Back On The Chain Gang - Morrissey Central; Recorded in LA, musicians credited, Chiccarelli produced

Solomon Walker playing bass on BOTCG
And Roger Manning on keyboards...

Back On The Chain Gang - Morrissey Central
April 2, 2018

Morrissey has concluded recording at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles for Back On The Chain Gang. The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and was released by The Pretenders in 1982 when it reached number 17 in the UK, and number 5 in the USA.Joe Chiccarelli has produced Morrissey’s Back On The Chain Gang, and the musicians are: Jesse Tobias (guitars), Solomon Walker (bass), Matthew Walker (drums), with Roger Manning on keyboards.Morrissey is hoping for a summer release for the single.
Morrissey is presently number 1 with My Love, I’d Do Anything For You, and number 4 with Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up On The Stage in the UK vinyl singles chart.

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Posted by Famous when dead:

Source appears to be an uncredited war time picture:

 

[Anonymous]

Gross - stop creepin over kids.

Why?

Most on here support islam so better get used to it.

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/03/...-pressure-leaflet-approving-of-child-marriage

 

[Anonymous]

Why?

Most on here support islam so better get used to it.

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/03/...-pressure-leaflet-approving-of-child-marriage

I am being serious when I ask this, why is Sweden bending over for people from Islamic countries in their own country?

 

[Anonymous]

I am being serious when I ask this, why is Sweden bending over for people from Islamic countries in their own country?

are you racist? why would ask that if you weren't racist

 

[Anonymous]

I am being serious when I ask this, why is Sweden bending over for people from Islamic countries in their own country?

Because there are those with power forcing everyone to it. I suspect they have placed out big bombs all over Europe and unless the people in power do as they say they will go off.

ISIS have confirmed this.

 

[Dingoatemybabby]

It's a terrible cover but that's not his fault. He's 10 years old. He's no doubt happy and proud to be there. He doesn't deserve to be trolled by pricks on the internet, so leave him alone.

Exactly, not to mention the cover child is really cute!!

 

[Anonymous]

Mando and gustavo out? that would be SO GOOD! There would be great if Alain could comeback (also Thobias kicked out from the band) From my perspective, Moz has been doing good music, but it not as great as the past decades, this particular one has been ups and downs on music. Boz and Alain were a great couple, even if they were a little bit competitive on composing, but it was nice for the music. Mando, gustavo and jesse out... please.

 

[Anonymous]

Mando and gustavo out? that would be SO GOOD! There would be great if Alain could comeback (also Thobias kicked out from the band) From my perspective, Moz has been doing good music, but it not as great as the past decades, this particular one has been ups and downs on music. Boz and Alain were a great couple, even if they were a little bit competitive on composing, but it was nice for the music. Mando, gustavo and jesse out... please.

Indeed,
Boz , the Walkers, Pooley and Alain.
That would be the Champions league ( and not the MLS)!
And SER out on a decade gap somewhere in Africa to learn photography ...

 

[marred]

Gross - stop creepin over kids.

You're right. It's more acceptable to call him ugly. Where's my head?

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s just fun. That thing music used to be before we all became armchair agents managers record execs and vicarious artists

Fun would be playing it live.

Recording it, and scheduling it for official release, is more like work.

 

[Anonymous]

Mando and gustavo out? that would be SO GOOD! There would be great if Alain could comeback (also Thobias kicked out from the band) From my perspective, Moz has been doing good music, but it not as great as the past decades, this particular one has been ups and downs on music. Boz and Alain were a great couple, even if they were a little bit competitive on composing, but it was nice for the music. Mando, gustavo and jesse out... please.

I think this Morrissey Central is an invention of our beloved Benny The Butcher who kept quiet recently. An operation to discredit the lawnmovers....

If the news are true, for me , it is just a question of money .Moz owes money to Solomon and Manning and wants to avoid justice. A session , a publishing deal for a single which is a cover (not rights to intefer with Gustavo and Mando) and the lawnmovers back on tour.Possible news songs to be slaughtered on stage and in studio with Chicarelli.Not to mention the dreadful artwork of the past years (Jo Slee they'll never be)

 

[Peppermint]

Mando and gustavo out? that would be SO GOOD! There would be great if Alain could comeback (also Thobias kicked out from the band) From my perspective, Moz has been doing good music, but it not as great as the past decades, this particular one has been ups and downs on music. Boz and Alain were a great couple, even if they were a little bit competitive on composing, but it was nice for the music. Mando, gustavo and jesse out... please.

