Morrissey Central "SMITHS NOT OK" (September 11, 2024)

September 11, 2024

The proposed greatest hits album by The Smiths entitled Smiths Rule OK! has been blocked by J Marr. The album (above), and also the single Hand In Glove (below)

were planned for 2024 worldwide release by Warner Records along with a deluxe box release of The Smiths first album in order to commemorate its 40-year anniversary, and also a new 7-inch of This Charming Man. Warner approached Morrissey and Darren Evans to assemble artwork for all four releases, all of which were rejected and halted out of hand by J Marr.

SMITHS NOT OK - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - SMITHS NOT OK

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY

www.morrisseycentral.com

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Media item:

• Stereogum: "Now Morrissey Says Johnny Marr Has Blocked A New Smiths Deluxe Reissue" - September 11, 2024

 

[Surface]

Comments below this article seem to line up with comments on here. Example - How many Smiths greatest hits collections does one need? It’s not as if there’s a shortage of them.

Now Morrissey Says Johnny Marr Has Blocked A New Smiths Deluxe Reissue

Last month, Morrissey revealed on his website that he said yes to a Smiths reunion tour offer, whereas Johnny Marr ignored it. Today, the provocative British singer posted that a Smiths greatest hits album was blocked by Marr.

www.stereogum.com

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Re-issue! Re-package! Re-evaluate the songs! Double pack with a photograph! Extra track! A tacky badge!

Oh me, oh my!!!!

This comment is about as entertaining as Ms crap Smiths Rules ok cover is artistic .
No smiths fan worth their salt quotes that song when a reissue comes out. It’s too expected and over done

I have to admit although , I still carry a flickering flame for M , I’ve pretty much given up on him . I feckimg mean given up almost completely,
The only thing I like about him now is his voice . Nearly everything else has gone
I am feckimg incredibly thankful that M gave us The Smiths and his 90s solo career , I like his other periods also , but to me nothing in the 2000s comes close to the magic he had pre 2000.

Whatever happened to him in 2008 has had a terminal effect . Turning down Marr in 2008 was such a bad move and he knows it .

,

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Johnny started it, but Moz now goes for 'J. Marr' three times in a row.
Johnny will have to respond now, sooner or later.

The thing is M can not win against Marr , no matter what some of us think , Marr is greatly respected but more than that , objectively Marr is just way more intelligent than M . He won’t win

 

[FactChecker]

Whatever happened to him in 2008 has had a terminal effect . Turning down Marr in 2008 was such a bad move and he knows it .

,

Years Of Refusal was his last great album and would have been a good point to stop (like Maladjusted) with a final underrated release. The "third wave" period albums after 2010 are patchy: half of World Peace is very good and shows new ideas but the other half is retreading old ones in a boring way. The next 2 albums show that the band behind him are now more interesting than the words he sings over their work, apart from the odd moment of inspiration ("Judy", "Day In Bed")

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

I suppose you could interpret this as some kind of weird visual provocation/threat/joke to ruin the legacy as a retaliation for the visual attack of the JM Farage post? Maybe just another avenue to get a rise out of JM? Perhaps sparring is better than being ignored in his mind? I still can't believe that he could seriously propose this with a straight face! It only makes sense as some kind of weird, perverse April Fools'........except we're in September....

I agree , it’s either he is being perverse or he is now artistically bankrupt in a way I never thought possible , for him . I feckimg usd to be one of those who said M hasn’t changed
He is still who he was. It’s not true is it .
He is like a jigsaw puzzle that has been shaken up , and so many pieces have been lost , it’s impossible to create what he used to be

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

“I think I made my point without turning it into the war of the worlds… which, of course, I easily could,” he says.

He changed his mind quickly.

That really feckimg made me laugh .
Nice one

 

[pretorius]

That cover for the "best" of is terrible, so glad its been stopped if this is real, more The Smiths releases of course if there is something new to release but not just another "best" of again, there is already a number of those .
The Hand in Glove is a better cover though

 

[Anonymous]

'Greatest Hits'? Is a Top 20 single a hit? I guess by that definition, a lot of Smiths singles were 'hits' but it seems like a bit of a reach to me. How many copies would the No.20 single in the charts have sold back in, say, 1986? Isn't one of Morrissey's biggest beefs that The Smiths constantly underperformed in the charts, due to Rough Trade's lack of promotion/lack of radio airplay?

