"Low In High School" reviews (first on French site Gonzaï)

Chronique non autorisée du « Low In High School » de Morrissey - Gonzaï

It's in French, and Google gives a ropey translation. The last paragraph seems to suggest it's either a spoof, or one member of staff has a copy of the album. Any French speakers able to help?


Reviews will be added to this post as they come in.
 
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Yeah that last paragraph is odd. Google translate -

"Note to the attention of the French label: the legal department of Gonzaï will decline any criminal responsibility in case of prosecution by the French label for the advance publication of this fictitious chronicle, and invoke the medium's gifts of the chronicler (or dementia) as to listening to this "Low In High-School" which was not sent to the editorial staff. Bisou."
 
Apparently ‘ I bury the living’ has a minute of ‘noise’ as the intro.... oh no!
 
The last two minutes are a dreamy ballad
 
Hmm, bit of an odd tone to the review not helped by viewing it through Google translate. The view seems to be some great songs but it's not a historic record (the press release apparently claims that it is) and he/she doesn't like the production. His favourite song is the 'sublime' Home is a Question Mark followed by When You Open Your Legs (if I've correctly understood). Here are the Google translations about the songs we've yet to hear:

"I bury the living is the sixth piece of this album which counts 12. And this is by far the strangest. A minute of intro where you will only hear the sound of the cicadas to the helmet, for example. Then guitar motifs that announce very heavy. Before moving on to anything else. In 7 minutes and 25 seconds, the Mancunian offers its best (except the cicadas, of course). At the end of the piece, two minutes of a walk worthy of the very first pieces of the Libertines. A kind of dream that ends with some dreamy notes. New concept therefore: two pieces in one. Very good, but still not historic.

A piano, a voice, some discrete choirs, In your lap starts really well. But trouble to take off, the fault of a desperately flat production and a piano knitting in his corner leaving me marble. If someone has Steve Lillywhite's 06, can he ask him to come back and get Richard Clayderman out of the pianist and put that stuff back? This is the piece that will please people who like to listen to the piano in the stations. But here comes the embarrassing and Hispanizing (yes, I know) The Girl from Tel Aviv who would not kneel. Embarrassing because I confess I do not know what to think. Magnificent, he is nevertheless designer to please Mexico, country where Morrissey has been cartooning for years. Is not that pretty, then? Well, just so. A little flamenco air, a light accordion, a melody that makes a fly, a refrain na-na-nana-na-na-nana a little lazy ... Overall, it works.

Who Will Protect Us From The Police Unfortunately resumes things where My Love I'd Do Anything for You should have left them. Far. Guitars scrambled, words without interest, one would think at Garbage in the mid 90's. Fortunately, the fantastic Israel comes to finish the album very beautifully. This vaporous Israel hovers high, very high. One can also prefer Charlemagne Palestine but this is not the point. Plugged into AC power, the Moz still has some beautiful pieces to offer. Hopefully he will return in two or three years with a new producer and a really historic album."
 
Seems genuine to have that much info on the new songs. From what I can decipher on the still unknown songs...

I Bury the Living- as noted above, contains an extended intro à la I'm Not a Man. Final two minutes change to a dreamy ballad, so really two songs as one.

In Your Lap- A piano-led song featuring a choir, but let down by "desperately flat production".

The Girl From Tel Aviv.... Strong Mexican and flamenco influence, a little too much in the writer's view. Seems like they'll be at least one of these on every album now.

Who Will Protect Us... Another heavy Boz rocker.

Israel- The most intriguing description, seems like a slower ballad to finish the album.

Overall impression seems to be that its good but not great, the songs themselves are good but hindered by Chicarelli's 'cheap'production. We shall see....
 
a piano knitting in his corner leaving me marble.piano knit me a pair of socks.
who knows whether this is real or fake.remember the guy who gave us the false song titles.
 
a piano knitting in his corner leaving me marble.piano knit me a pair of socks.
who knows whether this is real or fake.remember the guy who gave us the false song titles.

