What's your problem with Kill Uncle?

[Skylarker]

.....

 

[DAVIE]

I think Morrissey could do a really good reissue of the album. Remove a few rubbish tracks here and there and replace them with good demos and b-sides. As an album it does have a few strong tracks, why he never bothered to keep "End Of The Family Line" within his live set list is beyond me, as it's probably one of the best solo tracks he's ever wrote.

 

[not_me_not_I]

I don't HAVE a problem with it. In isolation, I thought it was great, and it was only on reading what other fans had written that I learned it was supposedly not a good album.
Just a few months ago, I was listening to all the albums in chronological order, and I enjoyed KU more than YA, although YA is always touted as a stronger album. I even listened to KU twice before moving on. As noted, it's got some great lyrics and the style is unique in his catalogue.
Just take off "Harsh Truth".
I've heard arguments about poor production.

 

[King Leer]

Can't speak for the Man himself but the singles bombed (relative to everything prior), which is something he hates. Pregnant fared better but he was pissed off at its chart placing, too and hence doesn't play it (correct me if I wrong). B-side The Loop and the post-Uncle My Love Life/I've Changed double A-side are much better than the album tracks. The tour was one of, if not the most, comprehensive of any solo album so he probably feels it's done and dusted.

I would like to see a fresh airing of Sing Your Life, but not a rawk rendition! Not a Jesse fan but didn't think he ruined the rockabilly vibe of The Loop.

 

[Stephen]

It was potentially a GREAT album, but due to the production it just sounds so flat and drab - wishy washy. Live renditions of Sing Your Life and King Leer for example, are absolutely fantastic and among my favourite Morrissey songs.

If it could be remastered effectively, I would definitely buy a re-issue and would be very excited about it.

 

[9 x Fined]

Agree with that totally. It really suffers from some pretty sleepy and uninspiring production. However, it was the first Moz album I bought so it still holds a special place in my heart.

 

[Stephane]

The album is due for a reappraisal.

If I was Morrissey, I would do one of the following:

- Have it remastered.
- Have it "re-produced". Since the main complaint is with the production, perhaps some new producer could go back to the master tracks and re-do the job
- Re-record it. How could the album sound if Morrissey did it again 20 years later?

Stephane

 

[Fulham Road Lights]

I don't know about you but I absolutely love the KU version of 'There's A Place In Hell...' It's so utterly beautiful, I don't understand why he felt the need to play, or indeed why everyone loves, a rockabilly version on the tour. The piano version is absolutely perfect IMHO.

EDIT: Also just listened to Family Line. Never before noticed the organ in it. Beautiful.

 

[Rowntree]

As an album it doesn't have any bite. Some of the songs on it are brilliant but it just sounds so wishy washy. It's most disappointing as the music is a lot better than a lot of what his current band produces.

 

[Orson Swells]

It's his weakest album by a country mile in terms of the songwriting, but still highly amusing and certainly has its moments: King Leer, Sing Your Life, Mute Witness, Our Frank. But the production is strangely airless - like one of those John Betjemen records - and left him sounding archaic and out of touch at the time.

The post-album releases like Pregnant, The Loop, My Love Life, I've Changed... were all recorded after the LP sessions (probably for the abandoned attempt at a rockabilly EP) so could not be included. Morrissey should have halted the release anyway and put them on there of course. But his storming live reinterpretations of the Kill Uncle material, plus the speed of the far more energetic follow-up releases, partially salvaged his reputation in many people's eyes.

 

[Orson Swells]

I'm pretty The Loop and Tony were recorded during the actual sessions, I think the musicians are the same. Gotta look it up in the ol' Mozipedia, but I'm pretty sure they are album outtakes that precipitated the Rockabilly EP project.

Tony certainly was and should have been on the record. I think the The Loop may have been recorded at the very, very end when the album was more or less complete. I've always felt this was when the Kill Uncle sessions probably morphed into the rockablliy sessions - December 90, I think. There's a thin line between the two anyway. I think My Love Life was recorded as the b-side for Sing Your Life, for instance, and was recorded with the Kill Uncle line-up.

 

[Deleted member 1074]

I would like to see a fresh airing of Sing Your Life, but not a rawk rendition! Not a Jesse fan but didn't think he ruined the rockabilly vibe of The Loop.

