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147th out of 411 books
—
305 voters
My rating:
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Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance
by
Johnny Rogan
One of the most controversial and complete rock biographies ever written.
Paperback, 358 pages
Published
December 31st 1993
by Omnibus Press
(first published 1992)
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Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
I recently looked up "miserable" in a rhyming dictionary and it said, "sorry, no perfect rhymes could be found".
Lucky for us there is Morrissey.
I think Morrissey has answered the one question that the rest of humanity most dreads: if you could only have one, would you choose sex or romance?
If you choose sex and it's absent from your life, at least you can slip into left-hand drive.
If you...more
I recently looked up "miserable" in a rhyming dictionary and it said, "sorry, no perfect rhymes could be found".
Lucky for us there is Morrissey.
I think Morrissey has answered the one question that the rest of humanity most dreads: if you could only have one, would you choose sex or romance?
If you choose sex and it's absent from your life, at least you can slip into left-hand drive.
If you...more
view all 7 comments
This book was perhaps a tad overstuffed and overly detailed for the first 100 pages or so (love the right-on complaint from the reader below: "did we really need to know about Morrissey's *grandmother*?") but once Rogan got into the nuts and bolts of the formation of the group and their brief, tumultous, but often glorious history, I plowed through the last half of the book in a day, as my love of The Smiths rose like a phoenix from the ashes of my years as a twentysomething fanboy. I...more
This book is hugely overrated. The two stars I've awarded it are given purely because The Smiths are great and their story is great but if you've obsessively read all of the Smiths-related articles and interviews on the internet (as you probably have as a Smiths fan) there is no point to reading this at all unless you want to know about Morrissey's grandmother. This isn't insightful or even engaging - it's poorly written and oh so dull. To write a dull book on The Smiths should be a crime in its...more
Exhaustingly researched, this book is recommended for true fans. If not an obsessive fan, skip the first 150 pages and you will still love it. It is researched so well, the first 150 pages read like a daily list of morrissey's life. "What did he eat on friday, 24 June, 1980" is not in truth a joke that is funny anymore. The author -Johnny Roghan- is intuitive in his writing enough to know when not to include information, but only after page 150 (when The Smiths actually form as a band...more
Im afraid that i will have to echo many of the sentiments in other reviews of this book for i also found it to be quite a sluggish read, firstly having to slosh through the first hundred pages or so with little to nothing of any interest to fans of either Morrissey or Marr, secondly the almost overbearing tone of writing by Rogan is at times enough to make your eyes fall out from rolling them so much at what you had just read. that aside i must admit for any perspective fans this is a book to st...more
Obsessively researched by a man who truly loved the 1980s indy and "The Smiths." My favorite group, so it was interesting to read about the strange relationship between the lyricist and singer, and his composer. It is a tale of the sad unraveling of one of the most talented singer/songwriter duos since Lennon/McCartney.
Often held as the greatest work in modern music literature, this is the book that caused Morrissey to famously wish death on Johnny Rogan. The level of research is staggering. Perhaps not for those without an interest in Morrissey or the post-punk music scene.
If you know me at all, you know that I am an obsessive, adulating fan of both The Smiths and Morrissey - although I suppose the sentiments of most Moz fans are equally extreme. That adoration aside, I've found this book to be an extremely valuable read for its loquacious writing, historical accuracy, and generally fascinating assessment of the phenomenon that was/is The Smiths, or Morrissey/Marr. The facts that this guy digs up are astounding - he has an insatiable thirst for knowledge of the ...more
Esta biografia es todo lo que debe tener una biografia: amor por el objeto de estudio, años de investigación, objetividad y contexto entre otras miles de cosas. Muy recomendada.
insightful and well-researched if a bit biased toward Marr.
I liked this book more than Morrissey did.
Thorough to the point of being obsessive, this is by far the most comprehensive rock biography you will ever read. For example, apparently it was not enough to simply tell the reader that Morrissey was born in Ireland – the author gives a complete history of the family & provides a detailed picture of the socioeconomic climate of Ireland at the time. There was a point where I literally forgot I was reading a book about music. It does not get any better than this, however, if you like thorough wo...more
good lord, this guy need an editor.
Great band, good story, very badly written.
Great band, good story, very badly written.
Still unbeaten!
This is a great book if you are an obsessive fan of The Smiths. But if you are not that obsessive, or just not into knowing every little detail of a celebrity's life, this book may have way too much information for you. As one reviewer points out, the book flows much better in the latter half, after the formation of The Smiths. But something that makes the first half worth skimming through are events that inspired some of Morrissey's lyrics.
decent.
I actually loved, loved, loved it when I first read it. Now it's more of a novelty because I'm less obsessed with Morrissey the man these days. My affection for The Smiths and his solo work is still true, but this book doesn't interest me as much as it did when I was a teenager.
often times this account of what supposedly happened between morrissey and marr is too wordy and contradicts itself. it's worth a read, but i occasionally question it's validity.
This is a brilliant book, exhaustively researched etc and every Smiths fan must read it (even if Morrissey says not to)!
I love the Smiths, I loved this book. I wished I could go back in time and see The Smiths live.
I loves the mozzer! I especially love the song-by-song analysis.
a little longwinded but by far the best morrissey book out there.
Contentious history of the breakup of The Smiths.
Brilliant!!
Jim
marked it as to-read
Natasha
marked it as to-read
Emmadale
marked it as to-read
Alex
marked it as to-read
Kat
marked it as to-read
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