Gustavo's compositions on the album were the ones I liked most. They at least had a sense of melody, hookline and structure and were devoid of the stomp 'n' thrash and tuneless soup that dominate the others. He seems to have improved because he didn't do anything to salvage WP, as far as my ears were concerned.

I agree that trading Jesse for Alain would be A Great Thing but I'd be amazed if it happened. Not sure what Jesse has got on Moz but it must be something big because his continued presence defies logic.

 

[Anonymous]

Indeed,
Boz , the Walkers, Pooley and Alain.
That would be the Champions league ( and not the MLS)!
And SER out on a decade gap somewhere in Africa to learn photography ...

Before Jesse became the new whipping boy, people talked about how Morrissey needed to can his band, and most people on here thought Alain was the weakest link. Boz was always considered the stronger song writer.

Maybe it's a generational fan type thing, but I find this current sentimental attitude towards Alain interesting because that's not what I have typically heard from Morrissey fans through the years.

I think many fans look to blame the musicians for the lower quality output over the years. I think Morrissey has a lot ore to do with that than the band does.

The band is basically a session band. They're not four young guys with a shared vision looking to form a unique sound, and go to the mat for it; while feeling a sense of wanting to change things. Their goal is to serve Morrissey's lyrics, often without guidance beforehand.

Could Morrissey do something interesting with various sets of musicians known for particular sounds? Sure, but the fact that he's not willing to do something like Bowie, Cale, or Eno did to keep his sound evolving, is his fault, not the band's. You're only going to get so much mileage out of a well established template.

Morrissey just isn't musically adventurous, and doesn't like to stray to far from the format. He's apparently not easy to work with either, which reduces his willingness to seek out ever changing collaborations. Many restrictions come with working for Morrissey. You can't eat meat away from him while on tour? Come on.

He has his brand, and he sticks with it. Personally, I think it's stunted his artistic expression, but when you have a cult following, you can sample your bowel movements, and some people will flock to see you live.

 

[Anonymous]

I think this Morrissey Central is an invention of our beloved Benny The Butcher who kept quiet recently. An operation to discredit the lawnmovers....

If the news are true, for me , it is just a question of money .Moz owes money to Solomon and Manning and wants to avoid justice. A session , a publishing deal for a single which is a cover (not rights to intefer with Gustavo and Mando) and the lawnmovers back on tour.Possible news songs to be slaughtered on stage and in studio with Chicarelli.Not to mention the dreadful artwork of the past years (Jo Slee they'll never be)

Where did you hear this "news?"

It's a very sly scenario you've established here, and if the news ARE true, it might actually make sense.

 

[Famous when dead]

I do feel disheartened when people take scraps of information and turn them in to definitives.
Like: X & Y MUST have left the band as a result of a recent event.
Last time I checked, speculation about things you don't know the full facts about can never lead to definitive conclusions. It is frustrating when people communicate like this, but it is rife in this community and even worse in forums/groups outside of here. I don't believe there's a great deal of skill needed to express an opinion about rumours without using the language of certainty.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[Ben Budd]

Indeed,
Boz , the Walkers, Pooley and Alain.
That would be the Champions league ( and not the MLS)!
And SER out on a decade gap somewhere in Africa to learn photography ...

I have nothing against Kristopher Pooley, apart from the odd spelling of his name, but he was in the live band for one year, how on earth does he warrant being in the "Champions League" version of the live band? Has to be Mikey V, surely?

 

[falconneil]

Could Morrissey do something interesting with various sets of musicians known for particular sounds? Sure, but the fact that he's not willing to do something like Bowie, Cale, or Eno did to keep his sound evolving, is his fault, not the band's. You're only going to get so much mileage out of a well established template.

Morrissey just isn't musically adventurous, and doesn't like to stray to far from the format.

Not musically adventurous? What?! What??!! Compare Viva Hate to Your Arsenal to Low in High School. They are all completely different. Completely different sound, completely different type of music, completely different band. That's why I love Morrissey's solo stuff much more than The Smiths. Musically adventurous. It doesn't always work, but he's never scared to try something new. To suggest otherwise is completely disingenuous.

