Gene's Martin Rossiter Interview, Comparisons With Morrissey - sabotagetimes.com

Martin Rossiter Interviewed By Jon Wilde For sabotagetimes.com

Excerpt -

Throughout your time with Gene, you were routinely compared with Morrissey. How much of a burden did that become?

I liked The Smiths a lot. From an early age, I’d always felt a sense of “otherness” and, to me, The Smiths were the musical manifestation of that otherness. I enjoyed the fact that Morrissey would use language in a way that was very different from any other singer of the time. Morrissey did cast a long shadow and became a kind of shadow that I could never quite get away from. I did get fed up with the comparisons because his name would keep coming up whenever Gene was written about. The comparisons came up because, like Morrissey, I sing in an English accent which is surprisingly rare when you think about it. Like Morrissey I sing with a vibrato. I suppose we both have an interest in the human condition. But, as far as I’m concerned, that’s where it ends.

Full Interview - http://www.sabotagetimes.com/music/...rviewed-pulp-and-blur-can-fck-off-to-butlins/

 

[Irregular Regular]

Martin Rossiter Interviewed By Jon Wilde For sabotagetimes.com

Excerpt -

Throughout your time with Gene, you were routinely compared with Morrissey. How much of a burden did that become?

I liked The Smiths a lot. From an early age, I’d always felt a sense of “otherness” and, to me, The Smiths were the musical manifestation of that otherness. I enjoyed the fact that Morrissey would use language in a way that was very different from any other singer of the time. Morrissey did cast a long shadow and became a kind of shadow that I could never quite get away from. I did get fed up with the comparisons because his name would keep coming up whenever Gene was written about. The comparisons came up because, like Morrissey, I sing in an English accent which is surprisingly rare when you think about it. Like Morrissey I sing with a vibrato. I suppose we both have an interest in the human condition. But, as far as I’m concerned, that’s where it ends.

Full Interview - http://www.sabotagetimes.com/music/...rviewed-pulp-and-blur-can-fck-off-to-butlins/

Nice interview, thanks.
Going to see him tomorrow night at the Deaf Institute and can't wait.

 

[realitybites]

Love this: Martin discussing Gene days - "You certainly wouldn’t have found us throwing television sets into hotel pools or any of that nonsense. If you consider rock’n’roll to be some kind of artistic expression and rebellion, chucking a TV set out of a window is the antithesis of rock’n’roll. Some poor sod has to clear that mess up afterwards. It’s Thatcherite behaviour, the living embodiment of self."

 

[Anon Anon Anon]

No mentions of The Smiths or Our moz here, but an excellent (first part of a) podcast interview with Martin, recorded last night.

http://themouthmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/martin-rossiter-the-mouthcast-part-one/

 

[realitybites]

No mentions of The Smiths or Our moz here, but an excellent (first part of a) podcast interview with Martin, recorded last night.

http://themouthmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/martin-rossiter-the-mouthcast-part-one/

Apparently he really got tired of the Moz comparison during his time with Gene. So maybe he was happy that the interviewer didn't mention Morrissey/The Smiths. Nice interview.

 

[Ben Budd]

I couldn't get to last night's gig here in Manchester due to my present poverty and I am absolutely gutted. I saw him last year at the same venue and he was simply superb. If you're umming and ahhing about listening to his work, stop whatever you are doing and give it a listen.

 

[Anonymous]

Apparently he really got tired of the Moz comparison during his time with Gene. So maybe he was happy that the interviewer didn't mention Morrissey/The Smiths. Nice interview.

If he got tired of them, he should have stopped trying to hang around him and doing third rate impressions of him even though he is nothing like Moz
Gene and now Martins solos stuff is Morrissey rip off time. Most of martins fan base is Morrissey derived.
The Moz verdit on Martin is simple, he got him to sing in the entrance at meltdown and didn't want anything to do with him.
The quote about singing in an English accent is stupid, its not 1967 lots of acts sing in an English accent. When Gene joined the Brit pop band wagon they all sang in an English accent-what makes this comment worse is Martin is Welsh!!!!
So he is of course being just as dishonest as an English person singing in an American accent.
However, he does have some talent.

 

[robert]

Just got the new release (and the covers EP and live album as well). Will hopefully get to listen tonight...

 

[Maurice E]

The album's been picking up some great reviews - seen nothing but 8s and 9s out of 10. Shame it's got such an awful title.
Worth noting that Rossiter has genuinely gone solo, too, i.e. he writes the words, the music, and plays the instruments (so not solo in the Morrissey sense which just meant a change of band and songwriters).

