Johnny Marr, Alison Moyet, Nile Rodgers play The Smiths "Stop Me" at Montreux Jazz

Bit clunky, should have stuck with Johnny's original arrangement.
 
I like it. Definitely, one of the better smiths covers; I guess it had to be if Marr was contributing.
 
no no no.. this is rubbish.. and having it changed so very much does make it a proper "cover" for johnny doesn't it? because all that remains of this song is what morrissey brought to the table.... so one could almost say that marr is just playing guitar on a morrissey track at this point
 
I'm sure most people around here would agree, but covers of Morrissey or Smiths songs just don't ever work and shouldn't be attempted...it's impossible to believe the lyrics coming from anyone other than Morrissey and you just can't improve the vocals or even come close to matching them.

You're definitely right about his vocal improvement since 'Boomslang'...that album could almost be considered spoken-word, really, as he puts little effort into the vocals out of necessity. He fares much better with his own material these days and I wish he would just stick to that...and IF he does play Smiths songs, then just make them instrumental. Also, I admire what he's trying to do with his career, but I feel pieces of music like 'European Me' are completely wasted on his solo career. If that had been sent to Morrissey and he put good lyrics and vocals to it, he would probably have finally had his coveted #1 single and it would be the shot in his arm he so desperately needs for his career.

In saying that all covers never work, you're basically banning Johnny from playing his own songs. He never seriously attempted Smiths material in any of his live shows until the early 2000s when he roped some of his musician buddies in to provide the vocals, and after that he focused on a "solo" career, more session work here and there and a bit of band-hopping. In other words, he's never properly had the opportunity to perform some of his best songs; his attempts to do it with other singers are mainly a novelty, and his attempts to do it on his own are pretty much laughed out of the house as well. But why shouldn't he have a bash at those songs after all this time? Moz has been playing less-than-stellar versions of Smiths songs in his live set for over 12 years and Marr probably feels that - particularly given his relative lack of post-Smiths success - he deserves a bigger slice of the Smiths-pie, and he'll be damned if the absence of a singing voice is gonna stop him.

You make a good point about "European Me" . I think it's a little late for Johnny to expect tremendous solo success after years spent doing not very much, and the poor performance of "Boomslang" last time round is probably putting record labels off - so even if European Me was a great song (and it is), it isn't really going to get noticed because the wider public had written him off by about 1993. I'd love to see him send it to Moz (with a note about leaving "fat Aunt Mables at tables" in the bag), and for Moz to rise from the quagmire he's currently stuck in and do the music proud, but I can't see it.
 
I'm sure most people around here would agree, but covers of Morrissey or Smiths songs just don't ever work and shouldn't be attempted...it's impossible to believe the lyrics coming from anyone other than Morrissey and you just can't improve the vocals or even come close to matching them.

When you say they don't ever work, do you just mean that you don't like them?
The Mark Ronson cover of Stop Me is arguably the greatest success a Morrissey/Marr song's had to date. It sold in vast quantities and attained blanked airplay so everyone knows it - taxi drivers, school kids, mums, shop workers, i.e. the millions of people who couldn't care less about the Smiths or Morrissey.
Similarly, the cover of 'Please...' for the John Lewis Christmas ad was the key element in one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever.
I don't like either of these covers and you clearly don't either, but to say the covers never work is nonsense.

Because of what you just said is the very reason I included the statement "I'm sure most people around here would agree."
 
I'm sure most people around here would agree, but covers of Morrissey or Smiths songs just don't ever work and shouldn't be attempted...it's impossible to believe the lyrics coming from anyone other than Morrissey and you just can't improve the vocals or even come close to matching them.

Truth.
 
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Been described as a jazz festival for years and years without ever really being a proper one. There are various things you have to fulfill to call something a festival for one and regarding jazz festivals it seems the jazz got lost many years ago as other types of music dominate them.
 
haven't seen him since the 80's - because he has not done ONE decent thing since!
Never wanted moz to get back w` him ,but after ROTT & Y O R ..........
 

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