Morrissey Central RINGLEADER DELUXE ! (July 17, 2020)


Morrissey’s third UK number 1 album ‘Ringleader of the Tormentors’ will be issued this year by BMG for the first time.The album is presently being ‘rebooted’ by producer Tony Visconti and will feature more sections by Ennio Morricone and his orchestra from the 2005 sessions in Rome, plus a photographic booklet.The original album featured four UK hit singles, ‘You Have Killed Me’ (Number 3), ‘The Youngest Was The Most Loved’(Number 14), ‘In The Future When All’s Well’ (Number 17), ‘I Just Want To See The Boy Happy’ (Number 16).

full
 
"Whatever Happens I Love You"...

Of course they fit the era but they don't need to be shoehorned into the perfect track list. Swallow was always intended as a b-side and I'd Love To was always a bit meh to me, compared to the other songs on Vauxhall.

Sunny was recorded later, during the Boxers sessions.

They're all lovely songs but "why meddle with a masterpiece"?

Meh.. for “I’d Love To” that’s evil.

Vauxhall is a Moz’s magnum opus but it doesn’t mean it can’t slightly more perfect 👀
 
Though great as a b-side, maybe it didn’t fit with the theme of the album...


One of the best tracks from the whole session, unsurprisingly this was the lone Boz contribution. Production is still pretty weak, though. I'm very curious about what it is that Tony Visconti actually did on this record.
 
Meh.. for “I’d Love To” that’s evil.

Vauxhall is a Moz’s magnum opus but it doesn’t mean it can’t slightly more perfect 👀
It's a sweet song, a typical Boz composition. But it's no WDYFOFY or Now My Heart Is Full. A great b-side. 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
One of the best tracks from the whole session, unsurprisingly this was the lone Boz contribution. Production is still pretty weak, though. I'm very curious about what it is that Tony Visconti actually did on this record.

Listen side by side with Jerry Finn’s work on Quarry, the difference will
be heard. Don’t know why the mastering on ROTT was OK’d though.
 
Listen side by side with Jerry Finn’s work on Quarry, the difference will
be heard. Don’t know why the mastering on ROTT was OK’d though.
Well, that's setting the bar pretty low given how psychotically two-dimensional Finn's work on Quarry was. Fortunately, the songs were strong enough that they mostly transcended the sonic deadness he inflicted upon the sessions. The same can't be said for Ringleader, which has lousy songs and a production that's only marginally more interesting. Even a song like "In the Future..." which was clearly written as a softball for Visconti to give it the classic T. Rex treatment comes out sounding like nothing in particular.
 
All I can think of is the dread that would overcome me when I saw Mikey reach for the accordion, like "well, I know where I'll be for the next six minutes."

Delete the opener. Please, I never liked it in the first place. Sounds like Bin Laden on a gigantic Spider, stomping through the desert.

I'm really not too fond of Ringleader for multiple reasons but I do love I Will See You In Far-Off Places. It was the first song besides You Have Killed Me and Life Is A Pigsty that actually grew on me.

I will see you... loved it first listen, starts like a bomb going off.

Immediately made me think of this Nico song that we can be sure Morrissey is familiar with ...




The hours since I saw you last
Have left me in an unknown past
They do not seem to leave me
They seem to join me on the road
Or even when I take a boat

A light
Insanely bright is standing
A fainting force

My loneliness remains attending
The hours since I saw you last
Have left me in an unknown past
They do not seem to leave me
They seem to join me on the road
Or even when I take a boat

A light
Insanely bright is standing
A fainting force
My loneliness remains attending
 
Please please please include a decent mix of the father who must be killed with the background guitar actually audible! :pray:
 
He was a run-of-the-mill center-left boomer back then. He hated Bush, wore a "Jon Stewart For President" shirt, put his support behind Obama / Hillary, et cetera. For the record, I thought that was just as cringeworthy then.

I was never that interested in his venting - as long as it wasn't damaging his career too much.

If this ever ends, I will go back to paying no attention to it.
 
Please please please include a decent mix of the father who must be killed with the background guitar actually audible! :pray:
The ultimate mix of The Father Who Must Be Killed would be every single track turned all the way down until it was just 3:54 of complete silence.
 
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Well, that's setting the bar pretty low given how psychotically two-dimensional Finn's work on Quarry was. Fortunately, the songs were strong enough that they mostly transcended the sonic deadness he inflicted upon the sessions. The same can't be said for Ringleader, which has lousy songs and a production that's only marginally more interesting. Even a song like "In the Future..." which was clearly written as a softball for Visconti to give it the classic T. Rex treatment comes out sounding like nothing in particular.


Agree much with this. I was just using that as an example to show what different producers can bring to the table, the texture of sound and how it’s shaped.

Not a fan at all of what Finn did to Quarry, though his work on Refusal is a step up.

But yes, In the future... laughed out, when I first heard that bass line and groove ... a nod to the gong ...


 
If they pushed up the strings in the mix and dropped the vocals - making it instrumental - there might be the makings of something listenable. The original album is rubbish.
 
But in this case, it would be John Cage-Free Antibiotic-Free Pasture-Raised.

The father who.... When it first comes in it has a lot of promise, dark & moody, those drums, but then goes down hill quickly, good in spots & interesting though. Not recommended for repeated listenings.
 
Perou knew...

Morrissey Perou Roma 2006 (iii).jpg

Morrissey Perou Roma 2006 (ii).jpg
Morrissey Perou Roma 2006 (i)+.jpg


í would love it if they could stitch or switch "Christian Dior" & "Sweetie-Pie" into a Luxe tracklisting. They are easily the better of some on the original release.

TheIronBridge on twitter has already mocked up some art ~



RotT luxe.jpg


.
 
The father who.... When it first comes in it has a lot of promise, dark & moody, those drums, but then goes down hill quickly, good in spots & interesting though. Not recommended for repeated listenings.
Mm hm. The truth has always been that Morrissey writes best about himself. His little character sketches rarely work, he’s just not that kind of author. Ringleader has a few of these types of songs and they all essentially say nothing with nary a witty or memorable line between them.
 
Mm hm. The truth has always been that Morrissey writes best about himself. His little character sketches rarely work, he’s just not that kind of author. Ringleader has a few of these types of songs and they all essentially say nothing with nary a witty or memorable line between them.
Spring-Heeled Jim? Little Man, What Now? Even Tony the Pony.
Love those little character sketches.
Just not The Father Who Must Be Killed. One of his worst.
 

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