Morrissey A-Z: "Satellite of Love"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member









Our song today is Morrissey's live cover of this Lou Reed composition, which was originally featured on Reed's Transformer album (although the song was written when he was still in The Velvet Underground, who recorded it as a demo). Morrissey's live cover was released as a digital single in late 2013 and then on vinyl in early 2014.

What do we think?
 
I think this is neither better nor worse than most of the other live covers that Morrissey has added over the years. It didn't merit being issued as a stand alone single, but there a few releases of limited value during the barren period between Years of Refusal and World Peace is None of Your Business.

Morrissey sings quite well and I guess it's good that his admiration for Lou Reed was caught on record.

In the poll on the Hoffman board this ranked 240th from 264 solo songs.
 
I love Lou, of course, but this cover does absolutely nothing for me. Morrissey the Fanboy, on the other hand, must be crying tears of both joy and pride. And I guess his 14 year old self is the main reason he did it in the first place.
 
A pretty pedestrian choice for someone who we all know goes deep with Lou. The performance and recording are both so stiff and lifeless, it never really comes across as much more than amateur karaoke.

Also, it’s incredibly tacky to change the lyrics about watching television.
 
I love this song, and Morrissey's cover is perfectly fine.

Also, it gives me the chance to trot out my only Lou anecdote. At some kind of book launch event in 2004, at a hipster place in Brooklyn, there's a band playing (brilliantly) a set of Velvets covers. A grizzled guy at the bar, stood next to me, says he's going to call his friend Lou to ask if he wants to come down to see this band. He makes the call and then hangs up after about 10 seconds, laughing. All Lou had said to him was: "Why the f*** would I want to do that?"
 
Another fine live cover that I actually own (for some reason). It’s a respectable plod through a great song, though a pretty obvious choice: the ending, I’ll admit, is great with the gradual buildup and backing vocals adding a nice touch. But we’re all thinking it: Moz doing “Street Hassle” in Vegas, right?!
6/10
 
I love this song, and Morrissey's cover is perfectly fine.

Also, it gives me the chance to trot out my only Lou anecdote. At some kind of book launch event in 2004, at a hipster place in Brooklyn, there's a band playing (brilliantly) a set of Velvets covers. A grizzled guy at the bar, stood next to me, says he's going to call his friend Lou to ask if he wants to come down to see this band. He makes the call and then hangs up after about 10 seconds, laughing. All Lou had said to him was: "Why the f*** would I want to do that?"
I take it Lou was ‘thee Lou’ of VU ?

as for the song itself, I quite like it but, as someone else said, it wasn’t worthy of a stand alone single. That accolade surely should have gone to Peeps Are The Same Everywhere ;) :hammer:
 
I take it Lou was ‘thee Lou’ of VU ?

as for the song itself, I quite like it but, as someone else said, it wasn’t worthy of a stand alone single. That accolade surely should have gone to Peeps Are The Same Everywhere ;) :hammer:
It was indeed, Lou himself, the grumpy old git.
 
Agree that this cover is rather boring. It perhaps could be have been interesting with a different arrangement, but the band didn't do this one any justice.
 
A perfectly acceptable live cover of a good song, but there is nothing much here to get too excited about. In the bizarre discographic world of Morrisey, I believe that Satellite of Love was Morrissey’s last (to date) 12” single? Of course, there was no need for it to be released as a physical single (which does has nice a nice picture of Morrissey on it), but I suppose, for whatever reason, Morrissey won that particular argument with the kind people at Parlophone.
 
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"Oh Lou / why did you leave us this way?'

No words to express the sadness at the death of Lou Reed. He had been there all of my life. He will always be pressed to my heart. Thank God for those, like Lou, who move within their own laws, otherwise imagine how dull the world would be.
I knew the Lou of recent years and he was always full of good heart. His music will outlive time itself.
We are all timebound, but today, with the loss of liberating Lou, life is a pigsty.


'7 glasses used to be
called for six good mates and me
now we only call for three'

-Patrick MacGill



Morrissey statement

true-to-you.net

27 October 2013


VIVA LOU !!!! :rock: :cool:
 
its a cover,its not rose garden and neither is it streetlife,it is what it is.
7 satelites/10 moon landings.
 
Plodding, boring. 4 minutes of loud noise with Morrissey doing karaoke over the top.
That said, the original is shite, too.
good of you to put a picture of your wife on here,how long have you been married.
 
The original has a sensitivity to it; a vulnerability. Morrissey's is more jaded and less nuanced. Maybe that's the lyric change. Maybe the delivery. Don't know.

It's a fine cover but nobody should cover Lou. Just like nobody should cover Morrissey.
 
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