Morrissey's singing voice - when was it best?
- Thread starter Maurice E
- Start date
mozsupportsrovers
Morrissey
I Went for 2000-present as i feel his voice on record is much more stronger and powerful than ever before. Although saying this his voice on certain songs like Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning and Southpaw and I started Something are for me some of his best.
VacancyForABackscrubber
New Member
And all of those who sing on key, they stole the notion from you and me so....
Worm
Taste the diffidence
Autotune? On his recent albums? I can't hear it. Is this mentioned somewhere in the press? I'd be pretty surprised.
King Leer, I was talking about all of his songs in the 00s. There was a lot of filler, to put it nicely. But the good stuff was good, and yes, I loved "Years of Refusal". His lyrics are blunter and sparser, which suits him now-- they're not the word-orgies of yore. I guess what I mean is that I'd like to hear this voice sing those lyrics. I know he does this live, but it's different in a studio. I'd love to hear him re-record, say, "The Queen Is Dead" in 2010, just to hear his peak voice do it (and not in breathless yelps from a stage).
Anyway.
King Leer, I was talking about all of his songs in the 00s. There was a lot of filler, to put it nicely. But the good stuff was good, and yes, I loved "Years of Refusal". His lyrics are blunter and sparser, which suits him now-- they're not the word-orgies of yore. I guess what I mean is that I'd like to hear this voice sing those lyrics. I know he does this live, but it's different in a studio. I'd love to hear him re-record, say, "The Queen Is Dead" in 2010, just to hear his peak voice do it (and not in breathless yelps from a stage).
Anyway.
mozmic_dancer
One of the Good Guys
I don't believe he ever used autotune. Doesn't make sense for him to do so. It's widely documented that he believes in the natural voice. In tune, outta tune -- it is what it is.
Jones, are you referring to that distortion at the end of "I'm OK By Myself"? If so, that may have been a Jerry Finn decision to use that. I never understood the disagreement between Moz and Finn regarding that song.
He sounds great now, but I voted "no preference". I enjoy hearing the progression over the years of his vocal delivery and timber.
For me, it was his voice that I heard first, then his words.
Jones, are you referring to that distortion at the end of "I'm OK By Myself"? If so, that may have been a Jerry Finn decision to use that. I never understood the disagreement between Moz and Finn regarding that song.
He sounds great now, but I voted "no preference". I enjoy hearing the progression over the years of his vocal delivery and timber.
For me, it was his voice that I heard first, then his words.
Last edited:
Anaesthesine
Angel of Distemper
I voted "no preference." Morrissey's voice has had different strengths at different phases in his career, but every phase has been remarkable in its own right.
His vocals in the 90s had such tenderness and such a velvety, willowy strength; I think they're perfect. His vocals in the naughts lost a bit of their ambiguous charm, but were indisputably stronger, and more controlled.
Of course, I first heard him in the early Smiths, and though those were his least polished "performances," his audacious, slightly strained, youthful voice had an intensity all its own.
As for all this autotune nonsense, I don't for a moment believe that Morrissey would willingly subject his vocals to such gimmickry - if not out of pride, than out of principle. It would be terribly disappointing to me if such were the case. Perhaps someone who was there during the recording process could clear this up once and for all.
In any event, Morrissey's singing voice is one of nature's great wonders. Should he find himself unable to record without electronic "correction," however, he should either embrace the irregularities (which I believe he has, given songs like On The Streets I Ran) or give up singing and start writing and reading aloud. I'm sure he'd be a genius with the spoken word, given what little I've heard.
His vocals in the 90s had such tenderness and such a velvety, willowy strength; I think they're perfect. His vocals in the naughts lost a bit of their ambiguous charm, but were indisputably stronger, and more controlled.
Of course, I first heard him in the early Smiths, and though those were his least polished "performances," his audacious, slightly strained, youthful voice had an intensity all its own.
As for all this autotune nonsense, I don't for a moment believe that Morrissey would willingly subject his vocals to such gimmickry - if not out of pride, than out of principle. It would be terribly disappointing to me if such were the case. Perhaps someone who was there during the recording process could clear this up once and for all.
In any event, Morrissey's singing voice is one of nature's great wonders. Should he find himself unable to record without electronic "correction," however, he should either embrace the irregularities (which I believe he has, given songs like On The Streets I Ran) or give up singing and start writing and reading aloud. I'm sure he'd be a genius with the spoken word, given what little I've heard.
