''Southpaw Grammar'' is the fifth studio album by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

singer

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since th ...

, released on 28 August 1995 by record labels

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in the UK and

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

in the US. The album charted at number 4 in the UK and number 66 in the US, but received a mixed response from critics. The singles lifted from the album were "Dagenham Dave" (which reached number 26 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in August 1995) and "The Boy Racer" (which reached number 36 in December).

Content

The nature of the album is different from past Morrissey releases, such as the inclusion of two tracks which surpass the ten-minute mark, the near two-and-a-half-minute drum solo courtesy of Spencer Cobrin which opens the track "The Operation" and the sampling of a Shostakovich¹ symphony.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described it as Morrissey's "

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ...

album, complete with strings, drum solos and two ten-minute songs."

Musical style

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' magazine described the album's musical style as " ifferingfrom the crushed flowers studio formalisations of last year's ''

Vauxhall and I ''Vauxhall and I'' is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock musician Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1994, by the record label Parlophone in the UK and Sire/Reprise in the US. Background The album's title may be a referen ...

'', building instead on the earlier ''

Your Arsenal ''Your Arsenal'' is the third studio album by English singer Morrissey, released on 27 July 1992 by record label HMV. The album received critical acclaim and reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Content Morrissey had been rehearsing w ...

'', Morrissey's sly, unexpected blending of

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

and glam."

Release

''Southpaw Grammar'' was released on 28 August 1995 by record labels

in the UK and

in the US. On its release ''Southpaw Grammar'' was an eyebrow-raiser for fans and critics alike. On 27 April 2009 Sony BMG released a remastered version of ''Southpaw Grammar'' in the UK. This version included a substantially altered running order, three previously unreleased tracks, "Honey, You Know Where to Find Me", "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" and "Fantastic Bird" (the last of which dates from the ''

'' sessions) as well as a single B-side "Nobody Loves Us". The digital version from iTunes Store adds live versions of "London" and "Billy Budd", recorded in London.

Reception

The critical reception to ''Southpaw Grammar'' was mixed. Richard Cromelin of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' described it as "the most musically dynamic album from the Messiah of Moans since he revitalized British rock with The Smiths in the mid-'80s". Al Weisel of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' qualified it as Morrissey's "most powerful solo outing to date". '' Q''s Phil Sutcliffe wrote that ''Southpaw Grammar'' "shapes up as the kind of severe work that accrues more honour than love, more favourable comments than sales to record-buyers", and the magazine later listed it as one of the top 50 albums of 1995. In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 79 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties". According to ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' magazine: "On its release, ''Southpaw Grammar'' seemed to be the point where the Great British Public officially fell out of love with Morrissey. The casual Smiths fan had all but lost interest while even the scary Moz obsessives were a little puzzled." ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

''s Tony Power called it an "ugly, noisy, grumpy album, recorded while

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

stole Moz's thunder and the Mike Joyce court case loomed." Andrzej Lukowski of '' Drowned in Sound'' was more favourable in his retrospective assessment, writing that the album "is in some ways the most daring thing the ex-Smith has ever put his name to... ..At the same time it's also pretty craven, in that it dilutes the impact of its three key tracks – 'The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils', 'The Operation' and 'Southpaw', dark, sprawling semi-instrumentals dominated by the remarkable drumming of Spencer James Cobrin – with lightweight fluff like 'Dagenham Dave' and 'The Boy Racer'." Brad Shoup of '' Stereogum'' named it Morrissey's "peak" and "quintessential document".

Track listing

: Note: Given the 2009 re-release CD is a mock up of a vinyl record, the words "the heart is a lonely hunter" appear on the runout grooves.

Personnel

– vocals *

Alain Whyte Alain Gordon Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 3 July 1967) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He was Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007. Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the bands ...

– guitar, backing vocals *

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats; and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and m ...

– guitar * Jonny Bridgwood – bass guitar * Spencer James Cobrin – drums ; Technical *

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Bi ...

– production

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control Morrissey albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite RCA Records albums