“Beethoven Was Deaf” Morrissey gatefold 1993 live vinyl LP Smiths Arsenal

$

137

Fantastic live LP from 1993, recorded live in 1992. Stated on the cover that it’s from one show in Paris, but that is untrue, as about half the songs were from a London show a couple days earlier. The fact that this is a mishmash of two shows isn’t a detriment, it sounds for the most part like a continuous event.

I saw Morrissey two or three times during his 1992 touring of the US and it was, I would say, about as life-changing as a music concert experience could be. Any of you too young to have seen the band during this time period that’s a shame and I wish you could’ve see it.

You may read things, reviews about how the crowds were energetic or “rabid” and that was true. The shows in New York that I attended were absolutely chaotic. And so this record is a pretty good representation of what the music was like, when performed live. Actual physical experience of being ten feet away from the stage that would be impossible to replicate.

So. The vinyl itself was cleaned not once but twice on a Record Doctor machine. Looking very closely at the record under very bright light, it kind of looks like shit there’s plenty of hairlines, crisscrossing all over. There’s two marks, or scratches that I would consider significant and they appear on the first three songs of side one. I listened to the whole thing and maybe because it’s a live show, any background vinyl noise is covered up by the crowd cheering and yelling. The scratches I mentioned, you can hear minor pops or clicks a few times but nothing to ruin the experience in my opinion. And so it sounds a lot better than it looks. Sounds fine, and during some specific songs it sounds really great. The band is great, Morrissey sounds great, the softer songs sound delicate and beautiful and the more rocking songs sound muscular.

The gatefold sleeve is in good shape there’s a weird discoloration on the lower front, various minor blemishes and minor creases and these for the most part can be seen in the pictures. It’s a nice copy.

Original lined inner sleeve is here as well. I personally don’t foresee this being reissued on vinyl in the future so this would be a record where you’d need to get the original pressing.

Looks good sounds good, it’s a band that’s extremely tight, focused and powerful. Morrissey is the best, he really is.

any questions just ask