Alternative "Years Of Refusal" cover photo posted by @mrjakewalters / Instagram

On Jake's instagram:

 

[Peppermint]

In honour of Herb himself, I thought I should post this, which has put me in a fabulous mood this morning.


EDIT: I think this video should be prescribed by the NHS instead of anti-depressants.

 

[joe frady]

I do find this fascinating when you look at the pale, stick-thin, delicate person he was when he first became famous. How did this happen? Was it just the extra weight, was it sheer determination to be somebody else, or was there always a stocky brute inside of him, trying to get out? Oh, and lovely anecdote, but do please enlighten me, how exactly does Joe Pesci walk in Goodfellas?

It's all in the genes (and the jeans).

You can't get the Irish blood out of you. í have tried; believe me.

.

 

[Peppermint]

It's all in the genes (and the jeans).

You can't get the Irish blood out of you. í have tried; believe me.

.

Alan Bennett referred to this in his last book, Keep On Keeping On. I think he said something about how Irish Morrissey looked now he's older, and how he looked like he could be a plasterer or something, if he wasn't famous. I find it quite fascinating to look at the old footage of the wispy person he was and how he filled out, but I think it's all there in the broad shoulders, if you look.

Oh, and don't ever try to get rid of the Irish blood, which is one of the finest types there is, in my book.

 

[joe frady]

Apropos of "Refusal", if you have a spare life or two to waste, this phantom thread is quite amusing ~

https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/new-album-cover.89782/

~ most of the images are long gone, as are the individuals involved.
Or are they?

.

 

[marred]

I tell you what though, this photo gives me a new appreciation for the YOR cover with the creepy baby. I wasn't a big fan of that sleeve until I saw this photo. It has this weird wax model creepiness to it. It's just wrong on every level. Bad lighting, bad styling, bad wardrobe and bad set decoration. It is in focus though.

 

[Anonymous]

I do find this fascinating when you look at the pale, stick-thin, delicate person he was when he first became famous. How did this happen? Was it just the extra weight, was it sheer determination to be somebody else, or was there always a stocky brute inside of him, trying to get out?

I think it can mostly be chalked up to 'middle-age spread'. Almost all guys - even if they are thin as a rake when they are younger, fill out and get chunky as they get older. Also, back in the Smiths days, Morrissey didn't drink alchohol, and lived on a very meagre and limited diet. In more recent years, he's developed a reputation as a bit of a heavy drinker, and there's plenty of calories in beer and vodka. He's also no longer limited to whatever crappy rider he could get in the Smiths days when there were hardly any vegetarian options, and venues just used to give him a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a couple of youghurts - now he lives in 5 star hotels and has chefs on call to make him whatever he wants.

It's very hard to stay thin, when you're living a life of financial luxury.

 

[Peppermint]

I think it can mostly be chalked up to 'middle-age spread'. Almost all guys - even if they are thin as a rake when they are younger, fill out and get chunky as they get older. Also, back in the Smiths days, Morrissey didn't drink alchohol, and lived on a very meagre and limited diet. In more recent years, he's developed a reputation as a bit of a heavy drinker, and there's plenty of calories in beer and vodka. He's also no longer limited to whatever crappy rider he could get in the Smiths days when there were hardly any vegetarian options, and venues just used to give him a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a couple of youghurts - now he lives in 5 star hotels and has chefs on call to make him whatever he wants.

It's very hard to stay thin, when you're living a life of financial luxury.

All of that is true, but I think genes play a part as well. You can see even when he was stick-thin, he was quite broad in the shoulders and hips. I suspect it was his inescapable destiny to be built like a brickie.

 

[joe frady]

All of that is true, but I think genes play a part as well. You can see even when he was stick-thin, he was quite broad in the shoulders and hips. I suspect it was his inescapable destiny to be built like a brickie.

Or a farmer from County Mayo, as Radio 2 folk hunk Mark Radcliffe ad-libbed, ad-infinitum...

Some bodies just take a little longer growing into their head.


.

 

[Peppermint]

Or a farmer from County Mayo, as Radio 2 folk hunk Mark Radcliffe ad-libbed, ad-infinitum...

Some bodies just take a little longer growing into their head.


.

Somehow that description gets even funnier when you look at the photo heading up this thread again.

 

[g23]

In honour of Herb himself, I thought I should post this, which has put me in a fabulous mood this morning.


