Morrissey’s vocal melodies

[TheSmiths_1985]

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others.

 

[brody]

I could go on about his falsetto; it’s probably my favorite aspect of his singing.

Pigsty, Hero Now, First Of The Gang, I Bury The Living, Wedding Bell Blues.

Although in recent shows he hasn’t done many songs which utilize it. In “turning the inside out” I believe sam said one of the songs from BOT featured a remarkable falsetto and that it should remind the fans that he can and does still sing like that.

“Maybe in the next world…”

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Let the right one slip in was from those sessions if I’m not mistaken

You’re very much right. Makes no sense at all.

 

[brody]

You’re very much right. Makes no sense at all.

I think the sensible thing to do would have been to instead release the marvelous “Striptease With A Difference”. But it’s his life

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I think the sensible thing to do would have been to instead release the marvelous “Striptease With A Difference”. But it’s his life

To ruin his own way, yes, but it irks me. Striptease has no business being unreleased.

 

[yesnowinlose]

The vocals in “Friday Mourning” and “Christian Dior” give me indescribable delight. In these songs, in addition to well-coordinated lyrics, the vocals are so powerful and sensual that they chill right to the bones. Sounds like perfection.
YATQ and ROTT are quite rich in successful b-sides, which later ended up in Swords. As they say, if you return from a long creative break, then only with original, fresh and high-quality music.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

I could go on about his falsetto; it’s probably my favorite aspect of his singing.

YES. YES.

 

[brody]

To ruin his own way, yes, but it irks me. Striptease has no business being unreleased.

I wonder what makes morrissey decide to shelf a song. Striptease, Kit, I Know Who I Love, I’m Just Playing Easy To Get, Happy Lovers; all lost to time

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I wonder what makes morrissey decide to shelf a song. Striptease, Kit, I Know Who I Love, I’m Just Playing Easy To Get, Happy Lovers; all lost to time

Happy Lovers was released, though! It’s on the reissued Bona Drag! And I’m Playing…was played on Janice Long in 04. But yes, There are tons of songs just lying in his archive, rotting. And we know many of them are probably pretty great.

 

[goinghome]

Reddit have a good discussion going on the related theme of underrated Morrissey songs


I think the falsetto on this Sparks cover is a vocal feat


Noise is the Best Revenge also has vengeful warbles!

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

Reddit have a good discussion going on the related theme of underrated Morrissey songs


I think the falsetto on this Sparks cover is a vocal feat


Noise is the Best Revenge also has vengeful warbles!

Wow his voice sounds great in that! Really cool song in general, especially the music portion. Mmm... Those drums.

 

[Ryan]

One day this gem will actually be put on a compilation.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

One day this gem will actually be put on a compilation.

“I’ve done so very many stupid things…”

 

[gashonthenail]

For me one of the best examples of Moz's vocal melodies is the last couple of minutes of My Love Life. Gets me every time.

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

But at the record company meeting
On their hands - at last - a dead star!
But they can never taint you in my eyes
No, they can never touch you now

No, they cannot hurt you my darling
They cannot touch you now
But me and my true love
Will never meet agajn

This still catches me in the same exact place, and just as hard, as it always ever did. There were years of my life when I couldn’t listen to this song at all.

Then there were entire years of my life, where every concert I went to, I went for this song, and for this melody, from this verse - that i needed to hear above and beyond anything and all else that I looked forward to or hoped might be sung. I mean i needed to hear this in way that I need oxygen.

This song, but in particular the vocal melody over these verses, takes me somewhere very deep inside of me, and it feels like it’s gouging out some of my deepest wounds with a pickaxe. Oh my god.

It soars in beauty, but it also takes me somewhere that has nothing to do with the lyrics. The lyrics are evocative and deeply poignant - of course. That goes without even saying, and it’s why he’s the best at what he does. But it nevertheless takes me somewhere that is not related to the story the lyrics convey, but instead to a place that is profoundly personal to me. The gift and the ability to do this is what makes an artist, an artist.

Also -

“But I know that you would like me
If only you could meet me
If only you could see me”



Omg, Mozzy. PIERCE MY HEART with an arrow, and watch me die. Right here, right now.

ALSO!

“And as I climb into an empty bed
Enough said”

“See the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to slit me
Do you think you can help me…”

“Sad veiled bride please be happy, handsome groom give he room
Loud loutish lover, treat her kindly
Though she needs you more than she loves you…”

But really, the whole song

Also -

“What you see is what you get
And what you get may well be worth seeing
But just be careful when you walk
On those old broken stones
Because those are my feelings”



All of ROTT. Also the vocal melodies in Paris, Action, and Art-Hounds are stop in your tracks, you have my full attention, drop dead stunning. Totally captivating, and hypnotically seductive.

If you can’t floor me, I’m not interested.

Morrissey floors me every single time.

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

Oh but dreams have a knack of just not coming true
And time is against me now

 

[brody]

All of ROTT.

Ringleader of the tormentors is one of his very best and I’m tired of pretending it’s not. With real orchestra, organ and piano, it all sounds so alive. Each track has such honesty, like reading a page of his own diary

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

Ringleader of the tormentors is one of his very best and I’m tired of pretending it’s not. With real orchestra, organ and piano, it all sounds so alive. Each track has such honesty, like reading a page of his own diary

Well sweetie I don’t know what gave you the idea that you have to pretend it’s not! Because it’s magnificent and gorgeous. And he’s magnificent and gorgeous. And nobody else could have ever made this but him.

I still hope there’ll be more to come in a similar vein in the future, because the richness and the grandiosity of this album match his abilities and his talent and his persona superbly, and this album is a sublime reflection of his depth and skill.

There are so many songs and albums that are absolute standouts, including also more recent ones, but this album has a very unique sound and feel, and even some themes felt like they were being presented in completely new and different ways.

To me, stylistically, ROTT is where he needed to go, and it’s also where his art needed to go. At least once. So at least we have that. But I think this was such a powerful direction for him, that there remains a lot more that can be revisited, and also re-explored. For him I mean, not the listener. This album to me is like, the tip of the iceberg, and in my mind, there is still all the iceberg that we can’t see under the water; with the tip being the uniquely redolent style of the album, and then all of the rest of the iceberg that is hidden below the surface of the water is how much further he could still go, if he ever felt so inclined, to continue to develop what he already started with ROTT. In fact, maybe that’s the best way of putting what I’d actually like to say. Ringleader of the Tormentors should be the start, and only the first chapter, of something still to come (even now).

Even though the album and the songs on it are his creation, this album and these songs in particular, really elevate him in a way that makes it seem like ROTT the album is what’s shining the spotlight on him (as a singer). And in a sense, it is exactly so.

All of ROTT is so emotively and suggestively stunning, and it was something he created that suited him so beautifully, that I hope that insofar as mood, opulence, and thematic drama go; that he may perhaps find himself similarly inspired again one day in the future.

 

[yesnowinlose]

If we talk about falsetto, then “Miserable Lie” immediately comes to mind, where in the middle of the song Morrissey’s rich, resonant vocals suddenly switch to a weightless falsetto (or even 'double') – I liked this technique so much; This song is still one of my favorites for many years.
By the way, singing this falsetto part of the song, just like the previously mentioned “I Have Forgiven Jesus,” is a very difficult task, but if desired, and with proper preparation, it is quite feasible.