Morrissey A-Z: "Heir Apparent"

Nah.

Steve Lillywhite was absolutely the right choice for Vauxhall and I, but Morrissey should have moved onto another producer by this point (as he's acknowledged himself).

I'd like to still be the age I was in 1997 too, but in some ways the fact that Morrissey was only 38 was one of the tragedies of that era. For him to be considered entirely redundant at such a young age cast a shadow over things and it was no surprise that he ended up without a record deal for so long. The only surprise is that he came back so strong in 2004.
Do you think later producers did him and his band more justice?
Lillywhite did 3 different albums and altough Vauxhall stands out, the other are closer to my heart than anything Chiccarelli, Visconti or Fynn (RIP) did with him.
The fact that Morrissey himself writes in the liner notes to the Southpaw reissue that he would have liked to have been 37 forever is proof, that he was at least not quite as dissatisfied back then as we like to assume today. No longer young but the physicality still in full bloom.
 
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Do you think later producers did him and his band more justice?
Lillywhite did 3 diefferent albums and altough Vauxhall stands out, the other are closer to my heart than anything Chiccarelli, Visconti or Fynn (RIP) did with him.
The fact that Morrissey himself writes in the liner notes to the Southpaw reissue that he would have liked to have been 37 forever is proof, that he was at least not quite as dissatisfied back then as we like to assume today. No longer young but the physicality still in full bloom.
More justice than Maladjusted, certainly. It's simply not a very well-produced album.

I can understand you feeling nostalgic for that era as I feel the same way myself. I remember buying Maladjusted and the accompanying singles and it brings back fond memories. A little objectivity indicates that the actual releases were far from Morrissey at his best though and I can understand why it is an often overlooked album (and was even upon release).
 
More justice than Maladjusted, certainly. It's simply not a very well-produced album.

I can understand you feeling nostalgic for that era as I feel the same way myself. I remember buying Maladjusted and the accompanying singles and it brings back fond memories. A little objectivity indicates that the actual releases were far from Morrissey at his best though and I can understand why it is an often overlooked album (and was even upon release).
You may be right, that objectivity is lost over time and certain records are seen through the nostalgic eye but isn't it honest to write here, that a song like "Heir Apparent" and everything around Maladjusted brings you still more listening pleasure today, than e.g. WPINOYB or LIHS. I thought the style, mood and band suited Morrissey 1997 and his role as a wistful outsider (with ambitions) very well. A bittersweet symphony, it was.
 
“I came back to my old city
With fierce determination
And I couldn't find my way out of the station
It's all changed
You were there
Departing, starting
A trek I had once took
With that "no-one's gonna stop me when I feel this way...”


Amazing! up there with his best, though it’s more about his delivery
the emotion and the deeper story
comes into being through his voice.

Very powerful song, the dynamics are great, though I see how people can feel it may be too long. Only performed once I believe, maybe Morrissey felt it was also too long or it just simply didn’t work as a live song. I mean, live, he did shorten Girl Least Likely a little.

Which to me, apparently there
seems to be a bit of Girl Least Likely in this song... a friend that he sees on and off when he returns, this friend wants to leave that situation and be as successful as him, but they can’t do it.



 
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I think it's mostly just decent, however it does contain a section which is bloody amazing, and that's the "I'll see you back here, in a few bruised years (pray) I'll see you here...". The way the music and vocals suddenly turn into this lush soundscape, and it just builds and builds is incredible, and for me one of the highlights in the entire Morrissey canon.
 
It's funny, I had a phase where I was playing Rare Tracks constantly and my memory of that EP is of loving every track on it. Revisiting it now, it feels like "Heir Apparent" and "This is Not Your Country" make up a fairly long 12 minutes to slog through. That said, I have a fondness for this song in the way that it expresses the figurative impossibility of coming "home" again and the existential implications of finding yourself in a place that's changed irreversibly in your absence. I read the lyrics quite literally in that way. Musically, it's maybe the closest thing to metal in Morrissey's discography which is interesting in and of itself.
 
You may be right, that objectivity is lost over time and certain records are seen through the nostalgic eye but isn't it honest to write here, that a song like "Heir Apparent" and everything around Maladjusted brings you still more listening pleasure today, than e.g. WPINOYB or LIHS. I thought the style, mood and band suited Morrissey 1997 and his role as a wistful outsider (with ambitions) very well. A bittersweet symphony, it was.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think it's only natural that people will enjoy songs based on what their situation in life was when they were released.
 
Solid bside. The chorus is a bit bland melodically but the rest of the song is pretty nice and the lyrics while not a high point are still good. I also think the production is well done as it doesn’t have that trebly sound some of his older more pop rock songs have
 
“I came back to my old city
With fierce determination
And I couldn't find my way out of the station
It's all changed
You were there
Departing, starting
A trek I had once took
With that "no-one's gonna stop me when I feel this way...”


Amazing! up there with his best, though it’s more about his delivery
the emotion and the deeper story
comes into being through his voice.

Very powerful song, the dynamics are great, though I see how people can feel it may be too long. Only performed once I believe, maybe Morrissey felt it was also too long or it just simply didn’t work as a live song. I mean, live, he did shorten Girl Least Likely a little.

Which to me, apparently there
seems to be a bit of Girl Least Likely in this song... a friend that he sees on and off when he returns, this friend wants to leave that situation and be as successful as him, but they can’t do it.




As usual - I agree ☝️
 
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