The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 118: MOONRIVER

[Houdini]

Let's compile our own Morrissey/Smiths Top 100 by rating all 232 Moz/Smiths-songs.
And instead of chronologically, let's do them alphabetically.

Song for Today: MOONRIVER
Forgot this song yesterday, it was supposed to be song of the day before Munich...

Voting should be something along these lines:
10: Perfection
9: Near perfect, brilliant
8: Really good Moz/Smiths song
7: Good Moz/Smiths song
6: Decent, OK, Nothing special
5: Uninspired
4: Poor
3: Bad
2: Should never have been released
1: He/They should be ashamed

The songs so far (voting is still open):

Part 117: Munich Air Disaster 1958
Part 116: Money Changes Everything
Part 115: Miserable Lie
Part 114: Michael's Bones
Part 113: Mexico
Part 112: Meat Is Murder
Part 111: Margaret On The Guillotine
Part 110: Maladjusted
Part 109: Lucky Lisp
Part 108: Lost
Part 107: London
Part 106: Little Man, What Now?
Part 105: Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
Part 104: Life Is A Pigsty
Part 103: Let the Right One Slip In
Part 102: Let Me Kiss You
Part 101: Late Night, Maudlin Street
Part 100: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Part 99: King Leer
Part 98: Journalists Who Lie
Part 97: Jeane
Part 96: Jack The Ripper
Part 95: It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
Part 94: Is It Really So Strange?
Part 93: Irish Blood, English Heart
Part 92: Interlude
Part 91: Interesting Drug
Part 90: In The Future When All's Well
Part 89: If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me
Part 88: I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
Part 87: (I'm) The End Of The Family Line
Part 86: I'm Not Sorry
Part 85: I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now
Part 84: I'd Love To
Part 83: I Won't Share You
Part 82: I Will See You In Far Off Places
Part 81: I Want The One I Can't Have
Part 80: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Part 79: I Like You
Part 78: I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Part 77: I Know It's Over
Part 76: I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
Part 75: I Knew I Was Next
Part 74: I Keep Mine Hidden
Part 73: I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
Part 72: I Have Forgiven Jesus
Part 71: I Don't Owe You Anything
Part 70: I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
Part 69: I Can Have Both
Part 68: I Am Two People
Part 67: I Am Hated For Loving
Part 66: Human Being
Part 65: How Soon Is Now?
Part 64: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Part 63: Hold On To Your Friends
Part 62: Heir Apparent
Part 61: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Part 60: He Knows I'd Love To See Him
Part 59: He Cried
Part 58: Have-A-Go Merchant
Part 57: Handsome Devil
Part 56: Hand In Glove
Part 55: Half A Person
Part 54: Hairdresser On Fire
Part 53: Good Looking Man About Town
Part 52: Golden Lights
Part 51: Glamorous Glue
Part 50: Girlfriend In A Coma
Part 49: Girl Least Likely To
Part 48: Girl Afraid
Part 47: Get Off The Stage
Part 46: Ganglord
Part 45: Friday Mourning
Part 44: Frankly Mr Shankly
Part 43: Found Found Found
Part 42: First Of The Gang To Die
Part 41: Everyday Is Like Sunday
Part 40: East West
Part 39: Driving Your Girlfriend Home
Part 38: Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Part 37: Do Your Best And Don't Worry
Part 36: Disappointed
Part 35: Dial-A-Cliche
Part 34: Death Of A Disco Dancer
Part 33: Death At One's Elbow
Part 32: Dear God Please Help Me
Part 31: Dagenham Dave
Part 30: Cosmic Dancer
Part 29: Come Back To Camden
Part 28: Christian Dior
Part 27: Certain People I Know
Part 26: Cemetry Gates
Part 25: Break Up The Family
Part 24: Boxers
Part 23: Black-Eyed Susan
Part 22: Billy Budd
Part 21: Bigmouth Strikes Again
Part 20: Best Friend On The Payroll
Part 19: Bengali In Platforms
Part 18: Barbarism Begins At Home
Part 17: Back To The Old House
Part 16: At Last I Am Born
Part 15: At Amber
Part 14: Asleep
Part 13: Ask
Part 12: Asian Rut
Part 11: Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together
Part 10: Ammunition
Part 9: America Is Not The World
Part 8: Ambitious Outsiders
Part 7: Alsatian Cousin
Part 6: Alma Matters
Part 5: All The Lazy Dykes
Part 4: Accept Yourself
Part 3: A Swallow On My Neck
Part 2: A Song From Under The Floorboards
Part 1: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours

 

[the more you explore me!]

i quite like his singing on the track but the crying at the end spoils it for me.

