D
dazzak
Guest
I Will See You In Far Off Places - One of the lesser tracks on the album. Alain's worst certainly. A good enough opener I suppose. Morrissey's distinctively interesting and original take on world politics is more pedestrian here. A simple mention of the USA bombing someone isn't enough to fully explore his intelligent take on politics. America Is Not The World this ain't. If we approach it as Morrissey's political song on this album, it fails. However, if we simply apporach it as a Middle Eastern flavoured little ditty about life and love it nearly suffices.
Dear God Please Help Me - This really is one of most beautiful things Morrissey has ever recorded. I truly believe it's on par with I Know It's Over. As I said, I played it earlier on and I started crying at the second line. The organ creates the perfect ethereal ambiance. Peaceful yet troubled and tinged with regret. Morrissey sounds like a man sick of it all. Ready to lay down and die (or other). The arpeggio at the beginning and throughout is extraordinarily accomplished and evocative. I'm still not absolutely certain of the song's meaning and I don't want to be yet.
You Have Killed Me - A good single and song. Placed next to other songs on the album it quickly diminishes in quality, but as a radio friendly tune it is perfect. I think we need these songs from Morrissey. It's ours and his bread and butter.
The Youngest Was The Most Loved - A great glammy song. Visconti has sprinkled his fairy dust on this. Unfortunately, at times the music just feels slightly... dull. It could have been much better. The children's choir, however, is a revelation and saves the song from mediocrity. Frankly, the lead guitar isn't very good. It fails to be original or anything out of the ordinary. I'm disappointed that when Jesse should be producing career best work, he's creating this slightly plodding piece of music. Mozza's lyrics are entertaining, though. It's still pretty good.
In The Future When All's Well - A good bit better that The Youngest Was The Most Loved. More tuneful and interesting both lyrically and musically. Jesse still isn't doing excellently, though. Hardly that much different to the other Jesse songs on the album. It is quite fantastically catchy, though. I think more could have been done with this song. Visconti could've taken it further. Pushed Moz out of his comfort zone.
The Father Who Must Be Killed - This is one of the most interesting up-tempo songs on the album (and one of Alain's). Reminds me of other Morrissey songs in which he approaches a touchy subject with extreme intelligence and insight (November Spawned A Moster, National Front Disco etc). The music is suitably dark and disturbed. The lyrics are spot on. One of my favourites.
Life Is A Pigsty - Following on from Dear God Pleaes Help Me, Alain proves he is still Morrissey's best musician. A genuinely experimental Morrissey song. The bass is the most arresting and pertinent it's been in years. Mozza's vocals and lyrics are career best stuff and his most original in a long time. This is what Morrissey should be doing. Much more left field songs with his inimitable take on things with no lacklustre music to weigh him down. The first three minutes are merely a prelude (a genius one at that). When the acoustic guitar kicks in and Morrissey starts singing "Life is a pigsty" it becomes magically life affirming stuff somehow. "And if you don't know this, then what do you know?" Absolutely marvellous. The electric guitar kicks in at it turns from contemplative to epic. This song is epic. Words cannot express how much I love this song. And as I sit here typing it I'm starting to cry to "Even now in the final hours of my life I'm falling in love again". Dear Lord. It's beautiful.
I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now - Another of Alain's up-tempo numbers. It's less interesting than The Father Who Must be Killed, but still a splendid song. I love the vocal melody in this song. It reminds me of lots of Irish songs. The outro, keyboards and build up to the chorus are all absolutely splendorous. A majesty of a song. The sum of it's parts aren't brilliant, but the song on the whole manages to be quite rewarding. It shouldn't really be as good as it is. Yes, the lyrics are fairly standard Moz rejection mode, but for some reason it's very appealing. I really, really like it.
On The Streets I Ran - Jesse is back to have another go. After three gems from Alain, this very nearly serves as competition. Different enough to Jesse's other songs and flexuous enough to interest. A nice rhythm to it. Reminiscent of Your Arsenal. It isn't spectacular - just very good. And I'm noticing how I'm finding it hard to write anything about this song. Not a good sign. The intro and outro are oddly the best parts of this song.
To Me You Are A Work of Art - Here there is real yearning and craving in his voice. It tackles any boredom one may be experiencing by tracks eight, nine and eleven. Alain confirms he is the superior musician. The wailing in the background, prominent bass and brilliant arrangement make this one of the best songs on the record. This is the romantic Moz, but as ever with the heartache thrown in ("I would give you my heart, that's if I had one"). Again there's a Celtic flavour in the strings. Is Moz in Italy or Inniskeen?
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy - Nothing out of the ordinary here really. Jesse again produces work that pales in comparison to Alain. I was really behind Jesse after hearing You have Killed Me. I have to say I'm slightly disappointed in him. He really doesn't show a lot of variation or creativity on this album. This is evident in this song. The music, lyrics and vocals don't interest me too much. Saying that, I kind of like it and will obviously listen to it. Just not as much as the rest.
At Last I Am Born - The military feel of the drums perfectly suits the unforgiving feeling of this song. Morrissey is gay, has a penis and apparently knows how to use it. He is no longer a crumpled mess of a human sitting in his bedroom worried about what others think of his shoes. He is a confident older man. And if other people don't like him - f*** 'em.
It would be easy to lump this album in with Maladjusted and Southpaw Grammar due to it's many shifts in quality, but the heights of this record equal anything Morrissey has done. Purely for Dear God Please Help Me, The Father Who Must Be Killed, Life Is A Pigsty, To Me You Are A Work Of Art and At Last I Am Born this record is ranked alongside The Queen Is Dead and Vauxhall And I. And yes, all the songs I just listed were written by Alain Whyte. Was there any point in Jesse being brought on board? Should he have stayed a session musician rather than a major contributor? I would say so. I believe Boz and Alain could have done better than on the whole. And remember we still have half a dozen B-sdies left to hear. That's all I can write for the moment. Off to play the record on shuffle while killing virtual people. That's the real test!