All the descriptions of the songs we know seem pretty accurate so I'm guessing this is probably genuine...
 
With Jackie's Always happy, Morrissey finally plant a first banderille in the tanned leather of the fan. Arrangements with small onions, discreet but impeccable bass line, 100% Momo chorus, successful lyrics, this Jackie there, despite a fine hairy hair, is much better than the big breasts of the horrible Kooks.
 
With Jackie's Always happy, Morrissey finally plant a first banderille in the tanned leather of the fan. Arrangements with small onions, discreet but impeccable bass line, 100% Momo chorus, successful lyrics, this Jackie there, despite a fine hairy hair, is much better than the big breasts of the horrible Kooks.

Yes, it sounds like gobbledygook but I suspect that's just the effect of pretentious music journalism that's been badly translated from French. My hunch is that this is indeed our first full review of the album. We'd be expecting them about now i.e. with barely a month to go...
 
cicadas to the helmet,ouch, sounds painful.
 
a piano knitting in his corner leaving me marble.piano knit me a pair of socks.
who knows whether this is real or fake.remember the guy who gave us the false song titles.

Which new song are these lyrics from? It was hard to make out the lyrics on the live broadcasts from London & Berlin. What do these new lyrics mean? *confused*
 
With Jackie's Always happy, Morrissey finally plant a first banderille in the tanned leather of the fan. Arrangements with small onions, discreet but impeccable bass line, 100% Momo chorus, successful lyrics, this Jackie there, despite a fine hairy hair, is much better than the big breasts of the horrible Kooks.

Which new song are these lyrics from? It was hard to make out the lyrics on the live broadcasts from London & Berlin. What do these new lyrics mean? *confused* Or is this a 'rap' in another new song by Morrissey?
 
cicadas to the helmet,ouch, sounds painful.

Which new song are these lyrics from? It was hard to make out the lyrics on the live broadcasts from London & Berlin. What do these new lyrics mean? *confused* They're great lyrics. 'cicadas to the helmet, ouch, sounds painful'. Is this about the dangers of penile fracture if you do weird humasexual positions? Is it a follow up to the 'bulbous middle zone' stuff in that brilliant book he wrote. Can't remember the title.
 
The review basically says that the album is very disappointing and tame. That the production is cheap despite the recording session at Ennio Morricone's studio. That Morrissey doesn't seem to care anymore! And the reviewer says the artwork is crap! (which it is...to be honest)
he says that "when your open your legs and..."The girl from Tel Aviv" are good songs though! Overall the tone of the article is rather sarcastic!! but it is written from someone who used to love Morrissey in my opinion.
 
The review basically says that the album is very disappointing and tame. That the production is cheap despite the recording session at Ennio Morricone's studio. That Morrissey doesn't seem to care anymore! And the reviewer says the artwork is crap! (which it is...to be honest)
he says that "when your open your legs and..."The girl from Tel Aviv" are good songs though! Overall the tone of the article is rather sarcastic!! but it is written from someone who used to love Morrissey in my opinion.
.



'the article is rather sarcastic!! but it is written from someone who used to love Morrissey in my opinion.'


good observation. I always find that the fans that 'used to love Morrissey' go out of their way to invent reasons for why they 'broke up' with him. It's both funny and very sad.


But no one really stops loving Morrissey, as proven here by the trolls on a daily basis.


:)


edit: as proven by Brumieboy rating this post 'troll' :lbf: .
.
 
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The review basically says that the album is very disappointing and tame. That the production is cheap despite the recording session at Ennio Morricone's studio. That Morrissey doesn't seem to care anymore! And the reviewer says the artwork is crap! (which it is...to be honest)
he says that "when your open your legs and..."The girl from Tel Aviv" are good songs though! Overall the tone of the article is rather sarcastic!! but it is written from someone who used to love Morrissey in my opinion.

