Last year was a little rough on me as a Morrissey fan. I travelled to Boston to see him in September at great financial cost, only to have the show cancelled due to apparent “threats” on Moz’s life. That’s pretty serious (and someone was arrested about a week prior), so I decided that I was certainly ok with the cancellation under those circumstances. I have seen him many times before, including Reno earlier in the year, so I came to terms with the unfortunate situation rather quickly. I felt much worse for my friend from Boston who I was planning to attend the concert with. I mentioned him in one of my earliest Smiths reviews, and he was vastly disappointed. I hope that we can actually see Morrissey show together one day, but it seems like this will be no easy task.
Things improved when I was able to catch the show in LA at the Intuit Dome, which I talked a little bit about here. I had a great seat, the show was excellent, and most importantly, Morrissey showed up. It was so good that I decided to shell out money I didn’t really have to get a ticket to see him in Rancho Mirage on what was supposed to be his first show back from a couple-week holiday break. He had already cancelled and rescheduled this show once before, so I figured the odds of him cancelling a second time were low. When the date finally rolled around and I was getting in the car to make the drive through the desert, I got word he had indeed “postponed” a second time. This meant no refund for my ticket, since it will supposedly be valid at this future show, on a date which is yet to be determined. Such is the life of a dedicated Morrissey fan.
The New Album! – Make-Up Is A Lie
Amid the constant, seemingly random cancellations and droves of disappointed fans, we do have some good news on the horizon, however. Finally, after more than five years, we are getting a new album next month! Morrissey has re-signed with Sire Records, which is scheduled to release Make-Up Is A Lie on 27 February 2026. This 12-track album contains some songs that go back to when Alain Whyte was still in the band and writing with Morrissey. Fans have heard “The Night Pop Dropped” live before, but other than that, all we have to go on is the title track “Make-Up Is A Lie” which was released last week as a single.
Fan reactions to this new single have been mixed… possibly leaning towards the negative side. Clearly, these aren’t Moz’s most profound lyrics to date, but I’m sure that the album itself will balance things out. Personally, the song has grown on me after the first listen, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. I am excited that this will be the first album to feature Carmen Vandenberg, who is one of my favorite modern guitar players. Make-Up Is A Lie can be pre-ordered on “standard” blue vinyl and zoetrope design vinyl as well as on CD and as a digital release. There is also an indie-record store exclusive version on red wax which can be preordered from many sites. For the standard versions, the best prices I have found so far are on Amazon. You can also order directly from the official Morrissey online shop.
It’s no secret that I can write a dissertation anytime I start discussing Moz, so let’s get to the heart of the matter… a very recent Casino Records release entitled Mozza Roma. This unofficial 2 LP set boasts an IEM audio source and is available on either yellow or blue wax. Each color is limited to only 150 copies, so it’s fair to say this one is going to become hard to find in the not-so-distant future. Every set comes with a numbered hype sticker indicating color and is housed in a re-sealable outer sleeve. The jacket itself is standard rather than a gatefold, but it’s extra wide to accommodate both discs.
The records themselves are very heavy and great quality, and I’m guessing they are easily 180g. The labels also look very nice, and feature a couple images of Morrissey, one of Juan’s bass rig with a Teddy Bear on top, and some imagery from the projected backgrounds. All four sides are clearly marked, which is always a plus. I managed to pick up one of each color but decided to play the blue version. I think both colors look great and complement the artwork well, so you can’t go wrong with either one. I gave the LPs my standard cleaning ritual before spinning them.
