Morrissey Summary and Reviews

Morrissey
by Johnny Rogan

Morrissey
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Book Summary Information

Author: Johnny Rogan
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-01
ISBN: 0952954052
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Johnny Rogan

Book Reviews of Morrissey

Book Review: Fascinating Overview
Summary: 5 Stars

Bought this after seeing a rave review in Q Magazine. And they're right, it's a brilliant and insightful account of Morrissey's work before/during the Smiths and covers all his solo work in thrilling detail. I loved Rogan's Severed Alliance which has always rightly been acclaimed as one of rock's classic books. Here, with 340 pages, he concentrates largely on the work of Morrissey backed up by a wealth of interviews, including musicians, producers and others, all offering their memories of the recordings. But it's the writing that really impresses. Rogan's analysis is spot on and he clearly admires Morrissey and shows an enormous respect and understanding of his work. There are far too many examples to give but among the highlights for me were his mouthwatering reappraisal of 'Maladjusted', an album often dismissed or ignored by critics. Rogan provides a sterling account of what he calls "Morrissey's most neglected and misunderstood work - complex, awkward, resistant to categorization... and strangely lost." He sets the scene well, vividly describing the state of Morrissey's career in the mid-90s, "There was almost a sense of relief that we were there doing something," says one of the players, after a year when nothing had happened recording-wise. Later, commenting on the 'lost' songs on the Japanese 'Rare Tracks' recorded relatively soon after, Rogan makes the point, abetted by comments from bass player Jonny Bridgwood, that Morrissey might have produced a really great work if these efforts had been combined. I also was taken by Rogan's history of the Kill Uncle recording and why it turned out the way it did. Seems co-writer Mark Nevin was having major problems working out what Moz wanted and Clive Langer didn't sound too sure either! Intriguing stuff. Throughout, Rogan makes all the right critical choices (taste wise) correctly highlighting 'Vauxhall And I' as a career high, with revealing interview comments on individual songs. As expected, he's also very strong on the Smiths' stuff. There's also lots of mentions of unreleased songs/works in progress, several of which are mentioned here for the first time ('Jodie's Still Alive' -anyone?) - no small task. Along the way there's chunks of biographical material and the long intros tell the Morrissey story in tandem with the story of the albums. It really is quite a read. Highly recommended!

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