 

[Anonymous]

Not musically adventurous? What?! What??!! Compare Viva Hate to Your Arsenal to Low in High School. They are all completely different. Completely different sound, completely different type of music, completely different band. That's why I love Morrissey's solo stuff much more than The Smiths. Musically adventurous. It doesn't always work, but he's never scared to try something new. To suggest otherwise is completely disingenuous.

Your Arsenal was a great album, and after Vauxhall it looked like we might see a maturing artist take flight, but then the wheels fell off, and inspiration appeared to dry up almost instantly.

Viva Hate was a lot like The Smiths first album. Signs of promise, but patchy. Ultimately, it was an attempt to maintain The Smiths sound as was all of his work with Street.

Low In High School is just another Years of Refusal to me. Unremarkable in every way. Spent The Day In Bed is a terrible song. One of his worst. It's inane, and the kind of song someone looking to mock Morrissey would write.

None of those albums could be described as musically adventurous. Changing the instruments, and adding swooshes, and too cute hooks is not musically adventurous. It's lazy.

Morrissey's current output has more in common with a cruise ship act. Earth Is The Loneliest Planet is a perfect example of his lazy attempt at seeming adventurous by singing over a cliched Flamenco template.

Or his worst song ever "Sorrow Will Come..." I don't even know what he was thinking releasing that.

World Peace was probably the closest he has come to doing anything musically interesting since Vauxhall & I, and it was marred by patchy lyrics, and uninspired subject matter.

He did a bit of rapping on Neil Cassidy, but again, few, and far between, and when Morrissey does step outside the lines, it tends to fail. I think it's why he became locked in his tired sound for so long. He didn't have the confidence to try again after the still born Southpaw Grammar, and his apathetic attempt to get back on track with Maladjusted.

Morrissey needs more than dabbling with a hand full of interesting songs over decades to be considered musically adventurous. He needs a complete overhaul. He needs to take real chances, and risk looking stupid.

I say go even further. Change your look, change your personality, change your friends, change your socks. All of it. Freak people out. Give them something they don't expect. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? He doesn't have that kind of energy, nor the instincts.

The worst thing Morrissey has done is become boring. Everything about him is predictable, and he seems to be going through the motions for the most part. He's ran out of things to sing about, or he just borrows from older songs, and flips the perspective.

He's burying all of his classic material under a mountain of mediocre releases that risk eclipsing his previous accomplishments.

And then there's his mouth, which is his biggest liability. People don't even discuss his music much anymore. He sucks the oxygen out of those conversations. He's living in a bubble.

 

[Anonymous]

I have nothing against Kristopher Pooley, apart from the odd spelling of his name, but he was in the live band for one year, how on earth does he warrant being in the "Champions League" version of the live band? Has to be Mikey V, surely?

Because I went to shows when he was there and they were much better than the Farell ones, Nothing against Farell though just a question of feelings

 

[Anonymous]

Where did you hear this "news?"

It's a very sly scenario you've established here, and if the news ARE true, it might actually make sense.

Just thinking ... unlike some here who should have a break

 

[messengers]

Agree with the above anonymous post that Morrissey is not musically adventurous. That's his trademark and supposedly one of the reasons Marr left the Smiths. He was interested in new musical adventures that Morrissey would never welcome to the band. Apart from this, Marr's work after the Smiths can hardly be called revolutionary too.

I think your appraisal of Morrissey's work is too negative; when you consider that he's not a musician and had to do without his great songwriting partner Marr, he has done admirably as a solo artist. His first two singles Suedehead and Sunday can compare with the best of Smiths songs, no mean feat. For a non-musician solo artist, he has made some great songs and great albums. That said, I am firmly in the Smiths camp, whose output to my ears is vastly superior to the solo material. Much more musically innovative, the band chemistry and guitar parts are much more special compared to the trad rock of most Morrissey solo work. Solo, Morrissey had made great albums, but nothing too challenging or revolutionary if you're not part of the fan incrowd. The Smiths were something else, and apart from Vini Reilly no guitar player comes close to matching those great Marr guitar parts. Morrissey solo mostly means a competent trad rock backing band, The Smiths are pure chemistry, just listen to Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Queen is Dead, This Charming Man, Stop Me and How Soon is Now and tell me where to find songs that are musically in the same league. Still, I think Morrissey has done better than could be expected of him, and this is the artist he is: not in his young prime anymore and not an adventurous musical genius like Bowie.