Rebels Without Applause released as a single track - initially on some region's YT, now to buy & stream (November 24, 2022)

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UPDATE (Nov. 25):

This Charming Bowie posted the story from official_morrissey_central / Instagram:

Morrissey's Rebels Without Applause is available today worldwide (including Britain) on Spotify,
courtesy of Capitol Records. The track is produced by Andrew Watt. This is Morrissey's first 'single' release since 'It's Over', taken from the 'California Son' album in November 2019. 'It's Over' peaked at number 1 in the UK vinyl chart.

Also now on Morrissey Central. Link posted by Famous when dead.

Rebels Without Applause - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - Rebels Without Applause

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

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Rebels_Without_Applause_(getmp3.pro).mp3

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[Anonymous]

It's a shame we no longer live in the age of physical singles - back in the day it would have been a no-brainer to put this out on 12" or CD single with a couple of X-Ray Specs and Generation X cover songs on the B side to make it a cool themed release. Oh well.

Not knowing how this modern streaming era works, does anyone think this will chart? Or get any radio airplay?

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Gregor, I quite like it when you use the language of the street, but Franz Kafka (to whom you owe everything) would certainly not be proud of you. The "single" is a joke. Morrissey is ostensibly trying to win back old fans with the sound of Johnny Marr's guitar and some lightweights here get into a state of trance.

I can’t get mad at you. I just love what you just wrote.

 

[stux]

This is making me indescribably happy on a Friday morning. Some quick thoughts:

1. Somehow it sounds a bit less like "Cemetry Gates" than the live versions?
2. The music sounds amazing, I love the production on the guitars, the pace of it, the background applause, etc. It just sounds so poppy!
3. His voice...it is a bit weird. But I like it, he sounds younger? (Which is, perhaps, an odd choice given that this is a nostalgic song about people/days gone by.)

Agree with all of this.

His voice sounds like a contradictory mix of less effects but more autotune. You can hear nice pitches changes , his voice sounds less "full" but there is also the modern autotune style controlling it at times.

Like the song, certainly doesn't sound like cemetry gates now.

 

[Surface]

Songs ok but prefer the Baby J live recording from the Brighton gig

 

[Flibberty]

Nice song. I will give it a few more listens before judging it more fully, but I needed something to lift my spirits and this did the trick.

 

[BookishBoy]

It's a shame we no longer live in the age of physical singles - back in the day it would have been a no-brainer to put this out on 12" or CD single with a couple of X-Ray Specs and Generation X cover songs on the B side to make it a cool themed release. Oh well.

Not knowing how this modern streaming era works, does anyone think this will chart? Or get any radio airplay?

No, no chart action for this.
Airplay I'm not so sure? It would sound good on Radio 2 in the UK but we've no idea if anyone is pitching it to them, so who knows? (6Music in the UK won't play it, because they don't like his apparent views.)
If anyone does hear this on the radio, anywhere in the world, let us all know!

 

[Pokey]

Its a decent little track. The similarities to Cemetery Gates does get to me a bit, sometimes things can be a bit *too* much like other things. Also not sure if I really dig the mixing of his vocals like others have said. Joe Ciccarelli had a really lovely way of presenting Moz's voice with this richness and it was at the forefront of the songs and he has never sounded better vocally, so this is a step back imo. But at the same time, maybe a little change is ok, its certainly not bad, just, different.

 

[Famous when dead]

It's a shame we no longer live in the age of physical singles - back in the day it would have been a no-brainer to put this out on 12" or CD single with a couple of X-Ray Specs and Generation X cover songs on the B side to make it a cool themed release. Oh well.

Not knowing how this modern streaming era works, does anyone think this will chart? Or get any radio airplay?

California Son had two 'instant grat' releases prior to a traditional single:
It's Over & Morning Starship released prior to the first 'real' single Wedding Bell Blues.
(let's not mention the absolute mess around It's Over and it eventually becoming a real single too).
Both got radio airplay (with even the radio conflating 'single' & 'instant grat').
On streams, YT views & digital purchases combined - this won't scratch the surface of any chart.
Had it been a vinyl single - different story as it would stay on the vinyl singles chart for quite a while based on previous releases.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[Zoom Zoom The Little Boy]

Songs ok but prefer the Baby J live recording from the Brighton gig

I prefer Baby J's version which was recorded on 1 July ...

 

[Anonymous]

It went from a warm, passionate ode to a late 90’s Cher b-side. I really cannot ignore the vocal effects

I guess in 2022 we're stuck with autotune on Morrissey's studio vocals. Maybe he should just embrace it, and do a cover of Cher's 'Believe'?

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey sounds like himself if you slow it down by 0.75 on YouTube. Backing track remains lousy.

