Gustavo Manzur posts "In Your Lap" (piano instrumental) on his Instagram (October 26, 2023)

 

[ACTON]

Wow that song and his playing was superb. I'd listen to more of him playing songs on the piano.

 

[Moz Fan]

Fantastic! Gustavo was so good for the Morrissey Band.

This is one of his best tracks he wrote with Morrissey. One of my faves on LIHS - which is a great and modern album minus 2 clunkers (in my opinion). Pretty sophisticated stuff, which is what you expect from Morrissey.

Juan, I love this one as well. The first time I heard this song it transported me to a landscape where Sephardic/Ladino musicians played and sang. A fantastic feeling. Then I knew Gustavo was a gifted musician.

 

[cat on a train]

This was a real treat. Gustavo knows how to make love to a piano.

 

[Anonymous]

Gustavo knows how to make love to a piano.

Ain't that the truth . He's also pretty good at playing them!

 

[Les Tameside]

Um, I believe it's the other way around. Moz doesn't have ONE GRAM of songwriting abilities. These musicians made him. Lyrics don't sing themselves, ya doughnut.

Unfair, Morrissey—at his best—has an incredible ability to tease out beautiful tunes that aren’t even there in the backing music.

 

[RoyBacer]

I think all of those songs suck, except ‘One of…’ He’s written some awful songs. Love Is On, Bobby, Ruth, In Your Lap, Neal C, Earth Is… Plus the ones that you mentioned.

He’s a sophisticated musician. Very proficient. But he can’t write a decent pop song to save his life. One of being the exception to the rule. He also brings out the worst in Moz. The lyrics to all of these songs are horrible.

Well, I suppose his songs aren't for everyone.

Opinions aside, the musicians have no control over the lyrics. They have no idea what Moz is going to sing until the very day they go and record the song for the first time.

I feel the opposite. Imagine the music on its own. It's beautiful. Sans lyrics. Gustavo just gave us an instance of a song w/o its lyrics. Stunning. But Moz puts lyrics like Truth About Ruth, and In Your Lap, and even Israel and ruins what could have been a legendary Morrissey creation.

It must be frustrating for the composers. Giving away their art only for it to be soiled with mediocre words.

Like giving away your baby to horrible parents.

 

[RoyBacer]

Juan, I love this one as well. The first time I heard this song it transported me to a landscape where Sephardic/Ladino musicians played and sang. A fantastic feeling. Then I knew Gustavo was a gifted musician.

This one is phenomenal. I hope he finds time to play an instrumental of Girl From Tel Aviv. (I don't think he reads these or frequents this site) It does transport a person to a part of the world lesser known, yet greater cherished.

 

[RoyBacer]

Jesse and Gus HATE each other !

Well, you'd hate Jessie too if he'd done to you what he did to Gustav for 15 years. He's a terrible person and a terrible musician. Buuut, Moz keeps him around. For some reason. For some buried and unknown reason. It is, after all, all about the Mozzer.

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Awful?

In Your Lap/Spent the Day In Bed/Israel/One of Our Own/Girl from TelAviv, etc.

Much better than Tobias, that's for darn certain.

Not a convincing argument. I dislike every song you mentioned.

 

[Ann Soforth]

Gustavo has written some fantastic songs. I'd love him to come back - not to replace any of the current band necessarily, because they're excellent themselves, but just to flesh out the Morrissey roster with even more proficient and prolific musicians.

He wrote these below. Not sure they were considered 'fantastic' in a recent members poll on here (which I can't find at the mo), but I don't think any of them received great scores (maybe someone could link to the poll?):

• Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?
• Earth Is The Loneliest Planet
• In Your Lap
• Israel
• Love Is On Its Way Out
• Neal Cassady Drops Dead
• One Of Our Own
• Spent The Day In Bed
• Sure Enough The Telephone Rings
• The Girl From Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn't Kneel
• The Truth About Ruth
• Without Music The World Dies

 

[lonely_high_court_judge]

He wrote these below. Not sure they were considered 'fantastic' in a recent members poll on here (which I can't find at the mo), but I don't think any of them received great scores (maybe someone could link to the poll?):

• Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?
• Earth Is The Loneliest Planet
• In Your Lap
• Israel
• Love Is On Its Way Out
• Neal Cassady Drops Dead
• One Of Our Own
• Spent The Day In Bed
• Sure Enough The Telephone Rings
• The Girl From Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn't Kneel
• The Truth About Ruth
• Without Music The World Dies

Amusing that he wrote 'Sure Enough...' and 'Neal Cassady'. I think that those 2 havr the best backing music out of any of the songs on there. Ironic given they both contain very little piano/keys

 

[lonely_high_court_judge]

Well, you'd hate Jessie too if he'd done to you what he did to Gustav for 15 years. He's a terrible person and a terrible musician.

Is this a genuine comment or a very bizarre joke - if genuine, how can you make such a bold statement with absolutely no evidence?

I think M keeps Jesse there because Jesse actually wants to be in the band. He's clearly a good musician and a good composer - we have seen that across so many years and so many different styles of song. I don't think you can make the argument that he's only there because he's not good enough to do anything else that's higher-earning or higher-profile.

 

[T. H. Auden]

I asked ChatGPT about this and it said:
"While many fans appreciate Jesse Tobias's contributions to Morrissey's work, there's no doubt that he's also been a polarizing figure among certain segments of the fanbase. Here are some of the criticisms or points of contention often raised by die-hard fans:

1. Comparison with Johnny Marr: Comparisons between Tobias and Johnny Marr are somewhat inevitable due to Marr's iconic status and the unique sound he brought to The Smiths. Some fans believe that Tobias's style lacks the distinctiveness and innovation that Marr brought to the table.
2. Songwriting Contributions: Although Tobias has co-written songs with Morrissey, some fans feel that these tracks do not measure up to Morrissey's earlier work with other collaborators, particularly the Morrissey/Marr compositions.
3. Change in Sound: Some fans feel that since Tobias's inclusion in Morrissey's band, there's been a shift in the musical direction, moving away from the more indie or alternative sound that characterized much of Morrissey's earlier solo work and The Smiths. The newer sound is sometimes described as more rock-oriented or straightforward, and not all fans appreciate this change.
4. Stage Presence: A few fans have critiqued Tobias's stage presence, feeling it either doesn't mesh well with Morrissey's or lacks the charisma seen with previous band members.
5. Nostalgia: A portion of the criticism can also be attributed to nostalgia. For many fans, the era of The Smiths and Morrissey's early solo years represent a golden period, and any changes or new directions in his music can be met with skepticism or resistance.
6. Turbulence in the Band: Over the years, Morrissey has had various musicians come and go from his band, with some departures being more acrimonious than others. While it's not directly related to Tobias, the general turbulence and changes in the lineup can lead to fans comparing and contrasting different eras, with some inevitably preferring earlier lineups.

It's worth noting that music and art are deeply subjective, and what one fan might see as a decline or misstep, another might view as an exciting evolution or change. Regardless of the criticisms, Jesse Tobias has remained a mainstay in Morrissey's band for a significant period, indicating a strong working relationship between the two."

 

[Ann Soforth]

FFS.

it’s sweetnuthin’s opinion that those songs are fantastic. I don’t see why you think you could change their mind with some bullshit solo poll results.

OK, that's fine, but who else (apart from people on so-low) would actually know that GM wrote that music, and feel able to make comment via quantification (allocating a rating via a 'bullshit poll'?) I'm not looking to change anyones mind, but the good, and best placed, people of 'so-low' provided the evidence by what they thought, via scoring. Surely they all can't be wrong? There are some awful songs written by Manzur. I'm sure at least @Gregor Samsa would agree on this.

 

[sweetnuthin]

He wrote these below. Not sure they were considered 'fantastic' in a recent members poll on here (which I can't find at the mo), but I don't think any of them received great scores (maybe someone could link to the poll?):

• Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?
• Earth Is The Loneliest Planet
• In Your Lap
• Israel
• Love Is On Its Way Out
• Neal Cassady Drops Dead
• One Of Our Own
• Spent The Day In Bed
• Sure Enough The Telephone Rings
• The Girl From Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn't Kneel
• The Truth About Ruth
• Without Music The World Dies

I enjoy all of those. There certainly have been worse over the last ten years.

