Why did Moz neglect so many Smiths songs in his live set until the 2000s?

MozIsGod

Well-Known Member
Maybe a psychological question here but why do you think it took Moz so long to re-embrace the Smiths stuff live? He did play Shoplifters and London with the Lads back in 95 and I believe they were staples in the live set until the Oye Esteban tour, which is when he really began showcasing more and more Smiths songs live.

I feel that it was during that time when he finally felt content with what he had achieved as a solo artist. Anyway, what do you all think?
 
Maybe a psychological question here but why do you think it took Moz so long to re-embrace the Smiths stuff live? He did play Shoplifters and London with the Lads back in 95 and I believe they were staples in the live set until the Oye Esteban tour, which is when he really began showcasing more and more Smiths songs live.

I feel that it was during that time when he finally felt content with what he had achieved as a solo artist. Anyway, what do you all think?

I don't think it ever had anything to do with not feeling content with his solo stuff until '95; if anything, a lack of confidence prior to that time would have caused him to fall back on his Smiths material.

I think he always had great pride in his post-Smiths output, which is what allowed him the confidence to focus on solo-only material for almost a decade after The Smiths disbanded.

But proving he felt that way to the public was a different story. Hence the total moratorium on Smiths' songs until '95, the artwork/sleeve aesthetic change, etc. He needed to show people he was going somewhere else.

He was basically re-inventing himself, and establishing himself as a solo artist and he wanted to show he wasn't dependent on Marr, or on The Smiths' legacy. Once he felt he had made that point; he gradually began re-incorporating The Smiths' music into his live sets as music he was proud of and still enjoyed playing.

And I mean, that '95 tour was only his third solo tour...his first four years solo he didn't tour at all (except the Wolverhampton show; which DID incorporate Smiths songs despite it being well over a year since they'd disbanded); he didn't even start playing live until '91. And after '92 he took another two years off...so in retrospect, waiting a few years to play Smiths songs regularly isn't that crazy.

It seems like a longer gap than it was, I think.
 
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this

"He was basically re-inventing himself, and establishing himself as a solo artist and he wanted to show he wasn't dependent on Marr, or on The Smiths' legacy. Once he felt he had made that point; he gradually began re-incorporating The Smiths' music into his live sets as music he was proud of and still enjoyed playing."

and i feel like he succeeded like twenty times over
 
this

"He was basically re-inventing himself, and establishing himself as a solo artist and he wanted to show he wasn't dependent on Marr, or on The Smiths' legacy. Once he felt he had made that point; he gradually began re-incorporating The Smiths' music into his live sets as music he was proud of and still enjoyed playing."

and i feel like he succeeded like twenty times over

It's a shame people still ask him about The Smiths and if they are ever going to reunite again
 
Maybe because at that point the music he was putting out was sometimes better than anything he had done before and he needed to prove he wasn't a nostalgia act.
 
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