EDIT: I think this video should be prescribed by the NHS instead of anti-depressants.

When Myspace was a thing, my best friend's now wife made a page pretending to be Herb Alpert, and was contacted by the man himself asking what the hell she was doing impersonating him. When he found out that it was an attractive woman of 20, and born of genuine, non ironic love for his music he ended up having a few conversations with her, prior to asking if she were willing to let him have it instead of tearing it down. He was really happy to know that his music touched younger generations since he was under the impression his work was viewed as uncool. I've personally liked his stuff since I was a child going through my Great Grandmother's records and absolutely had to play the "naughty" one. I was disappointed at a distinct lack of naughtiness apart from a couple that sounded like old time striptease music.

 

[Peppermint]

When Myspace was a thing, my best friend's now wife made a page pretending to be Herb Alpert, and was contacted by the man himself asking what the hell she was doing impersonating him. When he found out that it was an attractive woman of 20, and born of genuine, non ironic love for his music he ended up having a few conversations with her, prior to asking if she were willing to let him have it instead of tearing it down. He was really happy to know that his music touched younger generations since he was under the impression his work was viewed as uncool. I've personally liked his stuff since I was a child going through my Great Grandmother's records and absolutely had to play the "naughty" one. I was disappointed at a distinct lack of naughtiness apart from a couple that sounded like old time striptease music.

Great story... but, 'the naughty one'? Please explain!

 

[g23]

Great story... but, 'the naughty one'? Please explain!

Whipped Cream and Other Delights looked pretty naughty to me at the age of six! I found a few good ones that I still listen to in her collection. Herb Alpert, Martin Denny, Slim Whitman, and probably a few others that escape me.

 

[Peppermint]

Whipped Cream and Other Delights looked pretty naughty to me at the age of six! I found a few good ones that I still listen to in her collection. Herb Alpert, Martin Denny, Slim Whitman, and probably a few others that escape me.

Oh, I see what you mean with that sleeve! I thought she was just wearing a white dress until closer inspection. Very 70s! I had quick trawl and was amazed to find I knew a track on there - A Taste of Honey. No idea how as we definitely didn't own that album at home. But that sound of his was ubiquitous in the early 70s and I probably absorbed it via osmosis as there wasn't much else to do. Anyway, glad to see he's still going strong in his 80s and he sounds like a top bloke.

 

[g23]

Oh, I see what you mean with that sleeve! I thought she was just wearing a white dress until closer inspection. Very 70s! I had quick trawl and was amazed to find I knew a track on there - A Taste of Honey. No idea how as we definitely didn't own that album at home. But that sound of his was ubiquitous in the early 70s and I probably absorbed it via osmosis as there wasn't much else to do. Anyway, glad to see he's still going strong in his 80s and he sounds like a top bloke.

I like Herb Alpert for summer road trips with all the windows down. Especially if it's somewhere really scenic. Lyrics always seem to intrude in those moments. Unless you're talking about T Rex. I've never had a summer road trip that didn't largely feature their stuff on the stereo.

 

[Anonymous]

The man who wore SHOULDER PADS

 

[joe frady]

when í was a youth there was a drug dealer round our way known as 'Herb Albert'.
he didn't get the joke; neither did í, at the time.
But he was always good for a toot.
So í heard.

he didn't mind, in the end. Better than 'Sherbert Dick'?

happy daze

.

 

[Amy]

Or a farmer from County Mayo

This made me laugh out loud and is 100% correct.
Morrissey is built exactly like his father (tall and broad) but he was underweight for so many years and didn't really "grow into" his frame properly until his 30s. Made more obvious by the fact that he used to wear those enormous Evans blouses, and otherwise looked like a boy wearing one of Dad's jackets.

 

[Amy]

Johnny, on the other hand, has a naturally small frame and looks the same as ever. I doubt he has weighed more than about 8 1/2 stones his whole adult life. (well, apart from when he went podgy during the first Healers phase, but I attribute that to drugs).

 

[Jamie]

It's a fine picture, in and of itself - certainly a departure in term of the other Morrissey photos Mr. Walters took. But it looks/feels more like an ad photo - and Morrissey probably perceived that holding a musical instrument on two consecutive album covers was too repetitive.

As a representation of who he was in 2008-9, it would have been a superior choice over the "prison escapee has a sh-t in the woods" cover of Swords.