"Late Night" is a rare and utterly heartfelt song by Morrissey. What makes it special is epic storytelling. No other Morrissey/Smiths song compares to this compelling epic. The song is very literary. Upon listening to this song, you can draw no other conclusion than this: Morrissey experienced every part of this story, and he's willing to share that story with YOU, the listener.

it's by far my favorite morrissey song, it always gets me in a good mood, everything about it is just perfect. it's a great one to dance to as well...

"i'm in love for the first time and i don't feel bad!"

so uplifting

they're all pretty poor really, awful 'session' drumming spoils the lot of them.

last night maudlin street

...should've been a single!

A great album...probably overshadowed being released in the wake of the Smiths demise.

This album is so overrated, I don't know where to begin.

"I don't mind if you reject me" is the worst Morrissey song EVER. Just horrible. And I don't think "Dial-a-cliche" and "Little man" are great songs either.

What was he thinking when he released Viva Hate? If he had only used the b-sides he recorded for Suedehead and Sunday, it could have been a really good album.

is one of morrissey's best songs - great lyrics and an very different and fun music - it is great

That being said - sarah palin is a beautiful woman with very intelligent political beliefs
when you vote in November remember the BARACUDA
Vote McCain Palin

I had to pick Angel, Angel even though I was torn with Maudlin street. It came down to preferring the music of Angel, even though the music is good and the lyrics are fantastic in Maudlin.
I also like the live version of Angel...so there ya go.

Micropenis

I don't have an opinion

Although i love that song dearly ~
I have to go w` 'late night' ,because
its longer and that terrific line
love at first sight, may sound trite...
just great signing and music
an "A" list song always !

Leather elbows on a tweed coat - oh! - is THAT the best you can do?

I still love this lyric and I still wear mine of course to Monster Truck rallys

EDILS is obviously the most enduring and best song here and something that he never really topped. In singles terms, it was really a slow decline after the magnificence of those first two Viva Hate hits, even the b-sides were near impossible to match.

As great as the overwrought epic Maudlin Street is, I prefer its optimistic cousin Break Up The Family. Gorgeous song, one of my faves.

Because when I lost a close friend to suicide, someone spoke to me about this song and 'Asleep'. Morrissey thus has written songs from both perspectives, and has done so articulately.

Like Morrissey, my friend was bi-polar. Morrissey truly understands.

Some conversations in life you never forget. Thanks Carrie...

Barry Newman

Norwich, England

I've been listening to this CD lately non-stop. Not because of the 20 years thing, but I guess because I hadn't listened to it in a while.

I have to say that Maudlin Street is by far one of Morrissey's most amazing songs. It is extremely rich in storytelling and the music is unforgettable. In many ways it feels extremely direct. I'm not a huge fan of remakes of songs but I'd love to hear him remake this one with a proper band. Or some kind of acoustic version.

On another note, Dial-A-Cliche is beautiful. I think hearing the stripped down demo versions of this song reinvigorated my feelings for Dial A Cliche. It's a true gem.

Not my favorite song on the album but the one that will be remembered the most. 'Viva Hate' is still one of my favorite Morrissey album- top two even! People don't give it much credit because it was his first solo. I like it because it's a great album full of great songs. Some of those songs would have been Smiths songs if the band would have stayed together. I remember seeing 'Suedehead' and 'Sunday' on MTV during the day and prime time. Back then Smiths and morrissey videos were on MTV- not this MTV2 crap. Anyway it was a good time and a good album and a good lay....
thetexasbloke
 

Viva hate/Education in reverse can only ever be seen as a resurrection of Lazarus proportions. The demise of the Smiths, the unimaginable hertbreak felt by Morrissey at this time must have been crippling and yet he pens Everday,late night, Suedehead, break up the family...Yes it was flawed but what album has not been? This record is still the one I reach for to remind me of Morrisseys passion and willingness to offer his heart on a plate. The singles, the b-sides, the artwork,20 years! It is an essential piece of work!!

The ace guitarist on Viva Hate is playing at Manchesters Ruby Lounge tonight (Oct 7th). I'm going. You should be too.

It was so hard to choose. First Morrissey album I bought. I can't even remember what I chose now :D

Late Night, Sudehead, Angel, I Don't Mind... I had an awful time deciding!

I Don't Mind If You Forget Me is actually my favourite song on this album. It might not be the greatest song, but it's the one I like most. I love the beat, the way it bounces along and the sentiments of the lyrics which say one thing, but mean the opposite. It is definitely the song which fits me the best, but I still voted for Everyday Is Like Sunday... in terms of most enduring song, the song which has broader appeal and is more well known to the wider world... it had to be that or Suedehead and I think EILS just nudges ahead in terms of popular appeal.

