A bit of a historical moment this July 1991 single as it marked the first release featuring the then relatively unknown Boz Boorer – the one consistent member of the Morrissey entourage over the past 23 years.
The song was a new one that hadn’t featured on Kill Uncle or any of the singles taken from that LP released just four months earlier. But it was one that had been written in conjunction with Mark Nevin who had been so heavily involved in the LP…
It’s a single that I was very impressed with on its release. It was a more than passable move to a rockabilly sound completely different from anything Morrissey had done before. My only grumble is that over the next few years, the rockabilly sound proved to be just about the only way this band could play live and too many of the gigs and tours in the early part of the 90s were a letdown….
But I digress…for this series is really only about looking at the single, and as I mentioned above, it was one I liked on release and one that I still have a soft spot for even now all these years later.
The other tracks on the CD single (for it was in that format I originally bought the single although I now also have a 12″ copy as well) were a strange mix of a cover, a live cover and a live version of a song that had previously been a b-side…..
mp3 : Morrissey – Pregnant For The Last Time
mp3 : Morrissey – Skin Storm
mp3 : Morrissey – Cosmic Dancer (live)
mp3 : Morrissey – Disappointed (live)
The single only reached #25 in the charts, marginally higher than the two efforts taken from Kill Uncle, but a bit of a let down given it was a new song altogether.
Skin Storm had originally been recorded by Bradford, a band much-lauded by Morrissey, who had in fact been the support act at the (in) famous Wolverhampton gig in December 1988. Despite the great man’s endorsement, the band never really amounted to much beyond a cult. Here’s the original version:-
mp3 : Bradford – Skin Storm
The live cover version is of a song that, courtesy of Mrs Villain, can be found inside the cupboard in its original release on vinyl from away back in 1971 when she was a teenager with a big crush on Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn and bought all their records at the time…..and here’s a rip from that LP, Electric Warrior:-
mp3 : T Rex – Cosmic Dancer
She clearly took great care of her records……
Incidentally it says on the back of the sleeve of Electric Warrior:-
“This stereo record can be played on mono reproducers provided either a compatible or stereo cartridge wired for mono is fitted. Recent equipment may already be fitted with a suitable cartridge. If in doubt, consult your dealer.”
A reminder that in those days, you tended to buy records from specialist music shops, most of which existed primarily to sell electrical luxuries such as record players, transistor radios and stereograms with vinyl being just a small section over in the corner with a separate counter.
Happy Listening.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 