Boz in Winter 2011 edition of Total Guitar magazine

A quick search of some file sharing sites and I cannot find the current edition...yet... give it time it will be there... plenty of back catalogue editions available... including this http://softarchive.net/blogs/magazinez/total_guitar_october.375848.html Johnny Marr on the front cover of Oct 2010 just in case you didn't buy it :)
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Dave
 
"Arthouse"? Really? And does "we've not started recording it yet" REALLY mean "we've not started recording it yet...with the exception of that quarter of an album we've recorded with Tony Visconti already"?
 
I love reading this stuff. :o
 
Thanks for that. A really great read. Makes me pine for a new record. Interesting to note how many of the best musical ideas are Morrissey's i.e. doing Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? acoustically and adding the piano intro to Action Is My Middle-Name...
 
This is brilliant stuff -many thanks Uncle Peter.
One of the biggest tragedies of Morrissey's decision to market himself as a 'solo' act (when he hasn't played or written a single note of music) is that we never hear about the musical side of the songs other than some vague comment about how 'strong' they are.
It's fantastic to hear these little anecdotes e.g. where Boz wrote Paris, the fact that it was Boz's wife's idea to put the accordion type sound on the genius 'When Last I Spoke to Carol', and all the other snippets. So much more interesting than hearing Morrissey bang on about the meat industry or the flood of immigrants for the billionth time.
Wouldn't it be great to have a joint interview with Morrissey and Boz, hear what they're like together (serious, awkward, matey?), with more stories about how songs are developed, who makes the decisions about arrangements etc. We tend only to get the musical background to songs in books like Mozipedia (and these comments by Boz will surely feature heavily in any update).
I wonder if Boz had to check with Morrissey about doing this interview?
Also, interesting to hear him talk about the new album. Morrissey said that it was ready to go way back earlier in the year, but Boz tells us they haven't started recording it. What did Morrissey mean then? Are there demos?
 
This is brilliant stuff -many thanks Uncle Peter.
One of the biggest tragedies of Morrissey's decision to market himself as a 'solo' act (when he hasn't played or written a single note of music) is that we never hear about the musical side of the songs other than some vague comment about how 'strong' they are.
It's fantastic to hear these little anecdotes e.g. where Boz wrote Paris, the fact that it was Boz's wife's idea to put the accordion type sound on the genius 'When Last I Spoke to Carol', and all the other snippets. So much more interesting than hearing Morrissey bang on about the meat industry or the flood of immigrants for the billionth time.
Wouldn't it be great to have a joint interview with Morrissey and Boz, hear what they're like together (serious, awkward, matey?), with more stories about how songs are developed, who makes the decisions about arrangements etc. We tend only to get the musical background to songs in books like Mozipedia (and these comments by Boz will surely feature heavily in any update).
I wonder if Boz had to check with Morrissey about doing this interview?
Also, interesting to hear him talk about the new album. Morrissey said that it was ready to go way back earlier in the year, but Boz tells us they haven't started recording it. What did Morrissey mean then? Are there demos?

I would personally like to read an interview like this but with Jesse Tobias...I would LOVE to hear him tell stories about how he writes such wonderful and endearing music and how he was inspired to do so.
 
I would personally like to read an interview like this but with Jesse Tobias...I would LOVE to hear him tell stories about how he writes such wonderful and endearing music and how he was inspired to do so.

Quite - Tobias's songwriting does leave a little to be desired although his best efforts are easily better than Alain's and Boz's worst. Give me 'In the Future' or 'Ok by myself' over 'Father Must Be Killed' or 'Good in your time' any day.
Also, he's much better than Alain when it comes to playing Smiths songs. Jesse's versions of 'I Know It's Over' and 'Please Please Please' are as sublime as the originals, and the current tour's 'Still Ill' is pretty hard to fault. Remember the mess Alain used to make of Smiths songs in the late 90s? Is It Really So Strange and Paint A Vulgar Picture were bordering on unrecognisable!
Still, we clearly need Alain back in the songwriting fold - an album of standard Tobias fare and modern-day Boz contributions does not augur well (Although Action and Art-hounds are decent enough).
 
(Although Action and Art-hounds are decent enough).

I clearly disagree. Action is - like many other songs - built up from standard harmonies and arrangement, and musically rather boring, in my humble and insignificant opinion. It's the Moz's lyrics, voice and melodies that do the trick, as always. From the new songs, Scandinavia is the only one that touches me both concerning lyrics AND music; the rest of the new songs are ... well maybe you're right, they're decent enough but I want more :D More strings, more trumpets, more orchestral epicness, assuming that word exists - to sum it up, more musical drama. The perfect Morrissey song is musically as witty as the lyrics, which might be hard to achieve but only fools and accomplished adults stop dreaming, right?
 