If I could vote for two it would be 'I Don't Mind if You Forget Me' and 'Break Up the Family'. Two beautiful songs, and they're. I love the line 'I'm so glad to grow older, move away from those younger years/awful times'

Those browns should stay where they are! They just don't belong here.

Shelve your Western plans!!!

- Insincerely, Micropenis

If Vini's fingers hadn't produced the magic in which it did for such songs as "Late Night, Maudlin Street", "Bengali In Platforms," and the b-side "I Know Very Well How I Got My Name", Viva Hate would have been mediocre at best.

There is no debate -- Reilly has been the finest musician Morrissey's worked with during his solo career. If only the two had continued their partnership and actually began writing songs together...

Cant believe "dial a cliche" is doing so poorly....

EDILS is just superb. Four flawless songs, any of which, judging by pure quality, would make it onto any Morrissey album.

i love this cd so much...it brings me back to old high school times, many years ago i would have to say. Every song is a gem, but as for me Break Up The Family is a real treat, i would love to hear all these songs ViVa LiVe...hail to the chief MOZ!

While such highlights as "Alsatian Cousin" "Break Up The Family" and "Late Night, Maudlin Street" are some of the most stirring Morrissey moments, making VIVA HATE one of the late 80's seminal albums, my pick would have to be "Bengali in Platforms" - with a charmingly understated melody and lyrics that are funny, campy and quite controversial. Whenever they paint Morrissey as a racist and point to this song they miss it's point completely. Is Moz not singing from a character's perspective in "The Last Of The Infamous Playboys" and in many of his other songs. Listen to the song again and enjoy it's jangle pop accompaniment over lyrics that are patently true, if you think of the singer as someone being bluntly honest about his own displacement in his very homeland.

Despite the unpleasantness of the recording sessions, Street would continue to work with Reilly and co-produce The Durutti Column's "Vini Reilly" the next year.

Personally, Late Night. Actually, Suedehead. By far the most enduring song. And I'm not sure why.

-Ready With Ready-Wit

When it comes to "enduring", I think it's mostly Everyday is like sunday and Suedehead. And as for my personal taste, I'm not tired of them yet. But I like most Viva Hate songs, especially I don't mind if you forget me (although or maybe because it resembles You just haven't earned it yet baby, which I like as well), Ordinary boys, Angel, Dial-A-Cliche and Maudlin Street.
Even more enduring to me, maybe because I don't listen to them that often, are some B-sides from that period: Disappointed and Sister I'm a poet (great live versions of both!)

a nbr 1 album, just on his own

suedehead and sundea did great

maudlin street is a classic

but i never get that chills when putting on Viva
Hate th first time

Alsation cousin, i didn''t want to here the next song, no I inmediately started that album with that lovelt guitars, and beautifull produced song
ang witty funny and emotional lyrics

i think I might b the only 1 choosing this song

When I first heard "Alsation Cousin" {when giving 'VH' its first spin on my turntable}, I was hoping that the rest of the album was going to be just as great. I was right, and I shoved it down everyone throat's to give it a listen to as well. A true Morrissey 'die-hard' WILL NOT STOP talking about 'any' of his latest solo releases. I always try to convert a friend or relative who is listening to complete garbage into a Moz fan as well! His music is in our blood and it is all part of the 'pride-ness' that goes along with knowing and appreciating his music. Anyways, Alsation Cousin is the best track on the album and still ranks in my top 3 Moz solo efforts. Great Poll!

Twenty years on I still find 'Suedehead' to be the most enduring, startling and fantastic song from that album.
I remember hearing it's debut spin on John Peel's show in early '88 and being completely dumbfounded by it, for it sounded better than almost ANYTHING The Smiths had released since 'The Queen Is Dead'. Twenty years on, I still think that! It's a far superior song to, say, 'Shoplifters...', 'Sheila...' or virtually anything off 'Strangeways...'! It sounded like an almost immediate two-fingered riposte to Johnny Marr, and saw Morrissey hit the ground running.
Like 'This Charming Man', 'Bigmouth...' or 'There Is A Light...', I still get a thrill hearing it all the years later.