 

[Jamesqwq]

The YT version sounds cleaner than the Spotify version.

The Spotify version sounds like I have the track on cassette and the tape is about to spill into the player.

This. YT is good. Spotify a mess. Weird.

 

[Anonymous]

Any guesses as to what follows this? An intervention by Central? An actual timeline towards the full Bonfire?

The fact that we have this over Veronica is strange. What are the chances that Camp Morrissey could have uploaded this track independently? Wrinkles in the production surely are not attributable to this? Who mandated the cover?

I think new music tends to be dropped online on Fridays, so at least that is consistent with ordinary practice. You’ll have to actively hunt this down, however, on YouTube, as it’s not easy to locate without a specific search request.

It is apparent that everything is a question mark in Morrissey’s world at the moment. But we have a track - so this must qualify as progress, however incremental.

 

[Phranc & Open]

I can’t get mad at you. I just love what you just wrote.

I love you too, which is a fate worse than life.

 

[MorrMorr]

All this complaining...this is a charming popsong! Nothing wrong with his voice or the guitars. No autotune...for heaven sake, its a background voice. Im quite tired of these so called Morrissey-fans. So many just looking for bad things. I have been listening to him since 1983. This new song is better than most of his solorecordings. Catchy. Just relax and enjoy it.

 

[Famous when dead]

Any guesses as to what follows this? An intervention by Central? An actual timeline towards the full Bonfire?

The fact that we have this over Veronica is strange. What are the chances that Camp Morrissey could have uploaded this track independently? Wrinkles in the production surely are not attributable to this? Who mandated the cover?

I think new music tends to be dropped online on Fridays, so at least that is consistent with ordinary practice. You’ll have to actively hunt this down, however, on YouTube, as it’s not easy to locate without a specific search request.

It is apparent that everything is a question mark in Morrissey’s world at the moment. But we have a track - so this must qualify as progress, however incremental.

Probably zero chances in all reality - as all formats & streams et al credit Capitol or UMG.
The definitive digital FLAC is exactly how it's meant to be heard minus any compression algorithms that stream sites use & it is nigh on identical to the lossy versions.
Again, there is no evidence this was released "over Veronica" - it is extremely likely this is an instant grat release as per several before it just like BMG did - that doesn't preclude a traditional single for Veronica does it?
The ins & outs of all of it will probably never be known, yet there will be people offering definitive, hard & fast 'rules' that explain everything away - never a great way to present information.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[Lucifer Sam]

Great song, but like it's been with every producer since Steve Lillywhite, over- or oddly-produced. Chipmunk vocals, cardboard-box drums, and everything too compressed. But with Chiccarelli you'd get staccato electronic bomb bursts, and with Visconti you'd have an Italian children's choir. Oh well.

And Dirk Blaggard, who claims to have heard the whole album, said the production is great (without going into detail, of course). There's no arguing over taste (or imagined claims).

 

[Anonymous]

I think the discussions around the production are healthy and prove that when the music is available, the debates are analytical and, dare I say, enjoyable.

Morrrisey’s vocals are a privileged category, so it is no surprise that there is passionate reaction to how they are rendered here. The result here is different - augmented - by still unique. They are installed with a larger pop canvas here; I personally think that the mix is rich and spacious. Auto tone or whatever production wizardry is being employed is not the absolute enemy of the recorded voice. We know from live performances that Morrissey’s voice remains a powerful tool a for that reason I don’t have an inherent resistance to production decisions that guide his voice to different ends

Now is also perhaps the time to reflect on past opinions of Chiccarelli, who may well have had a skill for channelling the defiant vocals of a late career Morrissey. Watt’s handle will only become clearer in the full context of the album.

I’m no audiophile or instrumentalist, so I can speak authoritatively on the use of guitars on the track. My layman’s response is that they are being deployed as pleasant jangle pop stylings. Their behaviour was more typical in the live setting.

Overall, I like the song and I’m happy with the studio version. Catch that funky bass in the background, too!

 

[Anonymous]

Probably zero chances in all reality - as all formats & streams et al credit Capitol or UMG.
The definitive digital FLAC is exactly how it's meant to be heard minus any compression algorithms that stream sites use & it is nigh on identical to the lossy versions.
Again, there is no evidence this was released "over Veronica" - it is extremely likely this is an instant grat release as per several before it just like BMG did - that doesn't preclude a traditional single for Veronica does it?
The ins & outs of all of it will probably never be known, yet there will be people offering definitive, hard & fast 'rules' that explain everything away - never a great way to present information.
Regards,
FWD.

Thank you for your typically sage contributions FWD

x

 

[Anonmous]

The bass is excellent. Viva Morrissey!