Why Maladjusted 2009 version just doesn't work

Towelie

New Member
I'm a relatively new Morrissey fan, started getting into The Smiths a couple of years back and about two years ago I picked up You Are The Quarry. I have been slowly collecting all his solo releases since, trying to give each one the time it deserves before venturing fourth and buying the next. I have most of the albums now (bar Southpaw and Kill Uncle, plus b-sides and rare tracks).

My last purchase was Maladjusted a couple of weeks back. I asked the wife to pick me up a copy from HMV, and was disappointed when she came back with the new 2009 edition. But I thought "what the hell" and gave it a spin anyway, after all, it does say on the sticker that this is the way Morrissey wanted it.

After several listen, I feel my gut instinct was correct. While listening to the new edition, I felt it was a slow, meandering album, with a lot of b-side quality tracks mixed amongst some gems. I looked up the original tracklist online and bought Roys Keen and Papa Jack off iTunes and adjusted the album accordingly on my iPod. Suffice to say, the original version is a far more satisfying listen. There's a greater sense of direction and cohesion, it no longer feels like it meanders and even some of the tracks which didn't stand out to me before started to sound better (Wide To Receive and Ammunition for instance).

What did you guys think of the 2009 edition vs. the original?
 
I prefer the 2009 edition.

I just can't stand Roy's Keen and anything that includes "The edges are no longer parallel" get plus points from me - love that song.
 
Lost, I Can Have Both and The Edges Are No Longer Parallel are all wonderful, while I think Papa Jack is one of the worst thing's he's ever recorded. The 2009 version is a bit too long, though, and could really do without Sorrow Will Come in the End. Overall I think it's an improvement, though.
 
I miss "Roy's Keen" and "Papa Jack," and I really don't have any soft spot for "I Can Have Both" or "The Edges Are No Longer Parallel." So yeah, while it's nice to have some of the B-sides together with the album and new artwork, the original version is obviously the definitive edition as far as I'm concerned.
 
I like both, but play the latter more.

On length, most albums are way too long these days. 40 mins in a perfect length for an LP. 8-10 songs.
 
Hmmm, tricky one, it is hard to imagine any album not being enhanced by the inclusion of a track like Lost, and I was never keen on Papa Jack really.

Overall I think it is a better re-issue than Southpaw, Kill Uncle and Viva Hate, while Your Arsenal and Vauxhall were left alone of course, but I am not one for having my favourite albums tampered with. In fact I am still gobsmacked by Morrissey leaving The Ordinary Boys off Viva Hate
 
Tough call. I think "Roy's Keen" is catch as all hell, and he should've left that on there and taken off Sorrow. I don't listen to the 2009 version nearly as much as the original but "Lost" and "I Can Have Both" are great.
 
Hmmm, tricky one, it is hard to imagine any album not being enhanced by the inclusion of a track like Lost, and I was never keen on Papa Jack really.

Overall I think it is a better re-issue than Southpaw, Kill Uncle and Viva Hate, while Your Arsenal and Vauxhall were left alone of course, but I am not one for having my favourite albums tampered with. In fact I am still gobsmacked by Morrissey leaving The Ordinary Boys off Viva Hate

I definately think 'nobody loves us' should have made the original southpaw, so 1-0 to the reissue for that. 'You should have been nice to me' is also a decent addition to the reissue. If these two had been included on the 1995 release, making it a 10 track record, it would be viewed much differently.
 
Roy's Keen is a decent song and melody stained by the grimmest Mozwordsmithery since the King Leer 'knee/knee' couplet.
 
lost, the edges and i can have both are all excellent. definitely the 2009
 
I'm a relatively new Morrissey fan, started getting into The Smiths a couple of years back and about two years ago I picked up You Are The Quarry. I have been slowly collecting all his solo releases since, trying to give each one the time it deserves before venturing fourth and buying the next. I have most of the albums now (bar Southpaw and Kill Uncle, plus b-sides and rare tracks).

My last purchase was Maladjusted a couple of weeks back. I asked the wife to pick me up a copy from HMV, and was disappointed when she came back with the new 2009 edition. But I thought "what the hell" and gave it a spin anyway, after all, it does say on the sticker that this is the way Morrissey wanted it.