 

[snapyou]

Totally perfect.
Loved when he did it live

 

[HIM]

i actually like it and i like the crying, but it's far too long. i'm not going to vote, though.

 

[Radio Berlin]

I'm a big fan of the original, and morrissey's version is even better!

 

[Comtesse]

An absolutely gorgeous cover version - one of the best of Morrissey's career. As usual, Morrissey takes a beautiful song, tweaks a few lines, and makes it even MORE beautiful and melancholy. In this case Morrissey takes the two most awkward lines, "Two drifters off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see" and "We're after the same rainbow's end, waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend" and changes them to the endlessly poignant, "Two drifters off to see the world, I'm not so sure the world deserves us" and "We're after the same rainbow's end, it's just around the bend, it's always just around the bend". Genius.

And then the addition of the crying sample just adds to the eerily melancholy effect...

And then that voice!!!!!! And such beautiful music. How can anyone not love this song??? A 10.

 

[jeniphir]

Boring and dirge-like. . .interminable. Such a good idea, so disappointing in reality. This song is much better on paper than on record. Would like to hear it live, but the recorded version leaves me cold.

--jeniphir

 

[Johan de Witt]

Would like to hear it live, but the recorded version leaves me cold.

--jeniphir

Well here is the live version, from Introducing Morrissey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BIHjBrA9Y

8 for the live version, 7 for the recorded one, so I voted 8.

(Whilst looking for it on YouTube I saw that REM have done quite a nice acapella version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnhthxTrlSE,
Katie Melua's version, on the other hand, is best left alone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYskqvHHI-M...)

 

[hatfull]

i actually like it and i like the crying, but it's far too long. i'm not going to vote, though.

on the other hand, I bloody hate it. It's too long and not as good as the original. I gave it a 1

 

[snapyou]

Morrissey takes the two most awkward lines, "Two drifters off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see" and "We're after the same rainbow's end, waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend" and changes them to the endlessly poignant, "Two drifters off to see the world, I'm not so sure the world deserves us" and "We're after the same rainbow's end, it's just around the bend, it's always just around the bend". Genius.
.

Well said,the "huckleberry friend" line never really made much sense,did it?

 

[Johan de Witt]

on the other hand, I bloody hate it. It's too long and not as good as the original. I gave it a 1

You people are not familiar with the short version I presume!?

 

[jeniphir]

Well here is the live version, from Introducing Morrissey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BIHjBrA9Y

Oh, I've heard a live version of it. . .I meant I would like to actually be in the venue and hear it played live.

--jeniphir

 

[Bluebirds]

You people are not familiar with the short version I presume!?

No we all purchased the Hold On To Your Friends 12" and went to the striaght to the extended remix of Moonriver.

For the sentiments of that release I give this song a 2. It was absolutely the toilet break song during the Boxers tour and quite frankly is a load of cac

 

[HIM]

on the other hand, I bloody hate it. It's too long and not as good as the original. I gave it a 1

what would you give the original, though? i'd give it an 8, i think.

 

[hatfull]

what would you give the original, though? i'd give it an 8, i think.

the original? an 8 or a 9.

 

[hatfull]

You people are not familiar with the short version I presume!?

I've heard it, I hate that too.

 

[HIM]

the original? an 8 or a 9.

and for the film, i'm saying 10.

what say you?

 

[hatfull]

and for the film, i'm saying 10.

what say you?

Breakfast At Tiffany's? yes!!!!!!!!!! a 10 without a doubt.

 

[HIM]

Breakfast At Tiffany's? yes!!!!!!!!!! a 10 without a doubt.

i prefer george peppard to moz. he's great.

 

[hatfull]

i prefer george peppard to moz. he's great.

indeed!