Striptease... 1st time of hearing for me, I’m amazed that given some of the poor material released on reissues and b sides that this hasn’t seen the light of day officially. Very similar to Piccadilly Palare , not bad 3/5
Striptease With a Difference First time hearing this one. Cool song, driven by that piano and great slide guitar. This is the type of thing I dont understand in Morrissey, cool songs like this keeps unreleased yet ive been giving 2s for the last 10 or so released songs. Who can understand this? 3/5. But maybe with a little more work on it could had been higher.
Well, I must admit I like it. Yes, it's throwaway but it's superior to lots of the b-sides and officially released rarities from the same period. Unlike tracks like Oh Phoney and Treat Me Like A Human Being it actually sounds finished! There are a few different versions doing the rounds, and I never quite know the difference, but I do prefer the one with the sweeping piano intro. The Langer/Winstanley sound works really well on this. It would have made a solid album track or very good b-side to Piccadilly Palare if nothing else - and is probably superior to the two tracks selected for that release. Morrissey is probably a little embarrassed by the lyric, but it's good to hear him being silly and having fun. It's quite bizarre that it wasn't deemed worthy of a place on the Bona Drag reissue. 3.5/5
"Striptease With A Difference" Another one I've never heard before. Pretty good, drives along well with an interesting lyric. In the jaunty, Morrissey-as-Madness stakes, though, it's not a patch on the next A-side. 3/5.
Striptease - haven’t heard this before, and would’ve fit much better on the Bona Drag reissue over Oh Phoney. Not quite as formed as PP, so I see why it was unissued but not had at all 3.
Striptease With A Difference Not bad at all, that piano work is reminiscent of a Madness song and the bounciness is akin to I Started Something I Could'nt Finish. 3/5
Striptease With a Difference - The sound of it is pleasing enough to the ears. The lyrics are kind of frivolous by Morrissey standards but still clever at times. The rhyming pattern in the verses seems very familiar. "Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed" on "Years of Refusal" is similar but there may be other Morrissey songs that sound even closer. All in all, not bad. I'll go with a strong 2.5 out of 5.
"Striptease With a Difference" not great, not awful. Echoing the confusion why this remains unreleased while something like "Oh Phoney" made it to the Bona Drag reissue. 3/5
"Striptease With a Difference" - Another song I had never heard until today, and based on my first listen, I'd say it's a pretty good tune. It feels like over the past several weeks we've been wading through so much dreck (some of the demos and B-sides) that was officially released in some capacity, that it's thoroughly mind boggling that this - a good, complete, focused, catchy pop tune - has not been officially released to date. At any rate, this has the Langer/Winstanley stamp all over it with, being a jaunty, stomping, piano-driven tune that sounds like Madness. But, I happen to like Madness as well as Morrissey's singing voice, so the combination works for me! I feel like I need to listen to this song a few more times to fully process it, so right now I can't discuss it in a very meaningful or in-depth way, but on first listen it sounds good to my ears, and at the very least it would have made a strong B-side for a single or a solid deep cut on a full length. I'm not hearing a song that's throwaway at all. 3.75/5 (with the caveat that this score could shift slightly with subsequent listens)
Me too,(3/5) I like it better than a lot of the B-sides we've been going through lately. Perhaps there is some dispute that keeps it from being released?
Wow, I've never heard 'Striptease' before either and I really like it. That piano really is Madness-by-numbers and the song might have benefited by being a little shorter, but it's still a very pleasant surprise. 3/5
Striptease With a Difference Really like this. Very brisk, Madness inspired tune, unsurprisingly, and humorous lyrics. Extra point for the smile inducing occurrence of Morrissey singing the word ‘shufti’. 3.5/5
I generally don't care much for Smith songs, but this and "What Difference Does It Make?" are big exceptions. Agree 100% about this gem--it's absolutely gorgeous on 45 and with good headphones. I have both on mint US Sire 45s, and my needledrops of both still get constant play.
Striptease With a Difference This sounds uncannily like a jaunty Madness homage (more so than "Piccadilly Palare"). The good news is I love the Nutty Boys output. Which for any North American's unfamiliar with the vast majority of their UK hit singles. Just listen to (& look at the start of the video proper with the playing cards): 3.5/5
Today's song is Piccadilly Palare: Morrissey has been extremely critical of this song from the time it was released up to the present day ("a student work of novelty that wears off before noon"). While I don't consider it to be one of his greatest singles, his comments seem harsh as there can't be many top twenty hits that have been written about male prostitution or the Round the Horne BBC radio series. There was a pretty strong link between Morrissey and the Carry On stars during this period, but not as strong as the link with Madness obviously... Even without Suggs' presence the Nutty Boys influence would be pretty clear and, despite Kevin Armstrong having written the music, Langer and Winstanley imprinted their sound arguably as much as anywhere else. The longer version that was issued on the Bona Drag reissue is nice to have, but doesn't add an awful lot to the single release. 3.5/5
Piccadilly Palare Morrissey goes full Carry On Madness mockney tribute act on this number. It is about as substantial as a truffle, but it hits my musical taste buds very nicely. It is a reminder that once upon a time Morrissey could be genuinely frivolous and entertaining with an understated menacing element still remaining. You might enjoy this Live 1991 more tougher rockabilly sounding version of this number: 4.0/5
"Piccadilly Palare" sets the perfect tone for Bona Drag -- while not as strong as the other singles from the era, it's a good encapsulation of its sound/tone. 4/5
PP is alright, I suppose. It's a better idea than a completed song, something that would soon become something of an epidemic in the catalogue. I always loved Madness so this was a welcome development for me; had this come out alongside the full band "Oh Phoney" and "Striptease...", it would have felt almost like a full-on tribute. Of course, there were cries of cultural appropriation - nowadays, Twitter would be ablaze - but the song comes across fine without sounding cheap or patronising; it's a character piece, inspired by characters in SPM's world before it began its fatal contraction a year or two later. It's not supremely memorable but it's a decent entry. 3/5 is a little generous but 2 would be wrong. So 3 it is.
"Piccadilly Palare" - I consider this to be one of Morrissey's greatest singles/A-sides. It's definitely Madness-y sounding with Langer/Winstanley at the production helm, and even a not super audible Suggs guesting on a brief spoken part (I didn't know that was him until I read about it), but overall it's just an incredibly tuneful, catchy, melodically engaging song. I think it contains enough elements to easily distinguish it from Madness, e.g., first and foremost Morrissey's vocals of course, but also the guitars, though not at the forefront of the mix, are more varied and creative than what you'd hear on a typical Madness song. I think this is a very well-crafted tune, with captivating chord changes and melodies, an infectious stomping rhythm and beat, cool melodic flourishes galore, a great vocal performance by Morrissey, great production, etc. I can also say this song has gotten stuck in my head quite a lot over the years, and that's never been a bad thing. I'm genuinely shocked and perplexed - yet again - that until my post this song has failed to get higher than a 4/5. I'm giving it a 4.5/5. I think it's probably the strongest of these inter-album 89-90 non-album singles, and a major highlight on Bona Drag. It really seems that, at least among this group on this board (and possibly elsewhere too), these singles are fairly under-appreciated, which is difficult for me to relate to because I've always been a big fan of Bona Drag, and these singles make up a big part of that comp (with the exception of "Ouija Board," which I find boring). Morrissey - in my always humble opinion - would never make singles quite this interesting or engaging ever again. He'd churn out some good ones here and there, but nothing for me that tops these.
