I concur with Stephin. I always suspected Mssrs. Boorer, Whyte, Day et al were a mismatch with Moz. My suspicions were confirmed when I managed to hear a tape of the 1988 Wolverhampton show. It's too bad for lawsuits because Rourke, Joyce and Gannon's play suit Morrissey's lyrics much better. YATQ does sparkle because of its production values and I think his band does provide the proper "umph" for "Irish Blood, Enlgish Heart" but they habitually pulverise Smiths songs when they play live. It's a keen argument for Moz omitting Smiths songs from his live set. But overall, Morrissey has been more about rock/pop subtlety that the rawwwwk muscle he has worked with for years.

this is from one great lyricist to another.

Merrit is a fantastic songwriter.

I think Alain, Boz, and Gary provide Moz with a great rock band. Their tunes are catchy and tight. If Morrissey went with the High Llamas or tried sounding like the Magnetic fields, he would just end up sounding mushy.

IBEH has a good "oomph" to it, and I would have the song any other way.

Everybody wants Moz to be some musical pioneer, but at heart he just wants to write catchy tunes.

I think the only one who is properly in tune with Morrissey is one J Marr, maybe they should take it one step at a time...Marr to produce Morrissey's next record?

God almighty. With all these prats recommending Magnetic Fields to me I thought there may be something of worth there. How foolish of me.

Thank god for Kazaa, because I would feel severly jipped if I actually paid for the festering shit of theirs I just illegally downloaded.

Handily, I think I can apply the same description to Stephin's review.

On Gideon Gaye, the debut album from the High Llamas, keyboardist/ arranger/ vocalist Sean O'Hagan brought the spirit of Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach and Steely Dan into the studio, then charmed them into divulging all their otherworldly musical secrets. Gideon Gaye is an oddball classic, laced with glorious strings, gentle melodies recalling Pet Sounds, and lyrics seemingly stolen from Steely Dan's Can't Buy A Thrill. What at first seems a bad case of star worship soon reveals a keen pop sensibility. O'Hagan may not be in the league of those he reveres, but he's still a musical genius capable of dry wit, beautiful melody and captivating arrangements.

Originally a member of sleek '80s cult band Microdisney, O'Hagan released his solo album, High Llamas, in 1990, followed by Apricots in 1992. At the time also scoring for pop deconstructionists Stereolab, O'Hagan eventually formed an actual band, naming it the High Llamas. Gideon Gaye proved a critical favorite, with the hypnotic "The Goat Strings," a shoulda-been-a hit "Checking In, Checking Out" and the Brian Wilson tributes "Up In The Hills," "The Goat Looks On" and "Little Collie." Talk about a fixation. 1996 saw the High Llamas' first stateside release with Hawaii, which pulled out all the stops. "Theatreland" is as gooey as a cinnamon bun, "Recent Orienteering" recreates a steam-train ride through outer space, and "Campers In Control" drops Donald Fagen amid Brian Wilson's orchestra for beauteous results. Though ambitious with tape loops, soundtrack snippets and ever-lush orchestration, Hawaii sounds like a concept album wandering without an anchor.

Reportedly working on the next Brian Wilson album, Sean O'Hagan is an oddity in '90s rock--a highly skilled musician working in realms most of his contemporaries can only dream of (or sneer at). What would you expect from a man with a scavenger's zeal and a madman's vision?

This Biography was written by Ken Micallef

Miss Merritt, I bought your album on the same day as Irish Blood, English Heart. Guess which one seemed a little tired, and well-worn. Yours! I find your reliance on the same exact elements to be a bit tedious. Clever word play is fine, but sometimes we need to hear the emotion released from the confines of a song's structure.

I think it's not so much the "plodding, generic beats" but I think it's Morrissey's refusal to be hemmed in by the standard pop constructions, which even sends up in "We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful".

I feel quite the opposite. The music in YATQ is quite good, while the lyrics clearly seem to be its weakness; some of the lines are very poor by Morrissey standards. What's really ironic is that
I consider Stephin Merritt to be a better lyricist than Morrissey now.

lets pretend we're bunny rabbits and absolutely cuckoo are musical masterpieces, eh, Stephan? mmmmm. Get real.

You seemed to be
In love with me
Which isn't very realistic
-- "I Don't Believe You," Magnetic Fields

She told me she loved me
Which means
She must be insane
-- "How Can Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel," Morrissey

Merritt just wants whats best for our/his hero. I too would like to hear Moz in a new musical setting... maybe next time. Anyway, the High Llamas is an interesting suggestion... 'Queen is Dead' meets 'SMiLE'... yummy.

easymeat

He is dead on. Boorer, Whyte et al have done some some good stuff for ol' Moz, but for about the past three albums they've sounded like the guys who got rejected at the first tryouts for the Goo Goo Dolls. Getting Spencer Cobrin back on drums would be a good place to start. And for God's sake, Alan, find a new sound for your guitar!