I don't take that from the review. It seems to say that there are lots of great songs but that it is not a historic record (as apparently claimed in the press release) and the production lets it down.
 
I have the album.

It's a very curious album. The first five tracks we know now and they all sound much better on the record, bigger and bolder, especially I Wish You Lonely. Jackie Is Only Happy is much improved too and the refrain "exit, exit, exit" makes more change on the recorded version as the end fades into white noise. And Home Is A Question Mark is just lovely. But then it gets very odd.

The centrepiece, the epic I Bury The Living, is not only anti-war and anti-military but also anti-soldier with lyrics like "Don't blame me, I'm just a sweet little soldier" and "Give me an order and I blow up the border / Give me an order and I blow up your daughter" and "hatred of humanity". Since I have had relatives killed in the Second World War and have served in the military myself, I don't think it's really proper to suggest that soldiers enjoy fighting wars. The music is good though.

In Your Lap however is a rather tuneless piano-led plodder, in which Morrissey lists world events and wars only to say that he wants to put his face in your lap instead. The Girl From Tel Aviv sounds like a chanson -- the rhythm might be from polonaise -- from a post-war era as Moz lists the troubles of being in independent Arab woman. (Yes, I said that this is an odd record)

Who Will Protect Us From The Police is a rockier song but low on melody too. Thankfully it's about Venezuela and not about Italian traffic cops, but still.

Israel starts "If you're feeling happy / Jesus will send you to hell" and continues in that fashion cursing the Christian faith in making us feel ashamed about sexuality, happiness and freedom. The six-minute tune is backed with ominous pianos, sound effects and faintly Arabic flavours. It's rather beautiful and sounds like it's about to burst into something really beautiful, but somehow never does.

So it's a mixed bag, but no other pop artist really has the nerve to even try to pull off something like this. Let's hope he won't fall out with the record company this time, so this won't be his swan song.

Edit: And it needs saying once again, that he really needs better co-writers. But it's a pipe dream, if anything.
 
I have the album.

It's a very curious album. The first five tracks we know now and they all sound much better on the record, bigger and bolder, especially I Wish You Lonely. Jackie Is Only Happy is much improved too and the refrain "exit, exit, exit" makes more change on the recorded version as the end fades into white noise. And Home Is A Question Mark is just lovely. But then it gets very odd.

The centrepiece, the epic I Bury The Living, is not only anti-war and anti-military but also anti-soldier with lyrics like "Don't blame me, I'm just a sweet little soldier" and "Give me an order and I blow up the border / Give me an order and I blow up your daughter" and "hatred of humanity". Since I have had relatives killed in the Second World War and have served in the military myself, I don't think it's really proper to suggest that soldiers enjoy fighting wars. The music is good though.

In Your Lap however is a rather tuneless piano-led plodder, in which Morrissey lists world events and wars only to say that he wants to put his face in your lap instead. The Girl From Tel Aviv sounds like a chanson -- the rhythm might be from polonaise -- from a post-war era as Moz lists the troubles of being in independent Arab woman. (Yes, I said that this is an odd record)

Who Will Protect Us From The Police is a rockier song but low on melody too. Thankfully it's about Venezuela and not about Italian traffic cops, but still.

Israel starts "If you're feeling happy / Jesus will send you to hell" and continues in that fashion cursing the Christian faith in making us feel ashamed about sexuality, happiness and freedom. The six-minute tune is backed with ominous pianos, sound effects and faintly Arabic flavours. It's rather beautiful and sounds like it's about to burst into something really beautiful, but somehow never does.

So it's a mixed bag, but no other pop artist really has the nerve to even try to pull off something like this. Let's hope he won't fall out with the record company this time, so this won't be his swan song.

Edit: And it needs saying once again, that he really needs better co-writers. But it's a pipe dream, if anything.

Thanks for taking the time to share this. Much appreciated.
 
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