Morrissey A-Z: "Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Our song today is this Morrissey/Street composition, a B-side on on the "Interesting Drug" single and then included on Bona Drag.

What do we think?
 
Great song. Ooh, those little things do make such a big difference. Kind crinkles around the eyes, for instance. Being a good listener.
 
One of my favorites. I associate it with Sweet and Tender Hooligan, and that one is maybe slightly better but I feel disloyal saying that. 10/10
 
A glorious slice of early Morrissey!

And that ending, oh my god, it still gets me every time: "Leave me alone, I was only singing." Just perfect.
 
Another perfect Drag pop song, with the Sparks-ian keys and the infectious vocal melody. The performances show the band at their highest proficiency, with Moz making that ending. The lyrics are effective and tongue twisting without being gimmicky, and pack some real punches despite their veiled qualities. It’s a shame it was only really played in medley during concert performances; it would be nice to see him resurrect this one in Vegas.
10/10
 
it is one of his best pop songs,lyrics are funny,voice is decent,music is great.
9 bicycle chains/10 tones of kindness.vivaM.
 
This was a bit of an acquired taste for me... at the time I much prefered songs like Interesting Drug and Last of the Famous... but I've really come to appreciate the brilliance of this song. 9/10

Oh yes, and on the YA tour, the transition from this song to My Insatiable One was sublime.

 
Fantastic early Moz track; great vocals, drums, bass. The wonderful 'leave me alone' part is the highlight for me, as others allude to.
Almost a 'Smiths' track if you consider the personnel involved on this.

According to PJLM: "This song was written and recorded at the end of the sessions that supplied the material for the singles "The Last Of The Famous International Playboys" and "Interesting Drug", in November/December 1988 at Wool Hall Studios in Bath, with producer Stephen Street. The musicians on this recording were Craig Gannon (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass), Mike Joyce (drums), Stephen Street (keyboards) and Neil Taylor (second guitar)."
 
The 'wielding a bicycle chain' line makes me laugh hysterically, it's just so early solo Morrissey. A welcome addition to the setlist in 2004 when live keyboards became part of the tour.
 
A lovely little b-side and a deliberate nod to Sparks:



It was doubtless written very quickly, but it's also very likeable.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 169th from 264 solo songs.
 
Even though I can't do much with the Sparks, it's exactly such little twisted pop pieces that made him irresistible to me as a solo artist, even before the Your Arsenal "Liberation". I think they took a lot of time in the studio back then to adapt everything to him and were very concerned about every single and its B-sides.
 
A lovely little b-side and a deliberate nod to Sparks:



It was doubtless written very quickly, but it's also very likeable.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 169th from 264 solo songs.

Russel's voice is sometimes hard to bear and that makes the actually quite good songs a bit harder to like. Thank God, Morrissey does not dare the falsetto permanently.
 
Russel's voice is sometimes hard to bear and that makes the actually quite good songs a bit harder to like. Thank God, Morrissey does not dare the falsetto permanently.
That's highly subjective. I've never found Russell's voice remotely "hard to bear", nor the songs "hard to like".
 
It has been at times my fave sing-along on Drag and probably in my top two lyrically on the album. It has the openness, fullness of faster songs I love on Drag while remaining midtempo. Just beautiful. So many sprouting songs on BD.
 
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