some interesting reading from the press release and liner notes written by Morrissey from the new record "Under the Influence: Morrissey"
Press Release
DMC, the company behind Back To Mine, the unparalleled compilation series that invites itself into the homes of dance musicâ??s most respected artists, is about to unleash a new series of compilations entitled Under The Influence.
Under The Influence draws on the inspirations and all time loves of the worldâ??s greatest recording artists. Legendary Smithâ??s front man Morrissey compiles the first in this unique series and his choice of material is as wildly eclectic and inspirational as one would hope for.
Morrisseyâ??s chosen artists, as he explains in his extensive and highly entertaining sleeve notes "conjure an atmosphere and a special standard because they were (or are) true pop artists. The mere sound of their names is as powerful as their work, so that we only need to hear that name in order to glide into a half-dream state".
The album kicks off with The Sundown Playboysâ?? â??Saturday Nite Specialâ??, an obscure Cajun track sung in Acadian French. Morrissey first heard the song in 1972 and despite not understanding a word of it, itâ??s curious vocal melody stayed with him. A handful of other curiosities also feature on the album from Jaybee Weston, Charlie Feathers, Nat Couty and Jimmy Radcliff, artists whom Morrissey professes to knowing little about but "the happiness these songs give me seems now to be everlasting â?? even if this is music played with a lop-sided grinâ?¦"
A teenage obsession with The New York Dolls prompts the inclusion of â??Trashâ?? as track two. To 13 year old Morrissey, The New York Dolls "meant one thing: trouble" and â??Trashâ?? he recalls reminds him "of â??All Grown Upâ?? by The Crystals, and of John Garfieldâ??s far-away gaze in the film â??Saturdayâ??s Childrenâ?? (1940)." It was "a fantastic achievement for five boys who otherwise would have ended up in hotel catering, or amongst the heroined dead". Additional te enfaves T Rex â?? "the sound of late 1960â??s Nottinghill bed sits" - and Sparks also feature contributing 'Great Horse' and 'Arts And Crafts Spectacular' respectively.
Nico, whose "voice equaled the sound of a body being thrown out of a window â?? entirely without hope, of this world, or the next or the previous" caught Morrissey attention early on, with â??All That Is My Ownâ?? the designated track here. Making up the albums remaining female contingent are Patti Smith with her debut release 'Hey Joe', Diana Dors â??So Little Timeâ?? and â??Breaking The Rulesâ?? by Ludus. Bringing the album to a close is a prophetic 'Death' from Klaus Nomi.
1. THE SUNDOWN PLAYBOYS â?? Saturday Nite Special
2. THE NEW YORK DOLLS â?? Trash
3. NAT COUTY â?? Woodpecker Rock
4. DIANA DORS â?? So Little Time
5. LUDUS â?? Breaking The R ules
6. CHARLIE FEATHERS â?? One Hand Loose
7. TYRANNOSAURUS REX â?? Great Horse
8. J IMMY RADCLIFF â?? (There Goes ) The Forgotten Man
9. JAYB EE WASDEN â?? De Castrow
10. RAMONES â?? Judy Is A Punk
11. S PAR KS â?? Arts And Crafts Spectacular
12. THE CATS â?? Swan Lake
13. NICO â?? All That Is My Own
14. PATTI SMITH â?? Hey Joe
15. KLAUS NOMI â?? Death
Morrissey's Liner Notes
