Why would morrissey allow imperfection

No1uno

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There was a point that I completely understood how Morrissey is just a singer, great lyricist, but just a singer. I'll even venture to say not a detailed professional. I've said I am a detailed person so here. I noticed this a long time ago but this popped out at me again today. To be clear, I love the music.

It is apparent here, on the album ringleader, song On the streets I ran.

At about 2:21 his voice cracks and goes out of tune. Clearly a mistake, but one he accepted and did not correct. A producer would have demanded a redo. But this might speak to his relationship with the producer. The producers either perceived or stated lack of power to make a flawless record. Or morrisseys lack of review to come back and do it again. It smacks me in the face every time I hear it. Why would he allow this, ever.

The days activities put me on a bike trainer today for 25 miles so I was listening to the album. The good thing about indoor training is I keep my ipad in a stand to do two things at once. Riding while writing, superb.

Do you think this speaks to his professionalism in the studio? I do, but still love the music
 
Interesting.
I haven't listened to this song in ages.
The vocals in this song never sounded quite right to me, but I don't think I ever noticed the voice cracking - it's obvious to me now.

Maybe Jesse was getting tired and wanted to call it a day.

(it is finally thawing out here - and I'm going for an outdoor ride tomorrow....can't wait - it's been a long winter.)
 
Interesting.
I haven't listened to this song in ages.
The vocals in this song never sounded quite right to me, but I don't think I ever noticed the voice cracking - it's obvious to me now.

Maybe Jesse was getting tired and wanted to call it a day.

Even you meant as a joke, I'm really fed up with hearing insult at Jesse.

Someone posted here that Morrissey didn't like doing too many takes when he was recording.

He and Tony Visconti agreed that the take was the best for the song.
On the Streets I Ran is one of my favourite songs of the album, good to see that he'd rather not to use auto-tune.
 
That's one of the reasons I dislike that song so much. To me, it's the worst thing he's done his entire career. Or, maybe on par with Children in Pieces. He almost goes off a few times in ROTT, I seem there's points in Pigsty which just don't sound right either.
 
He sounds like he is straining that entire song. I think the key is slightly too high, which makes it sound painful, and his voice is often very slightly flat as a result.

I can understand why he prefers the energy of a take like this however - rough edges and all - compared to a note perfect take. It' hardly unique in his career. Look at the opening of 'I Want the One I Can't Have' - not only is Moz completely out of tune in the opening line, but he gets a huge wodge feedback on the word 'day' - and it sounds thrilling. Or when his voice cracks on 'The Queen is Dead' (I never even knew what drugs wee-eere'). Or being hideously flat on the end of 'Shakespeare's Sister' - enough to set dogs barking.

I could say more, but you get the general idea. Perfection has never been the aim.
 
Even you meant as a joke, I'm really fed up with hearing insult at Jesse.

Someone posted here that Morrissey didn't like doing too many takes when he was recording.

He and Tony Visconti agreed that the take was the best for the song.
On the Streets I Ran is one of my favourite songs of the album, good to see that he'd rather not to use auto-tune.

Kewpie, trust me. It wasn't meant to be a joke. Each time I insult Jesse, I do it with wholehearted sincerity.

If that was the best Morrissey could possibly do, so be it. At least he showed up for the recording session.
 
That's one of the reasons I dislike that song so much. To me, it's the worst thing he's done his entire career. Or, maybe on par with Children in Pieces. He almost goes off a few times in ROTT, I seem there's points in Pigsty which just don't sound right either.

Yes...I completely agree with you.
 
Kewpie, trust me. It wasn't meant to be a joke. Each time I insult Jesse, I do it with wholehearted sincerity.

If that was the best Morrissey could possibly do, so be it. At least he showed up for the recording session.

It seems like you pick on Jesse because you learned somewhere it was the cool thing to do. You offer no critical analysis of any other guitarist or guitarwork or instrumentation anywhere on Morrissey's music or of music in general, yet you have a diabolical hatred for Jesse? :squiffy:
 
He sings it how he sings it. He wrote the damn vocal melody himself. Give the guy a break.
 
He sings it how he sings it. He wrote the damn vocal melody himself. Give the guy a break.

I love that line because it's out of tune. I love when his voice cracks. When he whisper sings. When he lilts off the note a tad. If you want an autotuned robot go listen to Kanye West.
 
I love that line because it's out of tune. I love when his voice cracks. When he whisper sings. When he lilts off the note a tad. If you want an autotuned robot go listen to Kanye West.

That is so true! Morrissey is an artist who doesn't want to hide away so-called "imperfect" vocals. That's what distinguishes him from so many mainstream artists. I also think this is why so many love him so much. He is real. I think people want artists to be real. They don't want them to be fake. Morrissey is real.
 
His voice does sound absolutely knackered and straining during 'On The Streets I Ran' though. My hunch is it was the last song they recorded, and that was the best (or possibly only) take his worn-out voice managed.
 
At about 2:21 his voice cracks and goes out of tune. Clearly a mistake, but one he accepted and did not correct. A producer would have demanded a redo. But this might speak to his relationship with the producer. The producers either perceived or stated lack of power to make a flawless record. Or morrisseys lack of review to come back and do it again.

FWIW, he does nearly the same on "but the heart feels free" at the end of "Dear God Please Help Me." That one drives me batty given the overall strength off the performance. You don't require Pro Tools or Autotune to fix a minor detail like that. There is a recording technique called a punch-in that has been used at least since analog 8-track recording. A few minutes of extra work would round off a rough edge that is somewhat embarrassing hearing from an artist of his caliber. (Ironically, I seem to remember Visconti fulsomely praising Marcos Martin, the engineer, specifically for his Pro Tools abilities.)

I have mixed feelings about Finn's production style, but I can't recall hearing any obviously egregious vocal errors on his tracks.
 
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