13 Morrissey studio albums ranking

It's pretty similar to the new one, in terms of having a very modern production and sounding quite contemporary.
I see it as the full realisation of what Refusal seemed to be aiming for. Amazingly, it received a brilliant review in the NME at the time of its release; a deserved 9/10 as I remember. Which is not to say that Kick the Bride is any great shakes—but that song aside it’s incredibly solid.

If I select my favourite 12 tracks from the deluxe version, I create a playlist that is the match of V&I in quality for me. But that is almost as frustrating as it is joyous—it feels like a defeat stolen from the jaws of victory sometimes.
 
I see it as the full realisation of what Refusal seemed to be aiming for. Amazingly, it received a brilliant review in the NME at the time of its release; a deserved 9/10 as I remember. Which is not to say that Kick the Bride is any great shakes—but that song aside it’s incredibly solid.

If I select my favourite 12 tracks from the deluxe version, I create a playlist that is the match of V&I in quality for me. But that is almost as frustrating as it is joyous—it feels like a defeat stolen from the jaws of victory sometimes.

World Peace should have been built around the bonus tracks. As a 12 track LP it's not the greatest, but with the deluxe songs factored in it's fantastic. So it does feel like a missed opportunity really.
 
World Peace should have been built around the bonus tracks. As a 12 track LP it's not the greatest, but with the deluxe songs factored in it's fantastic. So it does feel like a missed opportunity really.
Yes, indeed, I'd add to the love being shown for World Peace. So much variety, so many great melodies. Replace three weaker songs from the main album with three of the bonus songs, and you've got one of his finest albums to date. The big revelation for me was how Boz managed to rediscover his finest songwriting form for the first time, arguably, since the 90s. Istanbul is a corker, Staircase would have been the catchiest single since Bona Drag had it been released, and Julie in the Weeds sounds like a gorgeously wistful early Smiths B-side. Remarkable.
 
World Peace should have been built around the bonus tracks. As a 12 track LP it's not the greatest, but with the deluxe songs factored in it's fantastic. So it does feel like a missed opportunity really.

Was just thinking, Never Again Will I be a Twin should have been on the new one.
 
LEADERBOARD (Update)

1) Vauxhall And I - 490 pts
2) Your Arsenal - 440 pts
3) Viva Hate - 428 pts
4) You Are The Quarry - 336 pts
5) I Am Not A Dog On A Chain - 298 pts
6) Southpaw Grammar - 245.5 pts
7) Maladjusted - 238.5 pts
8) Ringleader Of The Tormentors - 236 pts
9) World Peace Is None Of Your Business - 235 pts
10) Years Of Refusal - 228 pts
11) Kill Uncle - 193.5 pts
12) Low In High School - 162.5 pts
13) California Son - 113 pts
 
"Israel" is very good, and seems to get better over time. "The Girl From Tel-Aviv" is also good—and I'm not opposed to him experimenting stylistically: there's a tinge of klezmer-ballad accordion on that one that suits the lyrics. In fact, I think he's recorded a dozen or so songs from 2014-present that, if put together, would probably constitute his greatest album. The problem is that six years and four albums is a long time and many records to spread it over, and to have recorded so much dreck along the way.
So you don’t like anything on this album as much as either of those songs though? I like the two you mentioned from Low in HS, but there are probably at least four on this album that I like better than any song on that album.
 
So you don’t like anything on this album as much as either of those songs though?

No, I don't think I do. "My Hurling Days Are Done" is surely the best song on this new one in my opinion, but as of this moment I don't like it as much as "Israel" or "The Girl From Tel-Aviv." It's possible it will get better with time. But every track that has electro-dance as its template, I'm sorry, I just can't take it. It's a genuine aversion. One which not many people here seem to share. On this thread so far, it looks I Am Not a Dog on a Chain is landing in most people's top half, whereas Years of Refusal, which for me is number two, is consistently ending up in the cellar on many lists.
 
