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I have a bad habit of unintentionally giving up on an artist I really like since I'm a fickle music fan. I guess it's really more because I'm always looking for new & different music and sounds. I loved The Smiths and Morrissey's solo work up till "Kill Uncle" which I enjoyed, but then got diverted by other artists putting out more interesting music since "Kill Uncle" was just more of the same to me. I finally picked up "Your Arsenal" 4 or 5 years ago.
Well, I was listening to Pandora(the internet radio site)earlier this week and they played "The Boy Racer" and I thought 'my god this is good'. I listened to samples of the entire cd and decided I needed to have it in my collection. I'm listening to it now as I write this review and am loving it. I also had read some of these reviews on Amazon as well. When I realized "Southpaw Grammar" was a major diversion from usual Morrissey fare, I had to check it out myself. I sure am glad I gave it a chance!
This is Morrissey at his most inventive and creative. Some have called this prog rock, which it might be to some extent but I think there's definitely some glam rock influences and even some psychedelia like on "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils" and "Southpaw" with the amazing guitar and bass work and the atmospheric noises in the background. Some reviewers have stated that they dislike both of these songs because they are overlong and overwrought but I find them fascinating because they're so different from anything Moz has done before. I enjoy more offbeat unusual songs and artists anyway so this is right down my alley.
"Reader Meet Author", "Dagenham Dave" & "Best Friend On The Payroll" are more succinct pop songs and catchy but with a bit more rock in their sound. "The Operation" is another unusually long song for the Moz that starts out w/a long drum solo that is hypnotizing at the beginning but it rocks as well once the melody starts. Of course "The Boy Racer" is what drew me to this cd in the first place and is a great song as is "Do Your Best & Don't Worry".
If you like more experimental/progressive music then you will enjoy this cd. I think perhaps if this cd were released now it might be better recieved initially due to the rise of prog rock groups like Coheed & Cambria, et al. But then again, as long as some of us secretly long for The Smiths to reunite(me included), there will be that expectation that Morrissey has to make up for the gap in the universe where The Smiths once were. Now that "Southpaw Grammar" has won me back over I think I've finally accepted Moz on his own terms. It's about f'n time eh?
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| The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils | 11:17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Reader Meet Author | 3:40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Boy Racer | 4:45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Operation | 6:52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dagenham Dave | 3:15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do Your Best And Don't Worry | 4:07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best Friend On The Payroll | 3:43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Southpaw | 10:00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
D. Evans
Some of his best work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2018
Some of his best work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2018
You won’t find this on Spotify or iTunes (at least at the time of writing).Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2018
Possibly one of his most underrated albums, Southpaw Grammar actually has some of his best and most consistent work.
Whether you’re talking about the original or the re-release, the songs, the sound and the production are great.
The album has plenty of bite and is before he became a self confessed crooner (I’m not complaining his current style, I like all of his works to varying degrees).
Powerful songs, delivered with pace and energy.
It’s definitely worth getting the re-release for his liner notes alone, but I do like the extra songs and new order of tracks too.
Definitely one of his best!
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Jayson P. Carmichael
I love drum solos
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2017
