Morrissey A-Z: "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Today's song is this Morrissey/Tobias composition, the fourth single from the Ringleader of the Tormentors album, which reached Number 16 in the UK charts in Dec 2006.

What do we think?
 
Love it. Have always loved it. Love the empowering lyrics, love the chorus, love the crunchy rock sound. Underrated song!
 
It's not the best or worst song on a record that I haven't listened to in years. I don't think anyone goes to see Morrissey live hoping this is played but it's okay.
 
It's not very good, is it? It's not worth the frantic thrashing effort.
 
My least favourite on Ringleader. Assembly line Jesse Tobias rock, with barely any distinguishing qualities from similarly composed tracks like “Youngest Was The Most Loved” aside from the (admittedly enjoyable, though he did it better on “When Last I Spoke To Carol”) mariachi finish. The “before I die” section of vocals is quite nice, but there isn’t really a strong vocal melody after or before. Not one I go back to often, I’m afraid.
4/10
 
like this,always have.the video above doesnt do it any favours at all.bookish we have had this conversation before.
 
My least favourite on Ringleader. Assembly line Jesse Tobias rock, with barely any distinguishing qualities from similarly composed tracks like “Youngest Was The Most Loved” aside from the (admittedly enjoyable, though he did it better on “When Last I Spoke To Carol”) mariachi finish. The “before I die” section of vocals is quite nice, but there isn’t really a strong vocal melody after or before. Not one I go back to often, I’m afraid.
4/10
Worse than "The Father Who Must Be Killed," though?
 
Here is the studio version:



A decent rocker, and I think it's another of those tracks where Morrissey's vocal melodies make the song. His "I just want to..." section lifts things and the chorus is also solid.

Musically the ending (and Michael Farrell's contribution) is probably the high point.

It was a stretch to release a 4th single from the album, but it's another testament to Morrissey's continued popularity at the time that it was felt worthwhile. Obviously Ringleader was never likely to match the sales of the "comeback" album, but 9 top twenty hits in 2 years was pretty phenomenal.

In the poll on the Hoffman board this ranked 200th from 264 solo songs.
 
His voice sounds as if it's trying to outrun the guitar, which is tad uncomfortable. But it's got a nice melody & bits remind me of a Beatles track.
 
I like both the studio version and the live version (especially the one from the Holywood Bowl)
Who wouldn't want the inner child to be always happy? Unfortunately, wanting and being able are two different things .
 
Not one of my favourites but I like the music and the vocal. The lyrics are all right but don't really speak to me personally.

I actually prefer live recordings over the album version, it's such an energetic song.
And, I mean, look at them:







(The RaR one is unfortunately slightly out of sync)
 
Best story about this song is Morrissey insisting on playing it well in 2008, ages after Michael Farrell had left the live band, and employed Kris Pooley who couldn't play the trombone, unlike his predecessor.

Eventually Kris was allowed to mash at his synthesizer during the "solo", which was not AS funny, but tragic nonetheless.
 
Best story about this song is Morrissey insisting on playing it well in 2008, ages after Michael Farrell had left the live band, and employed Kris Pooley who couldn't play the trombone, unlike his predecessor.

Eventually Kris was allowed to mash at his synthesizer during the "solo", which was not AS funny, but tragic nonetheless.

Especially funny considering that Mikey didn't play the trombone either until Morrissey decided that he should. During that Twitter listening party last year Mike said the take that made it onto the album was "the 3rd or 4th minute of me ever playing the trombone".
 
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Yes, I remember Morrissey on stage in Oslo in 2006, commenting "It will be fantastic when he learns to play" after Farrell's trombone solo.
 
Sonically close to several songs on YOR but I'd argue that there are better songs on YOR than this one. I honestly think that Jerry Finn would have done a better job producing this one as well because I don't like this studio recording very much. It feels claustrophobic to me.
 
I always thought that when sung live, this song in particular often showed whatever weakness was in Morrissey's voice at the time. Lots of occasions where he drops tune or stretches his voice in uncomfortable ways. As stated, the energy is there in the live performances and that seems to make up for any transgressions - for some folks. For me I cannot help but hear those uncomfortable moments - even in the three live vids shared above!
 
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I always thought that when sung live, this song in particular often showed whatever weakness was in Morrissey's voice at the time. Lots of occasions where he drops tune or stretches his voice in uncomfortable ways. As stated, the energy is there in the live performances and that seems to make up for any transgressions - for some folks. For me I cannot help but hear those uncomfortable moments - even in the three live vids shared above!

I know what you mean but for me these imperfections actually add to the energetic feeling of the song.
It reminds me of early Smith recordings, maybe that's why I like the cracks and stretches.
 
I know what you mean but for me these imperfections actually add to the energetic feeling of the song.
It reminds me of early Smith recordings, maybe that's why I like the cracks and stretches.
Interestingly, I was also thinking that his vocal harmony and vocal range are somewhat disjoint from the music, reminiscent of some early Smiths songs.
 
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