No, I don't think I do. "My Hurling Days Are Done" is surely the best song on this new one in my opinion, but as of this moment I don't like it as much as "Israel" or "The Girl From Tel-Aviv." It's possible it will get better with time. But every track that has electro-dance as its template, I'm sorry, I just can't take it. It's a genuine aversion. One which not many people here seem to share. On this thread so far, it looks I Am Not a Dog on a Chain is landing in most people's top half, whereas Years of Refusal, which for me is number two, is consistently ending up in the cellar on many lists.
Great answer. Makes perfect sense with the aversion. I am usually that way with music incorporating horns. Immediate turn off. Years of Refusal astounds me as your number two but that’s what’s so great about music. All subjective. People get all bent out of shape and try to make objective claims that this is bad or that is good. It’s subjective. I detest Dave Matthews and Talking Heads. Some love them. That’s a good thing! Hope Dog grows on you though over time. Who are your other favorite artists? If you say Dave Matthews or Talking Heads, will be funny...
 
LEADERBOARD (Update)

1) Vauxhall And I - 490 pts
2) Your Arsenal - 440 pts
3) Viva Hate - 428 pts
4) You Are The Quarry - 336 pts
5) I Am Not A Dog On A Chain - 298 pts
6) Southpaw Grammar - 245.5 pts
7) Maladjusted - 238.5 pts
8) Ringleader Of The Tormentors - 236 pts
9) World Peace Is None Of Your Business - 235 pts
10) Years Of Refusal - 228 pts
11) Kill Uncle - 193.5 pts
12) Low In High School - 162.5 pts
13) California Son - 113 pts
Viva Hate below Your Arsenal is borderline blasphemous to me. ?
 
Great answer. Makes perfect sense with the aversion. I am usually that way with music incorporating horns. Immediate turn off. Years of Refusal astounds me as your number two but that’s what’s so great about music. All subjective. People get all bent out of shape and try to make objective claims that this is bad or that is good. It’s subjective. I detest Dave Matthews and Talking Heads. Some love them. That’s a good thing! Hope Dog grows on you though over time. Who are your other favorite artists? If you say Dave Matthews or Talking Heads, will be funny...

Dave Matthews is awful. True, these things are subjective, but at the same time there has to be something called "bad taste," and Dave Matthews is it. I remember reading a critic who referred to Dave Matthews' "clenched anus delivery." That's a good line; and it was true. There are some Talking Heads songs I can appreciate, but for the most part they're a bit too funky for me.

Sometimes my tastes surprise me. One band I like is Jane's Addiction, but when I reflect on it, I can't figure out why. Their presentation is neon and kinky, the voice is downright bizarre, and they have a tendency towards funk and prog. There must be some element that appeals to me. They do have a rich, dark guitar sound, which is probably it. I was watching the Three Days movie on YouTube recently, which I probably hadn't seen in twenty years. "Ted, Just Admit It ... " stood out, particularly the intro. Go-go dancers slithering around stripper poles, Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who I hate), Perry Farrell with pickaninny braids, and Dave Navarro playing the guitar with a dildo. It seems almost calculated to put me off, but for whatever reason it all comes together. Sexy, menacing, and cool. It's not indicative of my tastes, though.
 
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What's blasphemous to me is Low in high school below Kill Uncle! Almost any song in High School is better than anything on Kill Uncle. Production in Kill uncle is so weak. The music in High school is fantastic, and songs like My love, I wish you lonely and Question Mark are among his best...
 
Dave Matthews is awful. True, these things are subjective, but at the same time there has to be something called "bad taste," and Dave Matthews is it. I remember reading a critic who referred to Dave Matthews' "clenched anus delivery." That's a good line; and it was true. There are some Talking Heads songs I can appreciate, but for the most part they're a bit too funky for me.