Perhaps the same can not be said for the rest of the album. I thought it was fantastic at the time, but time and tide have been rather cruel to it....those horrible clunky, clattering drum machines('Maudlin Street', 'Break Up The Family'), the clumsiness('Bengali In Platforms') and the stodginess('The Ordinary Boys').
The album, heard now, sounds like the soundtrack to some musical where a teenage boy sees Bowie on TOTP in 1973 and decides to leave home. Perhaps that's exactly what it is! The whole album('Margaret On The Guillotine' excepted) reeks of 1973!
With hindsight you can see Morrissey falling out of step with what was going on, musically, around him. The arty, intellectual Indie pop/rock of the early 80s was about to be replaced by the dance orientated baggy/Madchester scene that was waiting 12 months around the corner. Rave and Acid House were also starting to seep into the mainstream. As Morrissey grew more nostalgic and bookish, the rest of the music-scene seemed intent to dumb-down and mong-up!! A couple of years later, with the release of the totally anachronistic 'Kill Uncle' he seemed completely out of step, and out of time.

One of the annoying things about 'Viva Hate' is that it could have been better. There were superior songs to the album tracks hidden away on the B-sides and extra tracks of the accompanying singles; 'Hairdresser On Fire', 'I Know Very Well How I Got My Name' and 'Oh Well, I'll Never Learn' from 'Suedehead', and 'Will Never Marry' and 'Sister I'm A Poet' from 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' could easily have replaced 'Bengali...', 'The Ordinary Boys' and 'Margaret...' for a more satisfying album.

My only real regret is that Morrissey never made more music with Vini....one of the only musicians fit to mention in the same breath as Johnny!!

"The Ordinary Boys" has always been one of my favourtie songs.

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" is and will always be the most "enduring" Morrissey solo song- not necessarily the best, but easily the most enduring and transcendent.

so hard to nail down what i feel is the most 'enduring' track. obviously, "everyday is like sunday" has had a long life, both on best of's and live performances.

but i think i'd have to go with "break up the family," for the simple reason of literally growing old enough to appreciate the words more so now than i did when listening to it as a teenager in 1988. there have been many a night where the words of this tune, "dial a cliche," "the ordinary boys," and "late night, maudlin street" have haunted me with their observations. maybe it has the most to do with age and looking back. "maudlin" is definitely looking back at life, complete with the jumbled slashes of memory one's mind likes to paint with;"dial a cliche" is very much about being in a place "where you've organized your feelings for people who didn't like you then and do not like you now.." (another thing to have truly happened in my life); and "the ordinary boys" (and supermarket clothes-sporting ordinary girls for that matter) are still running rampant in this world, aren't they?
20 years on. yeah, i suppose "i'm older now, and i'm a clever swine," but not too clever to forget this record that was one that always stood by me.

I voted for Late Night, but I've always loved the B-sides on Suedehead and Everyday Is Like Sunday.

(Who would have guessed 20 years ago that the latter would one day be used to promote the NFL?)

"Me without clothes, well a nation turns it back and gags."

I voted for Suedehead because if it hadn't been for the video, I would never have been introduced to Morrissey. Having said that, however, I must add that Viva Hate came into my life just in time. It seemed that I could relate to most of the songs and I didn't feel so alone anymore. I'd finally found someone who had something to say to me. In fact, that album actually saved my life. If this poll asked "what is your favorite Morrissey album to date?" I'd say "Ringleader of the Tormentors", but the most meaningful one will always be Viva Hate, and Suedehead will always be the reason. I feel in an odd way, as silly as this sounds, that James Dean "supernaturally" introduced me to Morrissey on that fateful day.

it still resonates with me. such a sharp, yet subtle look at how people get dragged into 'commonness' by following their mob instincts out of fear. the outsider is always ostracized, but therein the beauty lies.

the whole record is such a heartache. like 'vauxhall' too. we fans love him at his most vulnerable b/c it has the ring of truth, not bravado.

Trudging slowly over wet sand
Back to the bench where your clothes were stolen
This is the coastal town
That they forgot to close down
Armageddon - come Armageddon!
Come, Armageddon! Come!

Everyday is like Sunday
Everyday is silent and grey

Hide on the promenade
Etch a postcard :
"How I Dearly Wish I Was Not Here"
In the seaside town ...that they forgot to bomb
Come, Come, Come - nuclear bomb

Everyday is like Sunday
Everyday is silent and grey

Trudging back over pebbles and sand
And a strange dust lands on your hands
(And on your face...)
(On your face ...)
(On your face ...)
(On your face ...)

Everyday is like Sunday
"Win Yourself A Cheap Tray"
Share some greased tea with me
Everyday is silent and grey

- Everyday is Like Sunday... lyrical genius! A Classic! -