Multi-IEM Source – Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, Rome, Italy, July 28, 2025
A1 Suedehead
A2 How Soon Is Now? *
A3 First Of The Gang To Die
A4 We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
A5 All You Need Is Me
B1 One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
B2 You’re The One For Me, Fatty
B3 I Wish You Lonely
B4 Rebels Without Applause
B5 Istanbul
B6 Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings
C1 Shoplifters Of the World Unite *
C2 Everyday Is Like Sunday
C3 I Know It’s Over *
C4 All the Lazy Dykes
D1 The Loop
D2 Jack The Ripper
D3 I Will See You In Far-Off Places
D4 Let Me Kiss You
D5 Irish Blood, English Heart
* Indicates Smiths cover song
The Show / Recording
As you can see, this really is an amazing setlist. I think most fans will agree that this show is high-energy, and basically one hit after the next. This is an IEM (In Ear Monitor) recording, which is much better than a typical audience recorded show, but not quite as great as a soundboard. Basically, the way I understand it, the recorder is using some type of device to pick up these signals as they transmit wirelessly between band member earpieces. Traditionally, large monitor speakers would be placed on the floor in front of each musician, but in-ear versions have been the industry standard for quite some time now. Each musician can request a different level of mix… say Morrissey wants to hear more vocals and Juan needs to hear more drums. This is easily accomplished with a system like this.
While these recordings can sound quite good, the major downside is that the click-track is almost always audible in the mix. If you aren’t familiar with the term, the click is a computer-generated metronome that helps keep all the musicians (especially the drummer) starting and stopping on time, as well as ensuring special effects line up exactly on cue. I have some Morrissey IEM recordings from other shows, and the click track on most of those is quite loud. Thankfully that’s not the case here, and if I hadn’t told you about it, you might not have even noticed it or known what it was.
As far as reviewing the actual show goes, I’ll try to keep it short and only mention the parts that really stuck out to me. I believe that anyone who was lucky enough to catch any show on this tour or any Morrissey show semi-recently is really going to love this one. The quality can vary from song to song, but in general, the baseline recording is very good. It might not be immersive in the same way a soundboard or an excellent audience recording can be, but it still sounds great, nonetheless.
The band opens up with “Suedehead” which provides a killer introduction as always. Moz wastes no time and goes right into “How Soon Is Now”. The mix on this one is a little different, as the guitar doing the reverb is a touch louder than we’d probably want it as listeners. I’m not sure if the recorder collects each musician’s audio stream individually and then mixes them later, or if they get whatever they get as a whole and use that for the final mix. In any case, I think this version is just as good as any live version I’ve heard from The Smiths themselves. Carmen kills it on guitar, and Moz proves that he’s as good as he ever was. Matt does the killer “bass drum / gong” ending here, but sadly it’s a bit hard to hear. The large second bass drum he carries probably wasn’t included in the monitor mix.
“The First Of The Gang To Die” is next, and I never tire of hearing this one. This mix highlights the lead guitar, but the sample at the beginning (“Los Angeles! You are too hot!) is barely audible. I imagine none of the musicians needed that in the mix to know where they were, so it was picked up only by ambient microphone. The guitar part here is so much cooler than I normally give it credit for, and it changes the listening experience entirely when you can hear it so clearly. “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” has a great spoken intro from Morrissey, which is one of the many clever bits of banter throughout the evening. “The next song is very unpleasant. I think you’ll like it.”
During the introduction for “All You Need Is Me”, Moz mentions that several attempts have been made on his life, but that he’s somehow still alive. This would turn out to be prophetic when a 26-year-old Canadian man would be arrested two months later for threatening to harm him at one of his shows. Thanks, nameless Canadian dude for ruining the Boston show for me. Maybe I should send you the bill?
Turning over to Side B, I noticed that there was a little bit of surface noise. Maybe a few light clicks on pops towards the beginning of the disc, but nothing too major. The recording does get a little thin on “You’re The One For Me, Fatty”. All the high end is still there, and you can easily hear the guitars and tambourine, but the bass and low end in general is mostly absent. The vocals also sound a bit distant at times on this particular number, but thankfully, it doesn’t last into other songs. This is another killer guitar solo from Carmen that I think might go under appreciated when it’s listened to on the album version.
At this point in the show, we get a very insightful bit of commentary from Morrissey on the state of modern music that fits right in on this blog:
“The fact is, if you asked most modern music fans… that in order to hear music, they have to walk down to a shop, or as you might say, a store… Walk to a store, they have to choose a disc and then walk all the way home… they wouldn’t bother. And that’s why modern music is the way it is.”