Sometimes my tastes surprise me. One band I like is Jane's Addiction, but when I reflect on it, I can't figure out why. Their presentation is neon and kinky, the voice is downright bizarre, and they have a tendency towards funk and prog. There must be some element that appeals to me. They do have a rich, dark guitar sound, which is probably it. I was watching the Three Days movie on YouTube recently, which I probably hadn't seen in twenty years. "Ted, Just Admit It ... " stood out, particularly the intro. Go-go dancers slithering around stripper poles, Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who I hate), Perry Farrell with pickaninny braids, and Dave Navarro playing the guitar with a dildo. It seems almost calculated to put me off, but for whatever reason it all comes together. Sexy, menacing, and cool. It's not indicative of my tastes, though.
I loved Nothing’s Shocking. Fun album. Ocean Size, Mountain Song, Summertime Rolls. Good stuff. Overall I’m not a fan of the band but I liked that album. But taste in music can be interesting. Mine has changed so much over the years. My first love as a kid was Iron Maiden. Was crazy about them. Then I transitioned to R.E.M. and The Cure and The Smiths and Morrissey. Tori Amos in the 90’s. Radiohead (only up to OKC, then no way after that album). Pulp. Now my favorite current artists are Morrissey, Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst, and Taylor Swift. Such different artists but that’s what makes it all so interesting. There’s no predicting what will speak to you. Good conversation!
 
What's blasphemous to me is Low in high school below Kill Uncle! Almost any song in High School is better than anything on Kill Uncle. Production in Kill uncle is so weak. The music in High school is fantastic, and songs like My love, I wish you lonely and Question Mark are among his best...
Overall, Kill Uncle is a weak album. However, I do like some of it quite a bit. Sing Your Life, Asian Rut, King Leer, Found Found Found, Harsh Truth, all good. Couldn’t get into Question Mark or I Wish You Lonely at all. Love Never Again Will I Be a Twin, Tel-Aviv, and a couple others are good. Weak album though for me. The new album beats both easily.
 
Overall, Kill Uncle is a weak album. However, I do like some of it quite a bit. Sing Your Life, Asian Rut, King Leer, Found Found Found, Harsh Truth, all good. Couldn’t get into Question Mark or I Wish You Lonely at all. Love Never Again Will I Be a Twin, Tel-Aviv, and a couple others are good. Weak album though for me. The new album beats both easily.

I don't know Sammy, taste is very subjective. I wish you lonely is one of my all time favourite and the songs from Kill uncle you mentioned are just forgettable to me :)
I like the new album, but it seems to lack a bit of substance, some depth at the moment... Yesterday I put on World Peace after listening to Dog and what a difference! But it could be that I prefer rock to this new kind of arragements...
 
What’s the point of ranking the albums? Why can’t you just enjoy each one on its relative merits? I mean, I think Kill Uncle is by far his worst album, but I still enjoy it. It seems a pointless and fruitless endeavour to me. Imagine being a Dylan fan and trying to rank all his albums in order? What would be the point? What I’m saying is perhaps all the albums are “good” and worthy of listening to.
 
What’s the point of ranking the albums? Why can’t you just enjoy each one on its relative merits? I mean, I think Kill Uncle is by far his worst album, but I still enjoy it. It seems a pointless and fruitless endeavour to me. Imagine being a Dylan fan and trying to rank all his albums in order? What would be the point? What I’m saying is perhaps all the albums are “good” and worthy of listening to.

I agree with you, I can't rank the albums myself because I like them all in different ways, though I know Kill Uncle is his worst. To see people ranking is always interesting and fun, anyway :)
 
It’s just fun to see what other fans think. That’s the point for me. I never would have imagined someone having Years of Refusal in the top half of the rankings, for instance. Just floored me. But it makes me happy to see that albums I don’t like as much are others’ faves. Glad every album is loved by some fans.
 
LEADERBOARD (Update)

1) Vauxhall And I - 490 pts
2) Your Arsenal - 440 pts
3) Viva Hate - 428 pts
4) You Are The Quarry - 336 pts
5) I Am Not A Dog On A Chain - 298 pts
6) Southpaw Grammar - 245.5 pts
7) Maladjusted - 238.5 pts
8) Ringleader Of The Tormentors - 236 pts
9) World Peace Is None Of Your Business - 235 pts
10) Years Of Refusal - 228 pts
11) Kill Uncle - 193.5 pts
12) Low In High School - 162.5 pts
13) California Son - 113 pts

Years of Refusal
is so underrated.
 
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