Mark Morriss - The Taste of Mark Morriss

The first thing you need to do when reviewing an album is to find out about your subject. Gold Flake Paint wrote about the quick, first impression opinion pieces that are chucked out by music writers under the weight of hundreds of new releases, when reviewing the new Maccabees record, and how it can be useful and not to be dismissed entirely; but if you’re writing for an on-line zine or blog you clearly have an interest in the band or artist, so a bit more research should be done.

This is pertinent as when you first put on ‘The Taste of Mark Morriss’ you are greeted by “This Pullover” by Jess Conrad. Some got this. Some recognised that Mark is sharp of wit and sarcasm and if you’ve seen him live, read an interview or even met him, you will know he is quick with the put down, self-deprecating slight or funny quip. Therefore, if you put this record on and hear this novelty, throw away ditty, it’s BECAUSE the tongue is wedged firmly in the cheek and, taken in conjunction with the brilliantly cheesy, camp, 80’s pastiche album cover, is THE TASTE of Mark Morriss. The real business starts with track 2 and ‘Rock’n’Roll Women’ by Buffalo Springfield.

You see, whilst this isn’t going to be an impartial review as such, I have done a bit of homework. I’ve read a few reviews, mainly to gauge the feeling for this album. It mainly seems to be the uber fan or the uninitiated. In fairness, this isn’t necessarily a good introduction to Mark. The title isn’t “ A Taste..” it’s “The Taste”. Mark’s taste in music. If you want an introduction to Mark Morriss you should start with The Bluetones and then listen to the first two solo records. The big fans from the very beginning, in the main, are big fans of this.

One of the reviews put it that you couldn’t listen to this record of covers without comparing to the originals. I had the opposite problem. I couldn’t have sung you anything off this before I first put it onto the turntable, with the exception of ‘Duchess’ which I’d seen played live. Oh and the video for ‘Lucretia (My Reflection)’ he’d released a bit before. There were a couple of acoustic versions of ‘Angel’ floating about, but my point is these weren’t songs I owned or had any great affection for. Which made this less of a covers album and more purely just a new Mark Morriss album. So not really a problem.

However, there were a number of moments of familiarity. Almost déjà vu. This came first with ‘Rock’n’Roll Women’ but that is somewhat of a classic although my exposure to Buffalo Springfield is minimal.

If you are coming to this record from the position of being at a similar age to Mark, then the slices of 80’s OMD, Madonna, Sisters of Mercy, REM, Pet Shop Boys and Jesus and the Mary Chain  you will be well-acquainted with. I, on the other hand, was 15 when ‘Expecting to Fly’ came out in 1996 so wouldn’t have had quite the same relationship with the 80’s pop as you. I was still absorbing The Beatles in 1985 and my parents weren’t Goths or big fans of synth-pop. ‘Don’t you want me baby?’ by Human League and Ultravox were probably the zenith of their interest. I remember liking Tears for Fears and Nik Kershaw, so if he’d decided to do “Shout” or “The Riddle” or “Wouldn’t it be Good” I would have had something to compare and contrast.

As it is, I was a relative newcomer to these songs and this may have helped me take this record at face value and not whether each song was better or worse than the original. Subsequently I have embarked on an investigation into these songs and listened to each of them as they were initially intended. In almost every case, I have to say, I do actually prefer Mark’s versions. He clearly has put a lot of love and affection into creating a sympathetic  version that doesn’t dismantle the original but makes a cover version worthwhile. Sometimes that is just about being true to the original, like he does with “Duchess” or even “Love Comes Quickly” where he keeps the synth heavy 80’s sound. Sometimes however, just being himself levitates these songs, in the cases of “Self-Control” or “Good Advices”.

Then there are those where he has taken the song, pulled it apart and then added revamped and pimped elements to change the style of the song, no better an example in “Lucretia (My Reflection)” which has become more of an urgent, rolling anthem than the original gothic, brooding slow metallic rendition by The Sisters of Mercy. It is almost a completely different song except for the lyrics and melody. This and “Rock’n’Roll Woman” are two stand out tracks.

“Angel” and “Almost Gold” are flipped on their heads. Madonna’s bubble-gum pop and JATMC’s dark overtones are swapped to great effect, their placement next to each other given meaning.

“Souvenir” by OMD and “Don’t Let Go”, a Weezer song that passed me by from the Green Album, aren’t the strongest of songs and when held up against Mark’s Bluetones and solo compositions, don’t quite measure up. There’s nothing wrong with them but maybe he could have tackled “Gone Fishing” by the latter. That would have been glorious.

