Morrissey A-Z: "Dear God Please Help Me"

I'm only talking about wee adjustments.

His vision - but better execution.

(It could be worse.)
Oh, I wasn't referring to your idea in particular here. More of a general comment.

Changing all of his album covers is more than a small adjustment though. They all were a product of their own time and circumstances. "Cleaning up" by an external team is not something his work needs. The chaos, untidiness, the mess, - it's all part of it - for better or worse - as infuriating as it may be (and it has been, especially regarding documentation and credits).

The only person who could clean it up in a satisfactory manner is him and he won't, of course.
 
Oh, I wasn't referring to your idea in particular here. More of a general comment.

Changing all of his album covers is more than a small adjustment though. They all were a product of their own time and circumstances. "Cleaning up" by an external team is not something his work needs. The chaos, untidiness, the mess, - it's all part of it - for better or worse - as infuriating as it may be (and it has been, especially regarding documentation and credits).

The only person who could clean it up in a satisfactory manner is him and he won't, of course.

Picture quality at least... !

I wish he would take more time over details again. Even if it seems pointless now - art can have its moment later. As long as it exists.
 
Yeah - he's been very visually confused since the Smiths ended.

Your Arsenal is pure filth (love it), Bona is him at his most Imperial Camp.. then there's the 60s parodies like Ringleader, which I don't think read well enough as parodies. Ringleader keeps reminding me of a line I once read about a star looking like he was in a shitkicker's idea of a monkey suit.

But I expect the budgets have been terrible, he's dragged his heels, deadlines loomed.

He is high/low culture - but it needs more care.
Interestingly, I find his sense of dress was the most decent around this time with his Italian (?) suits and generally, dressing smart. Not the ridiculous designer flares....
 
Why shouldn't we question Morrissey's choices, when he himself seems often unsatisfied with them too. Hence messing around with tracklists on reissues, often in anachronistic ways. For instance putting Teachers and Southpaw in the middle of the Southpaw Grammar was a terrible idea, because that just shows how excessive their length is. They work as album bookends, but on their own less so.

As for the covers, they are what they are. Covers for Kill Uncle, Bona Drag etc. are iconic, you shouldn't mess with them. Even the ones that are not successful are of their time and rightly so. Releasing the albums with different covers is just Stalinistic rewriting of history.
 
Picture quality at least... !

I wish he would take more time over details again. Even if it seems pointless now - art can have its moment later. As long as it exists.

The thing is... we don't really know anything about his process at this point in time.
I only recall one single comment about artwork from the last decade or so - people never ask the interesting questions, do they?
Well, except "John Riggers", at least in this case.

"JOHN: What is your favourite sleeve, and worst favourite?

MORRISSEY: I didn’t ever like the original Kill Uncle or Southpaw Grammar, or Maladjusted - which was the worst. My favourite is the Greatest Hits image. People think I meticulously design the album sleeves myself, but I don’t."

So he changed the ones he didn't like for the re-issues and kept the ones he liked - which, in the case of Kill Uncle was quite detrimental. But there was probably a reason behind it and the same might be true for CS and IANADOAC (not the hideous original LIHS though, which he had nothing to do with and subsequently changed for the deluxe).

SandieGlassWall.jpeg


KillUncleRedesign.jpeg
 
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The thing is... we don't really know anything about his process at this point in time.
I only recall one single comment about artwork from the last decade or so - people never ask the interesting questions, do they?
Well, except "John Riggers", at least in this case.

"JOHN: What is your favourite sleeve, and worst favourite?

MORRISSEY: I didn’t ever like the original Kill Uncle or Southpaw Grammar, or Maladjusted - which was the worst. My favourite is the Greatest Hits image. People think I meticulously design the album sleeves myself, but I don’t."

So he changed the ones he didn't like for the re-issues and kept the ones he liked - which, in the case of Kill Uncle was quite detrimental. But there was probably a reason behind it and the same might be true for CS and IANADOAC

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View attachment 68766

The "Take Moz Bowling" cover.
 
Why shouldn't we question Morrissey's choices, when he himself seems often unsatisfied with them too.

Or why complain, when Morrissey is already doing the complaining for us? :lbf: let’s thank him instead.

Hence messing around with tracklists on reissues, often in anachronistic ways. For instance putting Teachers and Southpaw in the middle of the Southpaw Grammar was a terrible idea,

I’m glad he didn’t do that.

because that just shows how excessive their length is. They work as album bookends,

I agree, though that long intro for some is a bit much.


but on their own less so.

agree, they weren’t singles, and do work as intended, album tracks.

As for the covers, they are what they are.

agree.

Covers for Kill Uncle, Bona Drag etc. are iconic, you shouldn't mess with them. Even the ones that are not successful are of their time and rightly so. Releasing the albums with different covers is just Stalinistic rewriting of history.

that’s a bit much :lbf:
 
One of the better songs off Ringleader
I’m not a bug lover or the album but Dear God, is a great song.
 
Well if that’s the bug they should love, then they should find another site to do it on. :lbf:
I think I've only ever listened to this once before but... it's a covid song 😳
 
The thing is... we don't really know anything about his process at this point in time.
I only recall one single comment about artwork from the last decade or so - people never ask the interesting questions, do they?
Well, except "John Riggers", at least in this case.

"JOHN: What is your favourite sleeve, and worst favourite?

MORRISSEY: I didn’t ever like the original Kill Uncle or Southpaw Grammar, or Maladjusted - which was the worst. My favourite is the Greatest Hits image. People think I meticulously design the album sleeves myself, but I don’t."

So he changed the ones he didn't like for the re-issues and kept the ones he liked - which, in the case of Kill Uncle was quite detrimental. But there was probably a reason behind it and the same might be true for CS and IANADOAC (not the hideous original LIHS though, which he had nothing to do with and subsequently changed for the deluxe).

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View attachment 68766

Kill Uncle's so odd - it's iconic.

The deluxe Low In High School is lovely.

I don't think he's a good judge of his own pictures.
 
Interestingly, I find his sense of dress was the most decent around this time with his Italian (?) suits and generally, dressing smart. Not the ridiculous designer flares....

Yeah - he looked really good in his Italian years.

I'm just not keen on the cover. Probably too glossy.
 
Kill Uncle's so odd - it's iconic.

The deluxe Low In High School is lovely.

I don't think he's a good judge of his own pictures.
Of course not. But who is, really. That makes it interesting, though.

The original Kill Uncle is messianic.
 
One more thing regarding Dear God - I think the way the press labelled this as a "coming out song" (what? He'd already done that over 20 years ago) and pestered him about it (which may or may not have been the cause of him changing the pronouns in live performances later on) was shameful and showed that there was still an urgent need to normalise portrayals of homoeroticism in pop music.
 
Like the whole Ringleader album, this song promised so much but delivered so little. It's just so forgettable.
In the Future and Life is a Pigsty were pretty good though.
 
Somewhat comforted to see that I share the same sentiments as many people in this thread. I think this is one of the most overrated songs in Morrissey's career, surely done a great disservice by having been so hyped-up before the record came out. I wanted to like this so badly, but there's just practically nothing there. I'm always rooting for the acoustic (or at the very least non-rocking) tracks on a new Morrissey record, as it seems like there's always a little more possibility in restraint. But this one just feels like a missed opportunity.
 
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