Record Review: Viva Hate

Hidden Gem:
Morrissey
Viva Hate
1988 | Sire

Considering the amount of records in my collection (somewhere upwards of two thousand), it’s amazing to me how embarrassingly unfamiliar I’ve been with Morrissey, ex-Smiths singer and perennial provocateur, until about a week ago. I’ve been largely blank on 1980’s “alternative rock” (barring the subjects of Michael Azerrad’s chronicle of the 80s DIY scene, Our Band Could Be Your Life), finding the “state-of-the-art,” digital production quality of most 80’s rock music unlistenable. Replacements, Hoodoo Gurus, Killing Joke, etc., all have great songs, but the tinny production quality – all treble, drums sound synthetic (and usually are), lead guitars mixed as though they’re in the next room – drives me up the wall.

I was pleasantly surprised, then, to pick up a copy of Viva Hate last week and hear sounds that I hadn’t heard in audio representations of this era-air. Producer/bassist Stephen Street may be the one to credit: live strings and accordion melt amongst canned drums (somebody got a little overzealous with the reverb, but it works here). The lead guitar, clean and delayed in a U2 fashion, but not overprocessed like U2, sounds almost like a mandolin on “Late Night, Maudlin Street,” and weirdly bouzouki-esque on “Suedehead.” Morrissey’s lyrics, always the focus in reviews, are so drenched in reverb they’re almost indecipherable, and that’s a good thing: if Mozzer’s voice were any more up front, they’d risk the pitfall of sounding like the musicians are in a different room than the singer. As it stands now, Morrissey could simply moan along to the music behind him, and it would sound gorgeous.

As a lesson in restraint, I would suggest fledgling engineers listen to Viva Hate’s closer (and personal favorite), “Margaret on the Guillotine.” Morrissey repeats a mantra of “make the dream real” over and over above a simple backing of acoustic guitar, accordion and mandolin (actual this time, not synthetic) before a jail cell slamming shut cuts off the chant, ending the album. Personally, if more 80’s rock music sounded like “Margaret,” I’d be down.

by Brook Pridemore

http://www.itsmorrisseysworld.com/