Jamie
Bluff, Ardour & Assoc.
Re: Jesse...verdict: guilty of mediocrity
I concede that you have a point, but, whatever niceties he says on stage or however much weight bringing Jesse on camera for that French interview carries, Morrissey largely seems to consider the band members employees, not friends per se. And, to me, it isn't an organic extension of him in having an existing employee vet one of his own friends for the job. When the Smiths were being formed, Johnny Marr was an equal partner with Morrissey. Hence, his inclusion of Andy Rourke is loaded with more authority than Mike Farrell saying "hey, I know this guitarist." Plus, the original Lads (with the exception of Boz) was a one-time package deal. And, let's face it, his career was in far more dire circumstances at the time. He needed to tour Kill Uncle or fade away. No doubt the pressure was on to tour YATQ and hit all the media to publicise it, but I always saw Little Barrie and Jesse as stop-gaps for Alain's eventual return on all fronts.
Shifting gears, I don't think the appellation "Th'Lads" fits anymore b/c the original spirit of that nickname was very British. Boz is the sole British member remaining on stage and I think the presence of more Americans in his line-up has been instrumental in the change of his live sound.
All of the above said, if Alain ever came back to the live fold, I would like to see him bring Milo Todesco (the drummer in Red Lightning) with him. Matt Walker is an impressive drummer, but I love the forcefulness and verve Milo brought to the RL EP. And he's a classically-trained percussionist so he has the range that Dean brought to the table.
Sort of an all-over-the-place post, but there you go...
Cheers,
Jamie
I concede that you have a point, but, whatever niceties he says on stage or however much weight bringing Jesse on camera for that French interview carries, Morrissey largely seems to consider the band members employees, not friends per se. And, to me, it isn't an organic extension of him in having an existing employee vet one of his own friends for the job. When the Smiths were being formed, Johnny Marr was an equal partner with Morrissey. Hence, his inclusion of Andy Rourke is loaded with more authority than Mike Farrell saying "hey, I know this guitarist." Plus, the original Lads (with the exception of Boz) was a one-time package deal. And, let's face it, his career was in far more dire circumstances at the time. He needed to tour Kill Uncle or fade away. No doubt the pressure was on to tour YATQ and hit all the media to publicise it, but I always saw Little Barrie and Jesse as stop-gaps for Alain's eventual return on all fronts.
Shifting gears, I don't think the appellation "Th'Lads" fits anymore b/c the original spirit of that nickname was very British. Boz is the sole British member remaining on stage and I think the presence of more Americans in his line-up has been instrumental in the change of his live sound.
All of the above said, if Alain ever came back to the live fold, I would like to see him bring Milo Todesco (the drummer in Red Lightning) with him. Matt Walker is an impressive drummer, but I love the forcefulness and verve Milo brought to the RL EP. And he's a classically-trained percussionist so he has the range that Dean brought to the table.
Sort of an all-over-the-place post, but there you go...
Cheers,
Jamie