After several listen, I feel my gut instinct was correct. While listening to the new edition, I felt it was a slow, meandering album, with a lot of b-side quality tracks mixed amongst some gems. I looked up the original tracklist online and bought Roys Keen and Papa Jack off iTunes and adjusted the album accordingly on my iPod. Suffice to say, the original version is a far more satisfying listen. There's a greater sense of direction and cohesion, it no longer feels like it meanders and even some of the tracks which didn't stand out to me before started to sound better (Wide To Receive and Ammunition for instance).

What did you guys think of the 2009 edition vs. the original?

Most of Morrissey's tinkering with the reissues across the board were totally unnecessary and downright sacrilegious. Throwing tracks from totally different eras with sub par audio and writing quality amongst already gorgeous track listing makes no sense whatsoever.

The Maladjusted reissue is actually the least offensive of the bunch. Yes he removed two great songs but at least he didn't add a couple of lame demos from Southpaw to it.

The whole thing about "The way Morrissey wanted it" feels like a marketing ploy more than a genuine sentiment. The final slap in the face was it was only a CD reissue without a vinyl option to buy.

btw all the Maladjusted B sides are gorgeous!
 
Most of Morrissey's tinkering with the reissues across the board were totally unnecessary and downright sacrilegious. Throwing tracks from totally different eras with sub par audio and writing quality amongst already gorgeous track listing makes no sense whatsoever.

The Maladjusted reissue is actually the least offensive of the bunch. Yes he removed two great songs but at least he didn't add a couple of lame demos from Southpaw to it.

The whole thing about "The way Morrissey wanted it" feels like a marketing ploy more than a genuine sentiment. The final slap in the face was it was only a CD reissue without a vinyl option to buy.

btw all the Maladjusted B sides are gorgeous!

Why he hacked at Maudlin Street I'll never know.
 
"Lost" is the one track the definitely should have made Maladjusted. I mean to be lost is to be maladjusted and I believe that it should have been on the album and should have been the second single. "Roy's Keen" is a good song but really not an ideal single and it really kept the album dead in the water after a promising lead single and the initial purchases by loyal fans.

"The Edges Are No Longer Parallel" should also have made the record in my opinion. "Sorrow Will Come In the End" and "Papa Jack" as such relegated to b-sides.

It's strange how he left off two of the tracks that speak the most strongly about being "maladjusted".
 
The '09 version almost makes it perfect. The inclusion of Lost & Edges are arguably Moz's finest songs IMHO & to be initially relegated to b-sides was a grand shame. I would've kept Roy Keene as it has a charm to it but its exclusion is understandable given the trite lyrics. Also, Papa Jack was not a good song in the least and it is rightly jettisoned.
 
The '09 version almost makes it perfect. The inclusion of Lost & Edges are arguably Moz's finest songs IMHO & to be initially relegated to b-sides was a grand shame. I would've kept Roy Keene as it has a charm to it but its exclusion is understandable given the trite lyrics. Also, Papa Jack was not a good song in the least and it is rightly jettisoned.

I love Papa Jack!
 
"Lost" is the one track the definitely should have made Maladjusted. I mean to be lost is to be maladjusted and I believe that it should have been on the album and should have been the second single. "Roy's Keen" is a good song but really not an ideal single and it really kept the album dead in the water after a promising lead single and the initial purchases by loyal fans.

"The Edges Are No Longer Parallel" should also have made the record in my opinion. "Sorrow Will Come In the End" and "Papa Jack" as such relegated to b-sides.

It's strange how he left off two of the tracks that speak the most strongly about being "maladjusted".

I believe it was purely timing and logistics. The B-sides for Roy's Keen and Satan Rejected My Soul were recorded in July 1997, probably as or shortly before Maladjusted was being manufactured (12 August release date in the US). I get the impression that Mercury/Island were more in the driver's seat and his general malaise at the time prevented him from pushing for a delay/track rethink.
 
"Lost" is the one track the definitely should have made Maladjusted. I mean to be lost is to be maladjusted and I believe that it should have been on the album and should have been the second single. "Roy's Keen" is a good song but really not an ideal single and it really kept the album dead in the water after a promising lead single and the initial purchases by loyal fans.
"The Edges Are No Longer Parallel" should also have made the record in my opinion. "Sorrow Will Come In the End" and "Papa Jack" as such relegated to b-sides.
It's strange how he left off two of the tracks that speak the most strongly about being "maladjusted".

By consensus (biggest poll ever of Morrissey songs), Roy's Keen is really not a good song. It's one of his worst ever.
Voted his second worst ever, only the truly appalling Dagenham Dave is considered worse.
As others have pointed out, Lost and Edges were recorded too late for the album's release.
 
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