That's because Boz played lead...at least when I saw him live he did.

 

[Oh my god. it's Robby!]

dear Skylarker, I have 0 problem with "Kill Uncle"
as a matter of fact, until YATQ came along, I'd say it was my fave album of his

 

[Fulham Road Lights]

Yeah the piano version is one of his shining moments, without a doubt...but the rockabilly version is just as great in a totally different way. Great arrangement, great energy, great use of the chord progression. It is a radically different interpretation of the song and more than any other reason it symbolizes why Boz and Alain were so integral to Morrissey's career at that point. They brought life and energy and character to the dead, stilted sound of Kill Uncle and provided a great counterbalance to Morrissey's stuffier, loftier inclinations. They brought him down to Earth. Not in a way that pedestrianized him, but in a way that offered a fantastic juxtaposition between his artsy poeticism and their rockist leanings...which is, assumedly, what he was going for to begin with, and why he sought them out in that pub.

Personally, I don't think it is just as great. I don't think your point about what Boz and Alain did for Morrissey means that the new interpretation was as good as the original. Tell me, out of interest, what do you like about the piano version?

 

[Qvist]

There is nothing wrong with Kill Uncle. It was one of the best albums to be released in 1991. It's just less great than any other album released by Morrissey, that's all.

And in saying that I'm not just being glib, that's an important piece of perspective. Relative to his other albums, it just suffers from a lack of good material - musically, if not lyrically. I think that is also why it's lightweight production stands out as unfortunate - a more forceful sound might have camouflaged things a bit by adding another dimension to things. Conversely, with better material the light production might have worked.

And, it's hard to escape the sense that Nevin and Morrissey simply wasn't a good mix. They don't suit each other. Try listening to the album and think away Morrissey and the lyrics, pretend it's Fairground Attraction you're listening to, and suddenly the music makes much more sense. But there's just too much gravitas in Morrissey to suit the kind of Vespa commercial energy and feel that Nevin brings to the table. It retains a certain awkwardness, a failure to deliver what it seems to aim for.

But let's not forget the album has its sides. For my part, I've developed a strange liking for Sing Your Life, in sort of the same way as I like Perfect, a song it resembles more than a little. Always liked There is a place in Hell and Last of the family line too.

 

[Dave]

It's jaunty, but that's not a problem. Also "Found Found Found" love.

 

[Deleted member 1074]

It's jaunty, but that's not a problem. Also "Found Found Found" love.

I like the lyrics but I don't care about the music or the fact he sings the same word three times in a row...

I'm a big fan of "Señor Life", though. Good song.

 

[Maurice E]

It was his 6th studio album, and it came after the genius of the four Smiths albums, and the utterly wonderful Viva Hate. So, in that context it was a massive disappointment.
Sadly, however, the quality of Morrissey songs later in his career has dipped way below much, if not most, of Kill Uncle so it's ridiculous that some people still consider it to be his worst album.
If only one of his recent albums had half the wit, musicality, imagination and tunefulness of Kill Uncle (rather than the joyless, blunt, poetry-free, indie-pop filler we've come to expect), it would be a welcome respite. And before I get all the usual abuse, YOR was a fair improvement on ROTT and Who Ate Me Curry, so I do hold out some hope for the future.

 

[Maurice E]

And, it's hard to escape the sense that Nevin and Morrissey simply wasn't a good mix. They don't suit each other.

I disagree. Morrissey and Nevin's partnership got better and better. Tellingly, the best songs that Morrissey and Nevin co-wrote (according to us lot) were all after Kill Uncle. The Loop was the (massively unexpected) highlight of recent tours. I Know It's Gonna Happen is absolutely gorgeous - clearly the best song on YA and one of his best ever (Smith or post-Smith). You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Side deservedly reappeared in the live shows for many years after its release, My Love Life is an understated gem, and I've Changed My Plea could be the best of them all.

 

[matto]

It is my favorite record, or at least the one I listen to the most. I like that it's got a wan sound and there's that bit of echo on the voice, the goofy pianos and burping strings.

And Skylarker: your remaster job is ace. I'm hearing elements that had not been there before and it's mesmerizing. That's all I need from a remaster, no loudness wars or nothing!