It’s difficult to criticise other reviews of the album if they are coming at it from a different angle to myself. I personally think it’s a triumph. Other people may love the original versions so these renditions may not be their cup of tea.

Can’t say I care really, everyone has an opinion. Mine is, this is great.

They will be passed on, generation to generation....

Although it’s been said, many times, many ways, there is something wonderful about a record shop. Second Hand or one of the brand new ones offering the customer something fresh and exciting (Jacaranda Records, a record shop and café you can play vinyl on table-top turntables in Liverpool), there’s a sense of “Narnia” like excitement when you walk in one, a definite sense of wonder of what you might find.

I was in one such emporium of all things vinyl recently. Clearly there for a number of decades and smelt like it; all musty, sweaty, vinyly and geeky. These places are where you might find that rare slice that even Discogs don’t know about, and the proprietor isn’t necessarily aware of every priceless 12” that your favourite underground band released in 1993. Deleted. Twice.

They are also the place where the slightly more discerning person in their 50’s/60’s/70’s deposit their unwanted L.P’s after their son/daughter/grandchild has introduced them to the digital age which is just so much more damn convenient than having to get up and flip over the record. Or change the CD.

For everyone, like me, that have been swept along by the new vinyl revolution (I’m not a f*cking hipster), and now everything your new favourite bands are releasing is appearing on coloured, splattered, double vinyl, these are a gold mine for all those old records your Dad (or in my case, Uncle) sold years ago when CD’s appeared.

This palace of plastic I entered was in Norwich, adjacent to a vintage clothes shop, so I was granted permission to have a look whilst the wife perused the plethora of overpriced paraphernalia. A few months previous, after a curry and a few pints, we were at my father-in-laws and I put on his vinyl copy of “The Cream of Eric Clapton” (I don’t care, I am neither hip, nor trendy and I’ve seen ‘God’ about 13 times live) and placed the needle at the beginning for “Layla”. A minute or so in he took it off  the turntable, threw it to the side and put on “Derek and the Domino’s Layla and other Assorted Love Songs” instead and queued up the same song. Without touching the volume, the noise level increased substantially. In a nutshell, the first had been compressed the sh*t out of and the original 1972 pressing of ‘Layla..’ had not.

Thumbing through the worn out old vinyl in this shop, I came across an original of the same record for a paltry tenner.

Ironically, that very album had been a staple on cassette when I was very young, but now 30 years later I’m putting the vinyl on. It made me think. My love of stuff like Clapton, Cream, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who etc etc came from my parents as that was what they were listening to when they were young. Now, I’m at the age they were when they were first playing these bands to me, and although currently childless, I’m in a unique position. Anyone between 30-45 (depending on how old their parents were when they were born) will be the first generation where we can pass on the music that our children’s grandparents were listening to, that will have had a cultural impact on them.

Our children will know who The Beatles are, who the Rolling Stones are, as they are still culturally relevant and will be for a long, long time. Even bands like The Kinks have West End Theatre shows about them. For our parents, their parents, let alone their grandparents, won’t have passed much on to them, maybe Elvis, but they had to discover things themselves or from their brothers and sisters. The bands they loved discovered their influences from the radio, and the imported American Blues and R’n’B artists and early Rock’n’Roll bands. We didn’t take anything from our Grandparents, not unless we had a real passion for Jazz and Glenn Miller.

Probably one of the only things that excites me about having a kid, is that I can pass on some incredible music. Music my parents, their grandparents, introduced me to. Seeing the likes of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney now, they are old men in their 70’s, it’s strange to think that when I first heard them they were only in their 40’s, the age some of the bands I was into as a teenager are now, like Noel Gallagher, they are all 40 and over.

Now, they are the living legends, like the ones that our parents played us. The likes of Noel, Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, and to a lesser extent (wrongly) Paul Draper and Mark Morriss are carving out the solo career that will sustain them in the public’s interest for years to come. Noel said in an interview recently (his Desert Island Discs) that the amazing thing now is that kids who weren’t even born when the songs were written and released are down the front at gigs and festivals screaming the lyrics to ‘Don’t look back in Anger’ back at him in tears.

Certain bands will be passed on, generation to generation. Like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones before them, and even the likes of The Smiths and The Jam, now Oasis and Blur, but who after them? Will the Arctic Monkeys do the same for the teenagers of the 00’s. Will they be revered in 20 years’ time?