Mexrrissey
– No Manchester (Cooking Vinyl)
LP
/ CD / DL
Out
Now
7.5
/ 10
Mexican ‘supergroup’ cover Morrissey
favourites.
On paper, this is a very bizarre thing –
apparently the Mexican people have an almost unhealthy love of Morrissey. From the taverns to the streets, from the
villages to the cities he is regarded as something of a God. And, in the same way that the songs of
Jacques Brel seemed to fit perfectly when translated from his native French to
English, so too do the songs of Morrissey adapt themselves with equal perfection
to the sound of a Latino brass and string led combo.
Mexrrissey are indeed very talented musicians. Members from Mexico’s finest bands have come
together to create a sound which is pure and highly polished. Recorded in Mexico City and Tucson Arizona the
album was mixed by Jack Lahana (Daft Punk, Phoenix) and its title is a slang
term for ‘no way’ or ‘are you kidding me’.
Perhaps the later sums up what many people will think before even
playing the album.
For the most part, No Manchester is thoroughly
entertaining, beginning with First Of The Gang To Die the scene is set with an
almost spaghetti western feel. It’s
exceptionally good and if it were not for the recognition factor would still be
accepted as a fine song on first listening.
There’s a bizarre moment when you actually recognise the song and find
yourself singing the original lyrics over the translated ones.
So the album continues. Everyday Like Sunday is nothing less than
triumph with female vocals adding a completely new dimension and International Playgirl
flips the gender from The Last Of The International Playboys as though it was
meant to be. With a hint of well-known
Mexica ditty Tequila, it’s a continuation of what promises to be one of those
albums which just has to be played again and again.
As a down-tempo version of Morrissey’s Mexico
is followed by a superb version of Suedehead, The More You Ignore Me The Closer
I Get and We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful it really does start to
become something that will leave you in a compete state of flux.
Unfortunately, the hiatus begins to end with
the final five tracks. It isn’t that the tracks are poor, they’re
not. It isn’t that they aren’t good
choices, they are. What is disappointing
it that they are five live versions of tracks that have already been included
on the album. A wiser choice would have
been additional tracks from Morrissey’s vast catalogue with the live tracks as
a bonus. It’s a shame, as it takes the
shine of a very polished collection, but it will hopefully leave the door of
the Mexican branch of the Salford Lads Club open for another attempt at an
otherwise thoroughly entertaining compilation.
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