Southpaw Grammer

Spin - 8 - Very Good - "...Morrissey's version of classical--not classic--rock. The songs combine orchestral pieces...and pop tunes unprettied by normal contour or instrumentation....It's a vibe...but that suits Morrissey's flair for drama and soi-disant comedy..." Rolling Stone - 3 Stars - Good - "...his most powerful solo outing to date...an aural landscape of raucous barreling guitars that makes Morrissey's oh-so-familiar themes sound almost fresh..." Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Morrissey discovers the missing link between The Byrds' jingle-jangle and Young/Cobain grunge...chaos unremitting..." Q - Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995. Entertainment Weekly - "...These eight doleful tracks about jealousy, abandonment, and the trials of being a cult figure are melodic and lyrically clever..." - Rating: B+ Uncut - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he album is frontloaded with some of Morrissey's finest three-minute pop gems." Q (2/96, p.66) - Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995. Rolling Stone (10/5/95, p.68) - 3 Stars - Good - "...his most powerful solo outing to date...an aural landscape of raucous barreling guitars that makes Morrissey's oh-so-familiar themes sound almost fresh..." Spin (11/95, p.122-124) - 8 - Very Good - "...Morrissey's version of classical--not classic--rock. The songs combine orchestral pieces...and pop tunes unprettied by normal contour or instrumentation....It's a vibe...but that suits Morrissey's flair for drama and soi-disant comedy..." Q (9/95, p.120) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Morrissey discovers the missing link between The Byrds' jingle-jangle and Young/Cobain grunge...chaos unremitting..." Entertainment Weekly (9/15/95, p.108) - "...These eight doleful tracks about jealousy, abandonment, and the trials of being a cult figure are melodic and lyrically clever..." - Rating: B+

Generally one of the most maligned albums in Morrissey's solo catalogue, 1995's SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR certainly doesn't scale the heights of the British rock icon's majestic VAUXHALL AND I, but it does feature a number of winning tunes, including the catchy "Reader Meets Author" and "The Boy Racer", a song that hints at Mozz's later punk-pop-influenced direction. Book-ended by two sprawling 10-minute-plus tracks ("The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" and "Southpaw"), GRAMMAR is a somewhat perplexing oddity in the annals of the former Smiths vocalist, but it has enough quirky charm to be cherished by many of Morrissey's devoted fans.|