9/10
Dear God Please Help Me - This really is one of most beautiful things Morrissey has ever recorded. I truly believe it's on par with I Know It's Over. As I said, I played it earlier on and I started crying at the second line. The organ creates the perfect ethereal ambiance. Peaceful yet troubled and tinged with regret. Morrissey sounds like a man sick of it all. Ready to lay down and die (or other). The arpeggio at the beginning and throughout is extraordinarily accomplished and evocative. I'm still not absolutely certain of the song's meaning and I don't want to be yet.
You Have Killed Me - A good single and song. Placed next to other songs on the album it quickly diminishes in quality, but as a radio friendly tune it is perfect. I think we need these songs from Morrissey. It's ours and his bread and butter.
The Youngest Was The Most Loved - A great glammy song. Visconti has sprinkled his fairy dust on this. Unfortunately, at times the music just feels slightly... dull. It could have been much better. The children's choir, however, is a revelation and saves the song from mediocrity. Frankly, the lead guitar isn't very good. It fails to be original or anything out of the ordinary. I'm disappointed that when Jesse should be producing career best work, he's creating this slightly plodding piece of music. Mozza's lyrics are entertaining, though. It's still pretty good.
In The Future When All's Well - A good bit better that The Youngest Was The Most Loved. More tuneful and interesting both lyrically and musically. Jesse still isn't doing excellently, though. Hardly that much different to the other Jesse songs on the album. It is quite fantastically catchy, though. I think more could have been done with this song. Visconti could've taken it further. Pushed Moz out of his comfort zone.
The Father Who Must Be Killed - This is one of the most interesting up-tempo songs on the album (and one of Alain's). Reminds me of other Morrissey songs in which he approaches a touchy subject with extreme intelligence and insight (November Spawned A Moster, National Front Disco etc). The music is suitably dark and disturbed. The lyrics are spot on. One of my favourites.
Life Is A Pigsty - Following on from Dear God Pleaes Help Me, Alain proves he is still Morrissey's best musician. A genuinely experimental Morrissey song. The bass is the most arresting and pertinent it's been in years. Mozza's vocals and lyrics are career best stuff and his most original in a long time. This is what Morrissey should be doing. Much more left field songs with his inimitable take on things with no lacklustre music to weigh him down. The first three minutes are merely a prelude (a genius one at that). When the acoustic guitar kicks in and Morrissey starts singing "Life is a pigsty" it becomes magically life affirming stuff somehow. "And if you don't know this, then what do you know?" Absolutely marvellous. The electric guitar kicks in at it turns from contemplative to epic. This song is epic. Words cannot express how much I love this song. And as I sit here typing it I'm starting to cry to "Even now in the final hours of my life I'm falling in love again". Dear Lord. It's beautiful.
I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now - Another of Alain's up-tempo numbers. It's less interesting than The Father Who Must be Killed, but still a splendid song. I love the vocal melody in this song. It reminds me of lots of Irish songs. The outro, keyboards and build up to the chorus are all absolutely splendorous. A majesty of a song. The sum of it's parts aren't brilliant, but the song on the whole manages to be quite rewarding. It shouldn't really be as good as it is. Yes, the lyrics are fairly standard Moz rejection mode, but for some reason it's very appealing. I really, really like it.
On The Streets I Ran - Jesse is back to have another go. After three gems from Alain, this very nearly serves as competition. Different enough to Jesse's other songs and flexuous enough to interest. A nice rhythm to it. Reminiscent of Your Arsenal. It isn't spectacular - just very good. And I'm noticing how I'm finding it hard to write anything about this song. Not a good sign. The intro and outro are oddly the best parts of this song.
To Me You Are A Work of Art - Here there is real yearning and craving in his voice. It tackles any boredom one may be experiencing by tracks eight, nine and eleven. Alain confirms he is the superior musician. The wailing in the background, prominent bass and brilliant arrangement make this one of the best songs on the record. This is the romantic Moz, but as ever with the heartache thrown in ("I would give you my heart, that's if I had one"). Again there's a Celtic flavour in the strings. Is Moz in Italy or Inniskeen?
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy - Nothing out of the ordinary here really. Jesse again produces work that pales in comparison to Alain. I was really behind Jesse after hearing You have Killed Me. I have to say I'm slightly disappointed in him. He really doesn't show a lot of variation or creativity on this album. This is evident in this song. The music, lyrics and vocals don't interest me too much. Saying that, I kind of like it and will obviously listen to it. Just not as much as the rest.
At Last I Am Born - The military feel of the drums perfectly suits the unforgiving feeling of this song. Morrissey is gay, has a penis and apparently knows how to use it. He is no longer a crumpled mess of a human sitting in his bedroom worried about what others think of his shoes. He is a confident older man. And if other people don't like him - f*** 'em.
It would be easy to lump this album in with Maladjusted and Southpaw Grammar due to it's many shifts in quality, but the heights of this record equal anything Morrissey has done. Purely for Dear God Please Help Me, The Father Who Must Be Killed, Life Is A Pigsty, To Me You Are A Work Of Art and At Last I Am Born this record is ranked alongside The Queen Is Dead and Vauxhall And I. And yes, all the songs I just listed were written by Alain Whyte. Was there any point in Jesse being brought on board? Should he have stayed a session musician rather than a major contributor? I would say so. I believe Boz and Alain could have done better than on the whole. And remember we still have half a dozen B-sdies left to hear. That's all I can write for the moment. Off to play the record on shuffle while killing virtual people. That's the real test!
9/10
