Morrissey - Viva Hate (re release) (Mar. 26, 2012)

Me too. Inevitably.

 

At the record company party On their hands - a dead star The sycophantic slags all say : "I knew him first, and I knew him well"

Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package ! Re-evaluate the songs Double-pack with a photograph Extra Track (and a tacky badge)

 

That's clever. Nobody's ever referenced those lyrics before in the last XX years that they've been reissuing Smiths and Morrissey records.

 

That joke isn't funny anymore.

 

Give him a break, he's new here

Anyone got the album today?

 

Not me, mate. I'm boycotting it.

 

I have it. One thing that shocked me was not only has Morrissey ruined his best album by mucking around with the audio, but the packaging is terrible.

You'd think 'they' might have pushed the boat out with decent booklet etc to justify the 'special' edition tag. But what do we get?

An 8-page booklet (the original was 12), with no lyrics (unlike the original), a really naff piece of Morrissey propaganda from Chrissie Hynde and – shockingly – no credits for any of the musicians who played on the record!

I think you can be sued if you don't give a photo credit, but somehow it's okay not to credit the musicians!?

The original credited everyone including individual string players.

The whole thing is leaving a VERY sour taste in the mouth. What exactly is Morrissey playing at?

 

There are some bad people on the rise.

 

Forget about these other issues for now, how does the remastering sound?

 

I'd say it's self-sabotage, but that would suggest that he knows what he's doing.

 

Perhaps he is trying to live up to the album title.

 

I was thinking the same thing. We know he's unhappy with his old label's treatment of his career, even going so far as to urge his fans to boycott the HMV/Parlophone Singles 3CD set (arguably the best Morrissey compilation ever). It looks like he's deliberately trying to destroy his own legacy.

 

I actually like the sound of this remastering. Agree with the shabby package/booklet statement though.

Looking forward to see what he's going to do to the rest of the back catalogue.

 

Noahjld, how much louder is it? Is it similar to the other recent Morrissey remasters like Bona Drag?

 

Well, he's mis-credited and/or dropped credits for musicians as far back as the "Kill Uncle" singles (e.g., crediting Th'Lads for "My Love Life" when the main musicians were Nevin/Bedders/Paresi). On "World of Morrissey," he provided general credits for the two versions of Th'Lads that existed up to that time and didn't credit (surprise) Joyce/Gannon/Rourke for "Last of the Famous International Playboys."

I think it goes along with his latter day mindset that "The Smiths" is synonymous with "Morrissey," so he is wittingly shifting focus to him. In this case, it is somewhat odd only in that (a) he reconciled with Street for this project and (b) he was supposedly on good terms with Reilly and Paresi (who, if I recall correctly, got a name check in the Rhino "Best of" back in 2001). I don't think he credited the musicians at all on the deluxe album reissues a few years back - or on the Major Minor singles.

If he goes on - with the exception, perhaps, of Boz - I suspect the current band will outlive their "credit shelf life," too. It's Morrissey's world - one suspects they just get paid small per diems to be in it and see the world.

I'm cheered by the positive reviews of the remastered sound - but I'm also a big fan of "The Ordinary Boys" and "Late Night, Maudlin Street" (Full Length Version, arf) so I'm conflicted on purchasing this.

 

My friend has the original pressing - I guess that's still going to be my go-to version then. Oh well.

 

Don't get me wrong im preordering my uk one but while it arrives i've been trying to download it for "free".....couldn't find it yet.....good work FBI or nobody is interested....

 

I've finally heard this. The remastering is top notch, and bodes very well for Stephen Street's Blur remasters.

I'd go so far as to say the album sounds better than it ever has on CD, and probably the best it's ever going to sound in digital format. The soundstage is wider, and there's a wealth of detail to be heard (well, again - it was all there on the original vinyl) here.

BUT ... You trade in greatly improved sound for a hobbled album. Late Night on Maudlin Street is still an extraordinary song, but editing it (and quite crudely at that) by almost a minute robs it of its power. And Treat Me Like A Human Being is a piss-poor exchange for Ordinary Boys.

Consider EMI's original rough draft for a three disc Deluxe edition:

Disc 1: Remastered album
Disc 2: B sides, demos, alternate versions/mixes
Disc 3: Wolverhampton 1988

Moz said yes, then no, then maybe, then no. And no again. There is some suggestion that he didn't want Wolverhampton released because it features the three ex-Smiths who sued him.

I hope he doesn't tamper with Your Arsenal and Vauxhall (due out later this year/early next year), but I bet he does.

I'd love to say Moz has a perverse sense of humour when it comes to his back catalogue, but it's not that. He's utterly clueless.

 

Well given what's happened so far, I wouldn't put it past him, but I would be surprised if he altered Vauxhall and I, considering how highly regarded it is.

 

Well Viva Hate was a no.1 hit in the album charts here in the UK and look at what he has done with it....

 

Bet he does, you know. Viva Hate is his biggest selling solo album, and he not only tampered with the running order but edited its best song. He'll probably replace Now My Heart is Full with You've Had Her.

Now, speaking of Vauxhall - EMI wanted the reissue to include the complete Drury Lane show from 1995. It was broadcast on the BBC Radio 1, but the tape ran too fast. Four of the songs were released on the Boy Racer CD singles, but - bizarrely - ran at the wrong speed. The Drury Lane show was available in full, running at the right speed, on a US radio show CDR.

It's a corking gig. I was there. I remember him getting manhandled by stage invaders during You're The One For Me, Fatty. They tore his shirt off and he barely got through the song. They couldn't play Shoplifters as the encore, because there was a mass stage invasion.

 

Sounds like a wild gig. Is "Hate" really his biggest selling? He's had some American success since then. Reading the music mags and polls, it always appeared to me that Vauxhall and I was considered the best solo album, but I may be wrong. As you say, it doesn't seem to matter to him and he goes ahead and changes the tracklisting regardless.

 

Viva Hate is his best IMO, though Vauxhall is not far behind.

 

I'm pretty sure that Vauxhall was his biggest album, by some distance, in the U.S. I wouldn't be surprised if You Are the Quarry sold as well as Viva Hate in the UK, either.