Morrissey’s Producer Talks About the Star’s New Album, Song by Song

Morrissey's new album, 'World Peace Is None of Your Business,' is out today. And even though the mercurial singer-songwriter had to cancel his tour promoting it, that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a listen. We happen to think it's his best record in a long time.

The album's producer, Joe Chiccarelli (who's worked with the Strokes, Manchester Orchestra and others), tells Radio.com that, despite the singer's reputation, he's actually a "very quick-witted, very colorful" guy.

Chiccarelli breaks down 'World Peace Is None of Your Business' song by song in the interview. And for anyone interested in behind-the-scenes stories and how things actually get done in the studio, it's a pretty fascinating read.

Among other things, the producer notes that the former Smiths frontman “has a vision. I didn’t know he would be so actively involved in every aspect of the process. I mean every aspect, down to the mixes."

That would probably drive most producers nuts, but Chiccarelli seemed to welcome the input. It certainly paid off. The album's dozen songs feature some of Morrissey's strongest musical and lyrical pieces in years.

And Chiccarelli runs through each and every song, detailing inspiration along the way. "His direction, many times, on songs like 'Smiler With Knife' and a few others, would be something like, 'This song is about death,' or 'It’s about murder, and it’s kind of ugly,' he points out in the interview.

Like we said, it's a great read if you're at all interested in Morrissey's new album or the creative collaboration between artist and producer.

And here's one of the several spoken-word videos -- which, by the way, Chiccarelli thought was a great way to spread the word about the LP, and we agree -- Morrissey made to promote his new album. This is probably our favorite of the bunch: