Customer Reviews

Viva Hate: Centenary Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Picked this up while I was in London in Sept 98. The remastering is fantastic. And all the extra trax alone
are worth replacing your original copy for. Alas not
available as a domsetic release in the US spend the money
& get this version !!!!

THIS REVIEW ONLY APPLIES TO THE UK IMPORT VERSION (REMASTERED, w/BONUS TRACKS) RELEASED IN 2005.

First off, i am a hearty proponent of remastering older CDs to bring the sound up to date with the latest mastering technologies, fixing albums with low volume levels (like The Replacements' Tim and Pleased To Meet Me) and generally cleaning it up to be in line with an artist's wishes & whims. But... here is a case where i honestly can't say I enjoy the remaster. Case in point: Alsatian Cousin. The remastered version is slightly louder, but the treble and high-range is so blown out that it literally gives me a headache, and subsequently makes the middle and low-end seem buried. Bengali In Platforms fares better, mostly because higher fidelity can only help a song mostly centered around a pleasant Spanish guitar melody line. But then Late Night, Maudlin Street also suffers from the 80's production flourishes being over-amped to the point where the tinny frequency becomes honestly annoying. The record loses the sumptuous quality it had and now becomes shrill & robotic, 2 qualities that might work for Kraftwerk but don't suit Moz at all.

And if the audio quality doesn't scare you off, the "bonus tracks" will at least have you sighing in disappointment. Of the 8 bonus tracks, 6 were already available compiled on the US release My Early Burglary Years (which also has the excellent single Sunny, a transcendant cover of Cosmic Dancer, and the song that should be Moz's anthem, Nobody Loves Us, along with many other gems) and 1 is just a swaggering & swarthy live version of Disappointed. This leaves Let The Right One Slip In as the only reason to have this CD. This is certainly in line with Moz's solo-era modus-operandi (reissue, repackage, repackage indeed.)

So there you have it, tinny sound and a group of "bonus tracks" easily found elsewhere, save 1. Proceed at your own risk.

I love this disc, I never go for very long without listening to it. I plan to take it to my grave.

Peace

The*Hot*Wax*Kid

Here are some opinions of mine, I hope they are helpful:

If Oscar Wilde were still alive, I believe he'd really get a kick out of "Viva Hate". It has a vivid atmosphere and is a beautiful thing, and after all, Oscar did say that "the artist is the creator of beautiful things". See: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

What makes Viva Hate beautiful is its music, written by Steven Street. He has a passion for making Morrissey sound at home, with arrangements to suit his voice. Morrissey's heart abounds with compassion for all sorts of souls, lost and alone, users of drugs and others. The bonus tracks highlight this, and were apparently hand picked by Morrissey himself.

I'd recommend this to people who really need a pick-me-up!

If you're reading these reviews, you're a Moz/Smiths fan. If you're a Mos/Smiths fan, you ALREADY HAVE Viva Hate. Writing a review on Viva Hate is like writing a review on the Beatles White Album or The Police Synchronicity: these albums are masterpieces and don't need reviews by amateurs. I'm throwing my two cents in because of the few incredibly daft individuals who have written incredibly ludicrous negative reviews. Someone actually called Viva Hate "bland," and they actually claimed to be fans of Moz/Smiths (amazingly they show their ignorance of the them by stating that they do not own and have not listened to Bona Drag, Kill Uncle, and Malajusted. THAT is a fan?) I'm no Morrissey sycophant (Vauxhall bores me), but Viva Hate was an increibly phenomenal start to a spectacular and prolific solo career. If you don't own it and you like Moz/Smiths, you are doing yourself a severe injustice. By the way, the extra tracks on the remstered import are worth the extra bucks (getting any extra Moz is worth the extra bucks!)

For the American listener, the question that must be posed is whether or not this CD is needed. Most of these tracks can be found on Viva Hate and My Early Burglary Years, but there are, as always, a few exclusives.

First off, the CD sleeve is terrible. They use a different album cover (which loses the dark, mysterious nature of the original cover), and they don't even care to print the lyrics or where the extra tracks came from.

Onto the original album, Viva Hate was not a strong start to Morrissey. Sure, it had some absolutely brilliant tracks, like "Everyday is Like Sunday", "Late Night, Maudlin Street", or "Suedehead", but it also had a good number of poor tracks, like "Margaret on the Guillatine", or "Ordinary Boys". It even had the absolutely dreadful "Break Up The Family". It seemed as if for every good song we got, we had to put up with a bad song.

While the strong moments are very strong, the same can be said about the weak moments. The album is worth getting in the end, but it just doesn't hold up as an album.

The remastering job on this album is allright. It won't blow you away, but it is better than the original CD.

Also, take note, this CD follows the original British version of Viva Hate - so no Hairdresser on Fire, which does hurt the album score a bit. Hairdresser on Fire was a good song, and it help even out the album a bit.

The bonus tracks onto the CD are a mixed bag. "Let The Right One Slip In" is the only really exclusive song, and it isn't that great. It's a good song, but not worth purchasing an album of other tracks you already have for. There are a few genius songs, like "Pashernate Love" and "I've Changed My Plea To Guilty", but then there are a few songs that fail to make any connection, like "I'd Love To", which just drones on and on. Then of course, the live version of "Disappointed" is a terrible recording. First off, the performance isn't that good. The playing is very sloppy and feels too loose. Morrissey's singing isn't that good on that track, and it sounds like either his microphone drops out or he forgets a few lyrics towards the end. Also on the track is an odd clicking that you can hear on the last verse. And whoever mixed this put the drums too forward. Simply stated, it's a great example of how to ruin a good song.

Is this CD worth the money? If you have either Viva Hate or My Early Burglary years, then forget about this. however, if you don't have either one of these, then perhaps picking this up would not be a complete waste. All I can say is that the package dissapoints greatly.