taste brother
Hands down theeeee best piano section ever to come from a human being. Unreal smile 😃 every time 🎹 🎶
Absolute legend of a track from a brilliant often under rated band. Jools Holland genius solo, still shake my head in disbelief at the genius of it. Apparently one take was all that was needed.
Had almost forgotten about this old gem ! Wow ! So good to hear this again ! Blessings from the Rocky Mountains !
I haven't heard them in so long. Why did I forget. I'm 46 yrs old. Reminded me when I watched SLC punk. I was like shit. This soundtrack is awesome. I remembered all those songs.
40 years ago...still holds it's own
This album is one of my all time favourites - the whole album is just indescribably evocative and this song is just the best.
It was year 2009. Every after school, I would listen to this on my phone on the jeep, during the 1 ½ hour-drive back home. Sometimes it'd be late, around 7pm, not many people around, street lights everywhere, late-night chatter between passersby suspended in the air; a very relaxing atmosphere with that evening cool weather, I'd be listening to The The, Wang Chung, and New Order. ✨
😙
Amo ❤
84' soul mining, always in the top 3 greatest hits and I give you new order for sure, no chang Chung thing ? Right?
Pezzo ipnotico…….. non puoi più fare a meno di ascoltarlo……..riascoltarlo …… ancora…….è ancora
Friends: what bands you listen these days.
Me: the The
Friends:The......
Me: yes the the
Friends: you are high again aren't you?
👌👍
I still get goosebumps every time I hear this song.
i shocked why you havent gotten anyone to agree with you on thAT!