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Skylarker
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I don't consider them a band, but neither do I consider the Smiths a band. It's been Morrissey's journey since 1982, his musicians have always simply been his foil, and obviously they've been ever changing.
Good question Skylarker, this is something I've always thought about.
I think the closest we've ever gotten to that "band feeling" was with the Lads from 1991-1994. Just look at the many photographs, music videos, and even single sleeves of that era - it was hard to find Moz and the gang NOT together. I think Morrissey was finally comfortable with his players at that point in his career, and there's no doubting that Boz and the boys helped re-energize Morrissey as well. However, I think the eventual rotation of bass and drums during the mid to late 90s affected any proper band mentality, and along with players coming and going over the years it just feels now like Morrissey and a bunch of session musicians. Anyone remember Vincent Jones?
I don't consider them a band, but neither do I consider the Smiths a band. It's been Morrissey's journey since 1982, his musicians have always simply been his foil, and obviously they've been ever changing.
Tha Smiths are a duo...I thought everyone knew.
it's amazing how a duo can play 3 instruments at the same time...
...the way The Smiths were a band, or The Beatles, or The Doors, or The Shins, or Wire, or Radiohead or Spoon or The Cure or Throwing Muses...etc etc fill in the blank blah blah blah.
Or are they just glorified session musicians and a touring ensemble?
I've thought about this many many times. I go back and forth. Morrissey certainly sees them as a band. But I don't know. They don't seem all too cohesive or unified. I guess in a technical sense they are a band. But they seem too disparate and thrown together.
When I think of Morrissey's modern music I just think of Morrissey, I never think about the group's interpersonal dynamic as being a unified whole. They just don't seem to be that way. I mean, I'm very interested in all that stuff...who played what instrument on what song, whose guitar is in which channel, all that crap...but I'm just saying, I never think of Morrissey as being anything other than Morrissey. The backing guys seem incidental. Not unimportant, but incidental. They are a mechanical collective as opposed to an artistic one.
When I think of The Smiths I think of The Smiths. When I think of R.E.M. I think of R.E.M. When I think of Weezer I think of Weezer...with Matt Sharp.
But when I think of Morrissey I just think of Morrissey.
Anyway you get my point.
Tha Smiths are a duo...I thought everyone knew.
After the split of Smiths some people started saying Smiths were Morrissey and Marr partnership.
Although media exposure were mainly on songwriters, the majority of us considered Smiths as a band.
It's amazing how a duo can play 3 instruments at the same time...
They were very talented
Seriously, maybe I'm wrong but I've always seen them as a Moz-Marr Hand in glove-thing with the contribution of two other guys who, honestly, could be replaced by anyone