It won’t be any surprise for my readers that I agree with him here. This is exactly what has created the sad state of the modern music industry, where almost everything is streaming in low quality on some insufferable digital platform. The artists get paid pennies (if they are lucky), and the music can vanish from the matrix at any time since you don’t own it. I think that this is a good reminder that if we want to get more releases from Morrissey or anybody else, it’s vitally important that we do purchase physical copies of these things. Vinyl collectors are certainly helping the music industry right now in that regard, but will it be enough to save it from itself? That remains to be seen.
It’s always nice to hear “Rebels Without Applause” since it was released only as single back in 2022. I think it has some of the best lyrics in recent Morrissey history, and of course the musical structure is reminiscent of “Cemetery Gates”. This is one song where we can clearly hear the click track, but it actually adds an interesting element to the music. Obviously, it’s “in time”, and it ends when the song is supposed to end. This is in contrast to many clicks that go on until someone turns them off. The rest of Side B has “Istanbul” and the yet to be officially released track “Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings”. Both sound pretty good sonically, but “Telephone” is structurally similar to the new single “Make-up Is A Lie”. It’s very catchy, but perhaps a bit repetitive lyrically.
Moving on to the second LP, Side C still has a bit of surface noise but still sounds great overall. I’ve heard “Shoplifters” at every Morrissey concert I’ve ever been to I’m pretty sure, so he must like that one as much as the rest of us do. “Everyday Is Like Sunday” has the fantastic Camila Grey keyboard intro, and the song itself is an exceptional rendition. “I Know It’s Over” is stunning as usual, but the click track is again apparent here even though it doesn’t sound out of place. Once again, I believe this is just as good as any live version I’ve heard from The Smiths. People always complain, but this current lineup of musicians surrounding Moz is an excellent one.
I always get excited when I see the upright bass hiding over in Juan’s area. This is a dead giveaway that “The Loop”, which is quite possibly my favorite Morrissey song ever, will be played that evening. This is another one Moz himself must like, because he always does it. He is in top form with his maraca playing and doesn’t miss a beat. “Jack The Ripper”, probably my second favorite number, is up next, and it’s another one that never gets old. The added vocal bits about “rats with their little beady eyes” is something I would really like to have explained to me, but at this point, I think I would miss it if he took it out. By the time I saw the show in LA, they had decided to arrange eye-looking red lights behind the drums to highlight this bit, but I’m not sure if it was done at this performance.
Almost to the end, we get the usual “outroductions” from all the band members. Carmen can speak Italian, and Matt mentions that the new Pope is from Chicago. It’s always nice to hear what everybody has to say. To wrap things up, we get “Let Me Kiss You” (vocals are a little low in the mix) followed by “Irish Blood, English Heart” as the encore. This is a killer show from start to finish, and certainly one of the best setlists of the tour.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m really glad someone took the time to record this show and give it the vinyl treatment. Casino Records never disappoints, and Mozza Roma is no exception. As expected, the packaging is professional grade, has a great selection of photos and artwork and is meant to last a lifetime. It’s a 10/10 on that front, for sure. The pressing itself has a bit of surface noise here and there, but I would say it’s a solid 8.5/10 all around. The audio isn’t perfect, but it’s more than listenable and overall, very enjoyable. This one is 8/10, and I can’t see too many fans who understand what bootleg recordings are complaining about this one.
I know I’ve written a ton here, but honestly, I had to cut a lot back. In general, when I sit down to do an article, I’m never sure if I’ll have enough to say that’s worthwhile. With Morrissey stuff, I find myself being able to go on and on and on. It’s too bad there are no paying jobs in this field! If you are like me and can’t wait to hear the new album, Mozza Roma might be the best thing you can get right now to hold you over. With only 300 copies in total, it’s indeed a rare one, so I would encourage you to start digging now, or inquire at your local record shop.
Good luck in the hunt!