Morrissey A-Z: "Wedding Bell Blues"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member









Today's song is Morrissey's cover (on California Son) of this Laura Nyro composition, originally released as her debut single in 1966. The song was made famous, however, when it was covered by The 5th Dimension, three years later.

What do we think?
 
I wonder who he's thinking of when he sings Bill's name.
 
Well it's in the original but of course there could be some relation to "William, It Was Really Nothing," but that's probably a stretch.

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My fav on California Son, this interpretation is just brilliant. The barrelhouse piano is so bouncy and contrasts with Moz’s silky vocals as well as Billie Joe Armstrong’s not annoying appearance on backing vocals. The chord changes are classic pop, but this version has more of a minor, melancholy tonality, which I prefer.
However, it’s the ending that sells this for me: Moz just lets loose, with one of his most breathtaking vocals of all time, reaching his high register as well as maintaining that buttery texture throughout. Paired with the whistling, it’s magnificent.
So, a stunning cover from an under appreciated album.
10/10
 
Brilliant on every level... somehow an odd choice to cover yet it also makes perfect sense. Billy Joe Armstrong's backing vocals are an unexpected treat. It's impossible for me to hear this and not get cheery. An enjoyable new chapter on Moz's take on marriage. 9/10.
 
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Yeah, in terms of covers, he hits a home run with this one. Apart from SSIGD, this is the obvious CS highlight for me. A crystal clear pop song that probably will sound as effortless and fun in the years to come as it does now. And the band - including Billie Joe - does a fantastic job.
 
A fun cover with both Moz and Billie Joe Armstrong in good voice.

I wouldn't personally place it among my 3 or 4 favourites on the album, but I can understand why people enjoy it so much.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 84th from 264 solo songs.
 
Vocals on this, and indeed the whole album, are superb. Not convinced about the value added by Billie Joe Armstrong's backing contribution though. Regardless, it's a great version here from Moz which really out shines all previous versions.
 
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Really enjoy this, and it was a treat to hear it all over Radio 2 around the time of its release. (It's pretty much perfect Radio 2 fodder, if you think about it: an 80s icon - in most listeners' minds - covering a 60s classic pop song). His voice sounds amazing, the musicians sound great, the arrangement fizzes, the whole thing works perfectly.
 
voice is great on this and the harmonies with billie are great.just a song from the past that shows how good music was back then,they really dont write them like they used to.
9 loosin/10 no foolin.
 
Thanks to Bookish Boy, this A-Z has been superb. The only way I could have suggested to improve it would've been to leave out all the covers as they are not Morrissey songs, but that's just me.
 
The perfect pop song for me, I’ve loved it since first hearing it.
I bought CS on vinyl and CD.
The CD lives in my car and the second half is played to death it’s just pure pop sing along at its finest and good to see him doing this live.
 
Thanks to Bookish Boy, this A-Z has been superb. The only way I could have suggested to improve it would've been to leave out all the covers as they are not Morrissey songs, but that's just me.
I know what you mean, they could maybe have worked better in a separate list, there are so many of them now!
 
Thanks to Bookish Boy, this A-Z has been superb. The only way I could have suggested to improve it would've been to leave out all the covers as they are not Morrissey songs, but that's just me.
At least all the unreleased ones, the ones that have only been played live. They make little sense in this context.
 
Almost all of the live covers have been released, so it makes to include those. And the studio covers, obviously.

The little 20 second snippets that he has performed here and there, less so.
 
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