"California Son" review in Pitchfork (5.9)

Morrissey - California Son (rating: 5.9) - Pitchfork
By Ben Hewitt
Morrissey and some (barely audible) high-profile guests rework 12 of his favorite ’60s and ’70s songs by American artists to mixed results.
 
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Not an awful review - still focuses on his personal and political side, but I think there were some decent deconstructions of the music.
We (most of us) are Morrissey fans. This album will appeal to us more than most, and so I don’t think a loose 6/10 is an awful score for an obscure covers album.
 
That is a bit cheeky keeping it .1 under 6 lol.

6/10 would be my rating tho.

You have to keep things in perspective. Viva Hate & Vauxhall is probably his best work, and they’re only about 9’s or strong 8’s.
 
They gave Low In High School a 5.7 https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/morrissey-low-in-high-school/
So Morrissey improved a 0.2 according to Pitchfork...

Anyway... I am somehow puzzled by the precision of their system... How can you tell if you like an album 5.7 or 5.9????

I’m guessing they use some sort or rubric. Part of the rubric is probably “Does the artist espouse beliefs we disagree with?”Never mind honestly engaging with ideas..... or music.
 
I’m guessing they use some sort or rubric. Part of the rubric is probably “Does the artist espouse beliefs we disagree with?”Never mind honestly engaging with ideas..... or music.

I hitted the "like" button... but I honestly think that your post deserves a 7.9!
David should give us a button to like posts with decimals.... so we can all feel like Pitchfork journalists for a second! :crazy:
 
That is a bit cheeky keeping it .1 under 6 lol.

6/10 would be my rating tho.

You have to keep things in perspective. Viva Hate & Vauxhall is probably his best work, and they’re only about 9’s or strong 8’s.
So what is a 10 in your book? Or have you yet to come accross such an album.
 
That is a bit cheeky keeping it .1 under 6 lol.

6/10 would be my rating tho.

You have to keep things in perspective. Viva Hate & Vauxhall is probably his best work, and they’re only about 9’s or strong 8’s.

Vauxhall is a 10/10 album. One of the albums of the decade. Viva Hate, Your Arsenal, Quarry and World Peace are all strong 8's.
 
So what is a 10 in your book? Or have you yet to come accross such an album.

Well 10’s perfection isn’t it. Is there a perfect moz album? There’s a few that are pretty close. I’d say Viva Hate is the closest, ‘Angel, Angel, Down We Go’ is the only track I might skip. If you haven’t heard the album in a while or you’ve slept on it, just go and look at the trackisting, 1 through 12. It’s insane! Bookended by two polar opposite songs, but equally stunning. Alsatian Cousin is like a smack in the face to wake you up, and Margaret On The Guillotine is like a lullaby to put you to sleep. It’d give it a 9.5/10 anyway! I love it just as much, if not more than anything The Smiths ever done.
 
Vauxhall is a 10/10 album. One of the albums of the decade. Viva Hate, Your Arsenal, Quarry and World Peace are all strong 8's.

Yeah there’s a couple of boring tracks on there for me, hold on to your friends, lifeguard sleeping, lazy sunbathers. The rest is perfection.
 
Well 10’s perfection isn’t it. Is there a perfect moz album? There’s a few that are pretty close. I’d say Viva Hate is the closest, ‘Angel, Angel, Down We Go’ is the only track I might skip. If you haven’t heard the album in a while or you’ve slept on it, just go and look at the trackisting, 1 through 12. It’s insane! Bookended by two polar opposite songs, but equally stunning. Alsatian Cousin is like a smack in the face to wake you up, and Margaret On The Guillotine is like a lullaby to put you to sleep. It’d give it a 9.5/10 anyway! I love it just as much, if not more than anything The Smiths ever done.
Yes agreed, except for me the album is clearly 10/10 :)
And well, what’s perfect? Nobody is and no album is. But to me, knowing thousands of albums, I’d certainly rate the best 50 with a 10. Among them Viva Hate and Vauxhall and I!
 
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