Dislike for the Joe Chicarelli era

Fuctup

New Member
I really hope this new album has a different producer. Im not blaming Joe as the music itself and sound of the albums are ok it’s just that every record he has produced World peace,Low in high,Cali Son, and Dog on a chain have all been my least favorites of Mozzas career.
Maybe I’m just nostalgic because I was a teen during the solo years commercial peak in the 1990’s? Maybe it’s me but to me the last somewhat great morrissey album was years of refusal?

Since then there has been a certain spark missing. Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling. The closest I can hear to this classic Moz sound in recent years was in a track he didn’t even bother to release called blue dreamers eyes!
 
I really hope this new album has a different producer. Im not blaming Joe as the music itself and sound of the albums are ok it’s just that every record he has produced World peace,Low in high,Cali Son, and Dog on a chain have all been my least favorites of Mozzas career.
Maybe I’m just nostalgic because I was a teen during the solo years commercial peak in the 1990’s? Maybe it’s me but to me the last somewhat great morrissey album was years of refusal?

Since then there has been a certain spark missing. Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling. The closest I can hear to this classic Moz sound in recent years was in a track he didn’t even bother to release called blue dreamers eyes!
I totally agree with you. The last 3 albums are pretty poor compared to his older ones.
 
I totally agree with you. The last 3 albums are pretty poor compared to his older ones.
The worst .Low in High School : poor production, poor sound, poor songs, poor musicians, poor artwork, poor lyrics ….
 
I think this is one of his best eras. Quarry was pretty great but refusal and ringleader were iffy IMO
 
I think this is one of his best eras. Quarry was pretty great but refusal and ringleader were iffy IMO
I too loved Quarry and although Years of Refusal isn’t in his top 3 or 5 in his discography I just used that album as an example of it being the last album to still kind of have one foot in the old as far as the quality of melodies.
 
Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling.
I'm not really sure how much a change of producer is going to affect that. They may guide the overall sound of the album, especially the musical side, but from interviews I've read with multiple producers, they mostly seem to be fairly 'hands off' when it comes to Morrissey's vocals. Get the best recording and takes they can, maybe offer a bit of feedback, but I really doubt any of them get stuck in to the extent of saying "Hey, how about changing this line - it sucks", or "This melody isn't really working - have you got any other ideas"?
 
I really hope this new album has a different producer. Im not blaming Joe as the music itself and sound of the albums are ok it’s just that every record he has produced World peace,Low in high,Cali Son, and Dog on a chain have all been my least favorites of Mozzas career.
Maybe I’m just nostalgic because I was a teen during the solo years commercial peak in the 1990’s? Maybe it’s me but to me the last somewhat great morrissey album was years of refusal?

Since then there has been a certain spark missing. Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling. The closest I can hear to this classic Moz sound in recent years was in a track he didn’t even bother to release called blue dreamers eyes!
I’m just spinning Quarry now and whisky it’s far better than anything since, I don’t think it’s stood the test of time as the years have gone by, like the 88-97 albums. IMO.
 
agree. There were way too many zips and sound effects and distortions. The musicians should be front in the mix

Also, as good as Morrissey has become as a singer, his lyrics and vocal melody ha lack subtlety , cleverness, and depth, and thematic variety

I find the band arrangements good and creative. Everything else is subpar
 
I too loved Quarry and although Years of Refusal isn’t in his top 3 or 5 in his discography I just used that album as an example of it being the last album to still kind of have one foot in the old as far as the quality of melodies.

I’ve always felt that what makes the biggest difference is the subject matter of the songs. Love so many of the vocals and melodies on dog. His singing on songs like Israel and girl from etc IMO are fab. The subject matter and persona have changed the most from my perspective as the unrequited love songs are vastly reduced as well as the songs about being lonely and needing friends. I love your Arsenal but many of the songs subjects and themes and lyrics don’t really speak to me. I think that no matter what we tell ourselves this as an effect on how we hear the music and how much we love it
 
I really hope this new album has a different producer. Im not blaming Joe as the music itself and sound of the albums are ok it’s just that every record he has produced World peace,Low in high,Cali Son, and Dog on a chain have all been my least favorites of Mozzas career.
Maybe I’m just nostalgic because I was a teen during the solo years commercial peak in the 1990’s? Maybe it’s me but to me the last somewhat great morrissey album was years of refusal?

Since then there has been a certain spark missing. Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling. The closest I can hear to this classic Moz sound in recent years was in a track he didn’t even bother to release called blue dreamers eyes!
I'd say for me the last great Morrissey album was YATQ... I've liked bits on everything that's followed but not an entire album. After not caring much for ROTT and YOR... I was encouraged by WPINOYB especially the bonus tracks and was really looking forward to the follow-up, but was completely unimpressed and disappointed with LIHS.

I'm happy to hear that he's soldering on, I'll always listen to what he puts out. I guess the big question now is how long will we have to wait without him having a record deal?
 
One of the most exciting things about the new album is the fact that, besides Jesse, It's all new people
 
like joe,he put M at the front of the mix,other producers have put his voice way behind in the mix,nice clean vocal as the voice is the best its ever been.
 
I would say that Jesse’s compositions fared better under Joe: they benefitted from the richer and more diverse arrangements. I am not saying that Jesse didn’t write any good song on the previous albums, but he wrote some of the dullest rock tunes too.

Like Gordy, I also Like to have Morrissey’s voice clear and up front in the mix.

What hasn’t worked though are the attempts to save weak songs by adding layers and sound effects.

Still, I am positive overall about Joe’s role as a producer but the time has come to move on.
 
I do hate the "hip adult contemporary" production of the last few albums. Let's have something different!
 
Blue dreamers eyes is so cheesy... I don't like it at all. Rightly forgotten. That said, Chiccarelli did great. The last few albums are trying to expand a bit, to explore new sounds, and have great songs and courage. Musically they are top notch and Morrissey's voice is in great form. Could it be that your nostalgia for the 90's is closing your ears? Open and enjoy.
 
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Since then there has been a certain spark missing. Morrissey used to be able to come up with these gorgeously, haunting and beautiful melancholy style melodies that would grab me in and literally give me goose bumps. Sadly the last few lp’s seem to be missing that feeling. The closest I can hear to this classic Moz sound in recent years was in a track he didn’t even bother to release called blue dreamers eyes!
Totally agree. The vocal lines have been largely forgettable, with a few bright spots.
 
I think you can pick 3-5 songs off WPINOYB, LIHS, and IANADOAC and come up with one excellent album. That is to say that while each album has a few high spots, there is a large amount of crap on each.

But, since Morrissey views 2014-Present as his strongest period, we are destined for setlists heavy on this era forever.
 
The new album may well have a new producer, but Joe Chiccarelli has done a good job. The music on the past several albums has received plenty of positive reviews, rightly in my opinion, and sometimes Morrissey's lyrics haven't been up to the same standard.

Low in High School was a generally strong album, though.

I do think there is plenty of nostalgia among fandom as well, which is only to be expected. Morrissey's solo career has been up and down since fairly soon after Viva Hate.
 
For me Joe C has been an interesting intervention as far as production is concerned; he's added some depth & richness to the sound. Others might not like some of his lengthy intros, or added effects, but I find them interesting & they offer a slightly different dimension.
The 'nostalgia crew' of course would oppose any straying away from their preferred era, but, despite his increasing years, Moz continues to develop & deliver new things, so you can't expect him to be replicating 'seasick yet still docked' et al. He's moved on from all that I think.
 
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