The Velvet Forum

Who will leave the greater legacy...always being remembered for integrity, poetry, never compromising, and always knowing they were better than everyone else?!

I am actually surprised a t how little Moz is brought up on the board. Lou and Moz's careers have a lot of parallels.

IMO Morrissey is a pretentious eejit and not very talented. And he's boring. Any legacy he leaves will be via the Smiths - his solo stuff is an endless rehash of his 80s peak, which I don't think was that great to begin with.

simonm wrote:IMO Morrissey is a pretentious eejit and not very talented. And he's boring. Any legacy he leaves will be via the Smiths - his solo stuff is an endless rehash of his 80s peak, which I don't think was that great to begin with.

Funny, I've read plenty of reviews which have described Lou in the exact same terms! Like I said, their careers do have a lot of parallels.

mg196 wrote:Funny, I've read plenty of reviews which have described Lou in the exact same terms!

s'true, but I think Lou has produced a much more varied and imaginative body of work, even if I don't like a lot of it.

Can't stand that whining Mancunian nutsack!!

simonm wrote:s'true, but I think Lou has produced a much more varied and imaginative body of work, even if I don't like a lot of it.

Yeah, I can see that. One thing I love about Moz though, is that he has put out dozens of singles with fantastic B-sides. Lately, I have been listening to "Ganglord" and his much older smearing of Mick Jagger, "Get Off the Stage."

People here are very ready to put Morrissey down, but you can't help but admit how similiar they are:

- both were the main cog in a band that changed the music scene
- both wrote about topics nobody else would
- each has one solo masterpiece (Vauxhall & I / Berlin)
- each was sexually ambiguous if not outright gay (for a time, anyways)

Moz is absolutely more prolific. Also, Moz gives infinitely better interviews than Lou.

I love them both, but I see them differently.

Dear Morrisey seems to be stuck in a time warp. Its just embarassing to watch him perform live (on TV) these days. Even employing the likes of Tony Visconti and Morricone can't really help these old guys (i'm thinking Bowie, too).

On the strength of the 3 VU LPs that Reed's legacy is sealed. I like a couple of Reed LPs but I'm afraid his solo work pales into insignificance and I could live without any of it.

But I do see the parallels
- group collaboration = openess, inventiveness
- solo work = narrowness, self-indulgence

I got Morrissey tix for July 2nd!!!!! It'll be my first time and I can't wait! My wife said I love him more than she does!

Sadly, although I am a devote Smiths fan (and even have all of Morrissey's solo albums), I'd have to say Lou. Purely on the strength of his VU albums and a few solo gems, even though most of his solo output stinks.

"Vauxhall and I" is an absolute masterpiece and "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" will probably be played at my funeral. And Morrissey gives far greater interviews than Old Grumpy. But his Boorer/Whyte writing team is exhausted and I can't see Tobias, who Moz said "revived his songwriting", giving him a new impulse. If only Morrissey could muster the strength to come up with a "New York"-style latter-day masterpiece...

I would have to absolutely go with Mr Morrissey here. Lou put out two solo albums that I will occassionally listen to (once a month? less?) vs a handful of Moz records that I listen to at least one of almost daily in the car. I will agree, however, that the vu greatly overshadows the smiths IMO.