 

[sweetnuthin]

I asked ChatGPT about this and it said:
"While many fans appreciate Jesse Tobias's contributions to Morrissey's work, there's no doubt that he's also been a polarizing figure among certain segments of the fanbase. Here are some of the criticisms or points of contention often raised by die-hard fans:

1. Comparison with Johnny Marr: Comparisons between Tobias and Johnny Marr are somewhat inevitable due to Marr's iconic status and the unique sound he brought to The Smiths. Some fans believe that Tobias's style lacks the distinctiveness and innovation that Marr brought to the table.
2. Songwriting Contributions: Although Tobias has co-written songs with Morrissey, some fans feel that these tracks do not measure up to Morrissey's earlier work with other collaborators, particularly the Morrissey/Marr compositions.
3. Change in Sound: Some fans feel that since Tobias's inclusion in Morrissey's band, there's been a shift in the musical direction, moving away from the more indie or alternative sound that characterized much of Morrissey's earlier solo work and The Smiths. The newer sound is sometimes described as more rock-oriented or straightforward, and not all fans appreciate this change.
4. Stage Presence: A few fans have critiqued Tobias's stage presence, feeling it either doesn't mesh well with Morrissey's or lacks the charisma seen with previous band members.
5. Nostalgia: A portion of the criticism can also be attributed to nostalgia. For many fans, the era of The Smiths and Morrissey's early solo years represent a golden period, and any changes or new directions in his music can be met with skepticism or resistance.
6. Turbulence in the Band: Over the years, Morrissey has had various musicians come and go from his band, with some departures being more acrimonious than others. While it's not directly related to Tobias, the general turbulence and changes in the lineup can lead to fans comparing and contrasting different eras, with some inevitably preferring earlier lineups.

It's worth noting that music and art are deeply subjective, and what one fan might see as a decline or misstep, another might view as an exciting evolution or change. Regardless of the criticisms, Jesse Tobias has remained a mainstay in Morrissey's band for a significant period, indicating a strong working relationship between the two."

As much as I don't like AI, I'd say this is very accurate.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

OK, that's fine, but who else (apart from people on so-low) would actually know that GM wrote that music, and feel able to make comment via quantification (allocating a rating via a 'bullshit poll'?) I'm not looking to change anyones mind, but the good, and best placed, people of 'so-low' provided the evidence by what they thought, via scoring. Surely they all can't be wrong? There are some awful songs written by Manzur. I'm sure at least @Gregor Samsa would agree on this.

Poll means nothing.

No one is right or wrong.

Music is subjective.

 

[Mayfly]

Um, I believe it's the other way around. Moz doesn't have ONE GRAM of songwriting abilities. These musicians made him. Lyrics don't sing themselves, ya doughnut.

I always thought that Morrissey needed his musicians to provide him tunes, but that his musicians neded Morrissey as well to give their tunes this little extra.
in this case, I quite like the instrumental and I am not sure Morrissey made it better. Gustavo should play it live as an instrumental if ever he has a chance.

 

[MozIsGod]

Poll means nothing.

No one is right or wrong.

Music is subjective.

Yep.

I enjoy many of Gustavo's songs but there are a few that I didn't play as often. With Boz, Jesse and Alain doing most of the heavy lifting in the writing department, I suspect Gustavo's role was to bring some variety and different musical perspectives to the table.

Sort of like what keyboardist Mikey V. Farrell did with his two co-writes "Sweetie-Pie" and "At Last I Am Born."

 

[nicky wire's legs]

Well, you'd hate Jessie too if he'd done to you what he did to Gustav for 15 years. He's a terrible person and a terrible musician. Buuut, Moz keeps him around. For some reason. For some buried and unknown reason. It is, after all, all about the Mozzer

he prolly wants to bum him! with moz it's allllll about who he wants to bum! dont know why anyone would want to bum jesse, though, to be honest. gustavo and alain are way more bumable. by the expression on his face, jesse already looks like he's suffering from impaction as it is.