Worm
Taste the diffidence
I'd like to know more in general about how his vocals are recorded, and how his producers are finding subtle ways of emphasizing them in the mixes. I don't think these are "gimmicks" quite-- and certainly not autotune tomfoolery-- but I do think that his voice has a stronger, more immediate sound that isn't entirely due to any changes in his singing style. His producers and studio engineers must be helping in small ways, too.
This can be a magazine serise / book / radio (TV) programme project.
Interviewing John Porter, Grant Showbiz, Stephen Street, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Steve Lilywhite, Tony Visconti and Gustavo Santaolala.
Very sad that Mick Ronson and Jerry Finn aren't no longer with us.
Last edited:
troubleluvsme
giddyup
This.
viva pffft.
New Member
Thank you for sharing this.
Jay-Z + Harvey Keitel =
As for when Morrissey's singing voice was the best....I think I'll have to keep thinking about that. Personally, one of the reasons I love The Smiths so much was because of Morrissey's young voice, how it was still high pitched and scratchy, full of emotion and not quite developed. I think of songs like, 'Jeane' and his vocals are why I enjoy that song so much. The strain in his voice seems very pure and real. But maybe that's just me?
You can hear the autotune very clearly on Years of Refusal. However, I'm not sure this was something that was within Morrissey's control. There are certain aspects of that album that makes me think that the production wasn't really finished before Finn died. The weird lisping effect in Paris for example, that just sounds like a bad recording mistake. I think Finn died and they had no money left for the album to be properly finished. Perhaps if Finn had lived the post recording process would have been longer and discussions would have led to the autotune being toned down quite a bit.
Worm
Taste the diffidence
Could you please be specific on where it was used in a particular song on the album? I'd like to listen for it. I really didn't notice anything.
Thanks.
Anaesthesine
Angel of Distemper
Vocal production techniques have certainly changed over time, and Morrissey's vocal "presence" has been very strong of late, no question. Personally, I was thrilled with the production on "I am Two People," when the producer gave Morrissey that very dry, filtered, trip-hoppy moment in the middle. It was thrilling to hear That Voice from a different angle.
This can be a magazine serise / book / radio (TV) programme project.
Interviewing John Porter, Grant Showbiz, Stephen Street, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Steve Lilywhite, Tony Visconti and Gustavo Santaolala.
Lovely idea Kewpie, but I bet Morrissey would rather eat a bucket of fried chicken than allow a detailed discussion of the intimate details of his vocal "performances." Takes the mystery right out of it.
Yes, it is indeed.
It can be done if the interviewer is carefully asking questions.
Interviewees don't have to reveal emotional process, but concentrate on techinical aspects and what kind of advice or suggestion they made etc.
The verses of It's Not Your Birthday Anymore. Its that slightly metallic, wobbly underwater sound. It's pretty unmistakeable. The bends in the melody are too smooth.
Yep, Peter sent a question to Uncut, his question was good enough to get the answer.
Chrissie Hynde on Morrissey Uncut May 09
Last edited:
well, here you are - Morrissey singing the same song (boy with thorn) but over 20 years apart. have a good listen and think about which is best.
Smiths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE1e...3A9738CA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42
Morrissey 'solo' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iv0B2cBUDw
would be handy to have further examples of the same song sung years apart, so that we can compare like with like (so to speak)...
Smiths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE1e...3A9738CA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42
Morrissey 'solo' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iv0B2cBUDw
would be handy to have further examples of the same song sung years apart, so that we can compare like with like (so to speak)...
mozmic_dancer
One of the Good Guys
If there is an artistic reason he wanted to distort his voice, like the atmosphere of the music calls for it, that's one thing, but I don't believe he is that overly concerned about being in tune or in pitch that he would use an autotune for that reason.
The man is singing his own song, in his own voice.
The man is singing his own song, in his own voice.
Worm
Taste the diffidence
I hear what you're saying. I guess I don't know the digital effects (autotune?) well enough to say for sure if his voice was altered after the fact or if he was deliberately modulating his voice in that way. I'm guessing it was his natural voice.
If it was enhanced, well, it was done in a way that wasn't too offensive to my ears. I'd be disappointed in principle but the song doesn't sound artificial and doesn't really alter my original answer: he's singing better than ever.
Anyway thanks for pointing it out.
Similar threads