 

[Thewlis]

The thing is M can not win against Marr , no matter what some of us think , Marr is greatly respected but more than that , objectively Marr is just way more intelligent than M . He won’t win

The way I see it they both lose if the situation stays like this.

It is in both their interests that they remain on speaking terms if only to oversee The Smiths’ legacy.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

This comment is about as entertaining as Ms crap Smiths Rules ok cover is artistic .
No smiths fan worth their salt quotes that song when a reissue comes out. It’s too expected and over done

Oops, sorry to disappoint. Oops, I didn't know I was supposed to entertain anyone. Oops, I thought I was just on a Morrissey forum, but I guess not.

 

[Ryan]

Oops, sorry to disappoint. Oops, I didn't know I was supposed to entertain anyone. Oops, I thought I was just on a Morrissey forum, but I guess not.

 

[The Wild Turkey]

This was an actual thing from '23 going forwards.
My contact had dropped this in the conversation back in my rumour post of Feb 6, 2023:

"Rumour mill (but a credible source):
A Warner's The Smiths 'greatest hits' is being compiled for later in the year (yes, another).

You may have heard it here first folks."

When following it up privately myself, there was 'no permission' to proceed, but not who was blocking it.
Regards,
FWD.

Was that phrase, Smiths Rule OK!
from some picture of graffiti?
Startin' to think I went ahead
and seen that somewhere.

 

[SteveWS]

A Tale of Morrissian Vengeance ~

'Smiths Rule Ok' is an arcane reference to seminal counter-cultural tricksters The Goodies, and their prophetic slant on both the emergence of Punk Rock and also the travails of Morrissey's career(s):

'It is the early '60s and the Goodies are trying to make it big as pop stars. However, at every turn, their ideas are ripped off by acts who then go on to be much more successful than the Cricklewood trio - the Beatles, the Supremes and...Oasis. Now in the mid-'70s the Goodies are despondent and living on Skid Row, they decide to get their own back...'

Note the cryptic bicycle reference to Stop Me If You Think You've Read It On Central A Billion Times Before.

 

[Les Tameside]

Completists aside, this clearly isn’t aimed at longstanding fans. Absolutely nothing wrong with Morrissey wanting a fresh release, and the related profile boost which could capture some new fans and their pocket money.

Free ‘Smiths Rule OK!’.

 

[pretorius]

Completists aside, this clearly isn’t aimed at longstanding fans. Absolutely nothing wrong with Morrissey wanting a fresh release, and the related profile boost which could capture some new fans and their pocket money.

Free ‘Smiths Rule OK!’.

I suppose so but you can still get all the other "best of" cds/vinyl/mp3

 

[SteveWS]

Considering that the original series of photos is simply better, and happens to give more prominence to 'the other three' (in terms of dimensions, at least), it does rather look like the cover-image is a particularly deliberate edit or choice.

 

[gashonthenail]

 

[Anonymous]

To most people living in the UK, I would reckon the '...rules OK' slogan has a definite 70s vibe to it, and the lettering evokes punk. So, apart from just being an appalling title/cover design, it seems totally anachronistic and illogical - The Smiths were not a 70s group and they were not a punk group. Am I missing something about this?

 

[pretorius]

To most people living in the UK, I would reckon the '...rules OK' slogan has a definite 70s vibe to it, and the lettering evokes punk. So, apart from just being an appalling title/cover design, it seems totally anachronistic and illogical - The Smiths were not a 70s group and they were not a punk group. Am I missing something about this?

None of it makes sense, its just terrible

 

[gashonthenail]

Considering that the original series of photos is simply better, and happens to give more prominence to 'the other three' (in terms of dimensions, at least), it does rather look like the chosen cover-image is a particularly deliberate edit.

View attachment 111076

I can forgive Moz for pretty much anything. But not for using badly cropped photos and naff fonts.