Bluetones Frontman Mark Morriss Covers Madonna’s “Angel” & Pet Shop Boys’ “Love Comes Quickly” Beautifully: Listen
First up, most Americans will have no idea who The Bluetones were, unless you happened to pick up that beyond essential Brit Box: UK Indie Shoegaze & Brit Pop Gems box set Rhino offered up in 2007. For the record, the Mark Morriss-led UK indie-pop quartet were around for the better part of the ’90s and ’00s, then split in 2011, only to announce a reunion tour this past spring.
Though they never achieved Oasis/Blur/Suede/Pulp-like heights in the Britpop era, The Bluetones did reach #2 on the UK singles chart with this particular gem, “Slight Return,” in early 1996:
Anyway, the point in all this is that Morriss quietly released a solo album full of hand-picked covers on July 31, and his synthy rendition of Madonna‘s 1984 Like A Virgin hit “Angel” and bluesy overhaul of Pet Shop Boys‘ “Love Comes Quickly,” originally released as the second single off the duo’s 1986 debut LP Please, are beautifully done.
Morriss’ album, aptly titled The Taste Of Mark Morriss, is available to stream on Spotify and purchase on iTunes, and it also contains his takes on Sisters Of Mercy‘s “Lucretia (My Reflection)”, OMD‘s “Souvenir” and Laura Branigan‘s “Self Control,” among other songs.
But, damn — that Madonna cover, though.
What do you think of Mark’s Madonna and Pet Shop Boys covers? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Twitter and Facebook.