 

[Kewpie]

Re:

The album's been picking up some great reviews - seen nothing but 8s and 9s out of 10. Shame it's got such an awful title.
Worth noting that Rossiter has genuinely gone solo, too, i.e. he writes the words, the music, and plays the instruments (so not solo in the Morrissey sense which just meant a change of band and songwriters).

Good grief, what's wrong with you?
Almost all the time you can't help criticising Morrissey, why do you do this?

Morrissey does not play any instrument, nothing wrong with it.


I like Martin's new materials and hope he'll keep producing good songs.

 

[realitybites]

If he got tired of them, he should have stopped trying to hang around him and doing third rate impressions of him even though he is nothing like Moz
Gene and now Martins solos stuff is Morrissey rip off time. Most of martins fan base is Morrissey derived.
The Moz verdit on Martin is simple, he got him to sing in the entrance at meltdown and didn't want anything to do with him.
The quote about singing in an English accent is stupid, its not 1967 lots of acts sing in an English accent. When Gene joined the Brit pop band wagon they all sang in an English accent-what makes this comment worse is Martin is Welsh!!!!
So he is of course being just as dishonest as an English person singing in an American accent.
However, he does have some talent.

I'm no expert. But Martin's solo stuff sounds nothing like Moz's to me. They both are great artists. I can understand how any artist gets tired of being compared to those who came before them. He obviously respects Morrissey though and sites him as an influence.

 

[robert]

Just listened to the covers EP. Yawn. Just MR and his keyboard.

 

[realitybites]

Just listened to the covers EP. Yawn. Just MR and his keyboard.

I think it is that minimalism that makes his songs so special. I love the piano on this track...

 

[Anon Anon Anon]

Part Two of The Mouth Magazine's three-part podcast interview with Martin Rossiter.

http://themouthmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/martin-rossiter-the-mouthcast-2/

 

[Anonymous]

I'm no expert. But Martin's solo stuff sounds nothing like Moz's to me. They both are great artists. I can understand how any artist gets tired of being compared to those who came before them. He obviously respects Morrissey though and sites him as an influence.

Yes, I wasn't attacking you or martin, the trouble its a bit late for him to play the moz thing down. This who lp is based on the song I've Changed My Plea To Guilty. Martins stuff is ok but to compare him with people like Moz is foolish,foolish,foolish...
His whole act is bases on Moz, that why he gets asked about Moz.
Gene were just also rans like the Bluetones indie by numbers for the ghetto tribe.Martin solo is just an extension of that, nice little songs no more no less.
Upload the lp someone for all to hear.
You will see i am right

 

[Anonymous]

I'm no expert. But Martin's solo stuff sounds nothing like Moz's to me. They both are great artists. I can understand how any artist gets tired of being compared to those who came before them. He obviously respects Morrissey though and sites him as an influence.

Why has nobody put the new lp on hear? They put other peoples on here.
"sites him as an influence" that is a dramatic understatement, his whole career is in debt to Morrissey.
This LP really is I Long Player version of Morrissey doing I Have Changed My Plea. To put Martin on the level as Moz is stupid in the extreme it worse than comparing Cliff Richard with Elvis.

 

[ACTON]

Gene was a great band,in large part due to Steve Mason's guitar playing/songwriting and Rossiters distinct and excellent voice. I'm looking forward to hearing the new solo album. Anyone who tries to compare Martin with Moz has too much time on their hands and too little variety in their music collection.

 

[mozzalini999]

I'll admit I was first drawn to Gene due to the Morrissey comparisons, but I never really thought they were a second rate act. As for lumping them in with the Britpop crowd - just lazy journalism and a need to pidgeon-hole.
I've listened to Martin's solo album and I have been blown away by it. It's sparse piano and vocal songs are achingly beautiful and have moved me more than anything Morrissey has done for years (and I am a die-hard Moz fan who refuses to accept he's past it).
Nobody's musical output is unique, everyone's songs are influenced by someone. Get a grip people and celebrate quality.

 

[robert]

Why has nobody put the new lp on hear? They put other peoples on here.
"sites him as an influence" that is a dramatic understatement, his whole career is in debt to Morrissey.
This LP really is I Long Player version of Morrissey doing I Have Changed My Plea. To put Martin on the level as Moz is stupid in the extreme it worse than comparing Cliff Richard with Elvis.

Nobody has put it on "hear" because it was just released yesterday.

 

[Anonymous]

You're all whingeing and complaining about what journalists think of Rossiter. None of Gene's fans thought this comparison made any sense at all. I know it's what most of you do best but quit whingeing.

- marred.