Southpaw Grammar is the fifth solo album by the British alternative rock singer Morrissey. It was released in August 1995 and charted at number 66 in the United States and at number 4 in the United Kingdom. The singles lifted from it were "Dagenham Dave" (which reached number 26 in the UK singles chart in August 1995) and "The Boy Racer" (which reached number 36 in the UK singles chart in October 1995).
The Record
On its release Southpaw Grammar was an eyebrow raiser with fans and critics alike. Following the success of Vauxhall and I, often considered to be Morrissey's finest solo moment, this was a change in direction.
The nature of the album is certainly different to past Morrissey releases. Musically, the inclusion of two tracks which surpass the ten minute mark, the near two and half minute drum solo courtesy of Spencer Cobrin which opens the track "The Operation" and the sampling of a Shostakovich1 symphony have led some to dub this album as 'Morrissey's flirtation with prog-rock.' Some critics were impressed by this apparent attempt at progression, while others dismissed the longer tracks as mere self-indulgence. By this album Morrissey had been writing with Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer for almost as long as he had been writing with Johnny Marr by the time of the Smiths demise. The catchy pop numbers are by no means gone, as proven by the two singles "Dagenham Dave" and "The Boy Racer". There are no ballads on this album.
According to Morrissey himself, the title refers to 'the school of hard knocks,' that is, boxing (a southpaw being boxing slang for a left-hander). Some have taken this a step further and believe Southpaw Grammar to be a concept album about boxing, or just the violence prevalent in modern society in general.
Another reference to boxing is the original cover photo, not of Morrissey, but a photo of boxer Kenny Lane taken from the April 1963 issue of boxing magazine "The Ring"
Certainly, the lyrics are different to those found in Vauxhall and I, though it could be argued the protagonist's quotation in Reader Meets Author, "no-one ever sees me when I cry", is auto-biographical, which follows in a similar path to the one left by Vauxhall and I.
Opening track "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" is noteworthy as it is possibly the antithesis of the ideas he put forward in the Smiths song, "The Headmaster Ritual", from their album Meat Is Murder. The theory here is that Morrissey goes from berating the over-zealous administration of discipline, as he saw it, to berating the lack of it. Whether this would be pure hypocrisy or simply a shrewd re-evaluation in light of the abolition of corporal punishment is a moot point.
The critical reception to Southpaw Grammar was mixed. Some fans still regard this as his most exciting work and a brave departure from past success with Vauxhall and I. Q listed it as one of the Top 50 albums of 1995.[1] Some critics gave it bad reviews, but it would be wrong to say there was total condemnation. Indeed, some hailed it as Morrissey's most real, intense and ambitious work yet, others lambasted it as over-orchestrated. The NME were especially damning of their one-time hero, claiming the album was 'a loud mess to sell to America.' It must be borne in mind also that many reviewers commented upon the idiosyncratically English nature of the lyrics, even by Morrissey's standards, so there is no real consensus on which market this album was aimed at.
2009 Remaster
On 30 May 2008, true-to-you.net revealed Sony-BMG will issue a remastered version of 'Southpaw Grammar'. This version of album will include three previously unreleased tracks, b-side "Nobody Loves Us", and new artwork. [2] The album was originally set for a July 2008 release but was pushed back after the delay of Years of Refusal. Various release dates were announced at until the album finally hit UK shelves on April 27, 2009.
The three unreleased tracks are: "Honey, You Know Where To Find Me", "You Should Have Been Nice To Me" and "Fantastic Bird", the last of which dates from the Your Arsenal Sessions. The album also features new sleeve artwork by Anthony Lui, including previously unseen photographs by Linder Sterling. Anthony had also designed the sleeves for Ringleader of the Tormentors, 'Live at Earls Court' and Greatest Hits plus the last eleven UK singles.[3]
Track listing
- "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" – 11:15 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "Reader Meet Author" – 3:39 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "The Boy Racer" – 4:55 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "The Operation" – 6:52 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Dagenham Dave" – 3:13 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Do Your Best and Don't Worry" – 4:05 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Best Friend on the Payroll" – 3:48 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Southpaw" – 10:03 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "The Boy Racer" – 4:55 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Do Your Best and Don't Worry" – 4:05 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Reader Meet Author" – 3:39 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "Honey, You Know Where to Find Me" - 2:55 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "Dagenham Dave" – 3:13 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Southpaw" – 10:03 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Best Friend on the Payroll" – 3:48 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "Fantastic Bird" - 2:53 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "The Operation" – 6:52 (Morrissey/Whyte)
- "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" – 11:15 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" - 3:35 (Morrissey/Boorer)
- "Nobody Loves Us" – 4:50 (Morrissey/Whyte)
The Fifth Symphony is sampled on "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils".
The Band
References
- ^ http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#1995
- ^ Southpaw Grammar Remastered
- ^ http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_081001_01
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