I clearly disagree. Action is - like many other songs - built up from standard harmonies and arrangement, and musically rather boring, in my humble and insignificant opinion. It's the Moz's lyrics, voice and melodies that do the trick, as always. From the new songs, Scandinavia is the only one that touches me both concerning lyrics AND music; the rest of the new songs are ... well maybe you're right, they're decent enough but I want more :D More strings, more trumpets, more orchestral epicness, assuming that word exists - to sum it up, more musical drama. The perfect Morrissey song is musically as witty as the lyrics, which might be hard to achieve but only fools and accomplished adults stop dreaming, right?

When I said they were 'decent enough' it wasn't really meant as a big compliment! Unfortunately, Morrissey's lyrics seem to be continuing their downward spiral. 'Tongue against tongue and we've only just begun' from 'Action' sounds like a lyric from some dire mid-80s soft rock song. And 'can't get a table for fat Aunt Mable' is one of the worst lyrics of all time. We can only hope it doesn't make the final version.
 
When I said they were 'decent enough' it wasn't really meant as a big compliment! Unfortunately, Morrissey's lyrics seem to be continuing their downward spiral. 'Tongue against tongue and we've only just begun' from 'Action' sounds like a lyric from some dire mid-80s soft rock song. And 'can't get a table for fat Aunt Mable' is one of the worst lyrics of all time. We can only hope it doesn't make the final version.

I like that Mable line actually. It arises a whole image of a certain situation, with so few words. But concerning lyrics I'm a claqueur anyway, I tell myself that "I just don't get the joke" when I don't get the joke.
 
I clearly disagree. Action is - like many other songs - built up from standard harmonies and arrangement, and musically rather boring, in my humble and insignificant opinion. It's the Moz's lyrics, voice and melodies that do the trick, as always. From the new songs, Scandinavia is the only one that touches me both concerning lyrics AND music; the rest of the new songs are ... well maybe you're right, they're decent enough but I want more :D More strings, more trumpets, more orchestral epicness, assuming that word exists - to sum it up, more musical drama. The perfect Morrissey song is musically as witty as the lyrics, which might be hard to achieve but only fools and accomplished adults stop dreaming, right?
I have to agree. The palette of guitar band with the odd synth. whilst being a fine and wonderful thing, has been a staple for Moz and it would be great to see him extend his range. There are a couple of songs (Never Played Symphonies being one) where he appears to use an orchestra (or a synth using samples) and they're excellent. My guess though, if he is scrabbling around for a recording contract, is that the expense of an orchestra will be beyond him. Shame.
 
Quite - Tobias's songwriting does leave a little to be desired although his best efforts are easily better than Alain's and Boz's worst. Give me 'In the Future' or 'Ok by myself' over 'Father Must Be Killed' or 'Good in your time' any day.
Also, he's much better than Alain when it comes to playing Smiths songs. Jesse's versions of 'I Know It's Over' and 'Please Please Please' are as sublime as the originals, and the current tour's 'Still Ill' is pretty hard to fault. Remember the mess Alain used to make of Smiths songs in the late 90s? Is It Really So Strange and Paint A Vulgar Picture were bordering on unrecognisable!
Still, we clearly need Alain back in the songwriting fold - an album of standard Tobias fare and modern-day Boz contributions does not augur well (Although Action and Art-hounds are decent enough).

A) Saying Jesse's best efforts are better than Alain or Boz's worst is a moot point. Jesse has been around 7 years...do you know how many songs he has in the top 50 fan voted Morrissey solo songs? Zero. Do you know how many Alain and Boz have from their first 5 years with Morrissey? Twenty four. We can't count 7 years because of the wilderness years, however, if you count 7 non-consecutive years, then they have 32 of the Top 50 Morrissey songs in their first 7 years with him. That is all that needs to be said. He is simply outclassed and not worthy to be in the band. His very presence and participation in any concert or album immediately lowers the quality of it.

B) You can't recognize this? It sounds almost EXACTLY the same...


The whole "he's much better than Alain on Smiths songs" claim is totally baseless. Jesse can't even play Alain or Boz's songs properly (see 'You're The One For Me, Fatty" and "Reader Meet Author"), what makes anyone think he can pull off Smiths songs better than Alain? Hell, how can anyone even make sense out of that distorted jumbled mess he plays anyway? There is a reason they have his volume turned down so low, you know...psst, it's because he sucks.
 
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