Maurice E Maher
Well-Known Member
Well, we've had a few Morrissey albums in the internet era now, so have a good idea of the sequence of events. The next stage is surely the release of the track listing, and an indication of the first single. It would be a huge mistake not to have a clear first single (whatever format it's released on). This mistake was made on the last album when four songs were released in quick succession, and it wasn't obvious which one radio should play. It was the first Morrissey album since the 90s to not have a single A-listed on Radio 2 (Britain's most popular station), and went on to be the poorest seller, despite having the best UK reviews since Vauxhall.
After this is the response of radio stations to the single which will largely determine the initial album sales. There are four major stations in the UK that would potentially play a decent Morrissey single - Radio 2, 6 Music, XfM and Absolute. Radio 2 is the big one followed by Absolute. Not since First of the Gang have all four of them A-listed a Morrissey single. If Radio 2 A-list it, the album is pretty much guaranteed good first week sales (40,000+) regardless of its quality. If they don't, it will struggle.
Then the reviews will start to trickle in. The main music mags will probably add a point or two to their reviews to boost their chances of an interview (Morrissey is one of only 4 or 5 people in the music world who will ensure excellent sales if a front cover interview is secured) so you can't completely trust them. If they give it 8/10, they probably mean 6 or 7. Then on the Friday before the album's release (currently set to be the 10th Nov), the national papers will give their reviews. The papers don't need to worry about keeping Morrissey happy (as an interview won’t make much difference to sales) and can therefore afford to be honest. That's the day when we'll know for certain whether we have a good album on our hands although it may well have been leaked by then.
Finally, it's worth reflecting on how lucky we are just to have a new Morrissey album at this stage of the game with all the record deal (and other) hassles he tends to attract, and of course the fact that an increasing number of icons from his era are either no longer alive (G Michael, Prince) or rarely release music anymore (M Stipe/R Smith). Enjoy the anticipation!
After this is the response of radio stations to the single which will largely determine the initial album sales. There are four major stations in the UK that would potentially play a decent Morrissey single - Radio 2, 6 Music, XfM and Absolute. Radio 2 is the big one followed by Absolute. Not since First of the Gang have all four of them A-listed a Morrissey single. If Radio 2 A-list it, the album is pretty much guaranteed good first week sales (40,000+) regardless of its quality. If they don't, it will struggle.
Then the reviews will start to trickle in. The main music mags will probably add a point or two to their reviews to boost their chances of an interview (Morrissey is one of only 4 or 5 people in the music world who will ensure excellent sales if a front cover interview is secured) so you can't completely trust them. If they give it 8/10, they probably mean 6 or 7. Then on the Friday before the album's release (currently set to be the 10th Nov), the national papers will give their reviews. The papers don't need to worry about keeping Morrissey happy (as an interview won’t make much difference to sales) and can therefore afford to be honest. That's the day when we'll know for certain whether we have a good album on our hands although it may well have been leaked by then.
Finally, it's worth reflecting on how lucky we are just to have a new Morrissey album at this stage of the game with all the record deal (and other) hassles he tends to attract, and of course the fact that an increasing number of icons from his era are either no longer alive (G Michael, Prince) or rarely release music anymore (M Stipe/R Smith). Enjoy the anticipation!