Happy 19th Birthday to Southpaw Grammar
- Thread starter fredkocherpepsi
- Start date
marred
Member
I remember the day I walked in to my local record store and picked this up. The sales guy said it is very different but I think it is one of his best. I took it home, put it on and fell in love with it. 8 songs with 2 bookends around 10 minutes each with some glorious pop tunes such as Reader Meet Author, Dagenham Dave and Boy Racer in the meat (sorry Moz) and I still like the sleeve to this day. This album is one that should have definitely been left alone for the re release. The LP booklet inside is gorgeous too!
Adeptly_Inept
19, clumsy & shy
I was barely two days old upon it's release!
I never really listened to this album, it seemed to have avoided my radar somehow. There are definitely some songs on there that I enjoy. Do Your Best and Don't Worry being one of them.
I never really listened to this album, it seemed to have avoided my radar somehow. There are definitely some songs on there that I enjoy. Do Your Best and Don't Worry being one of them.
wastelandofyourhead
Active Member
This makes me regret having out-ranked it on the Album Ranking thread. In my defense, I like them all.
I used to listen to this album a lot, really. It has been a long time.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have a go at it in commemoration.
I used to listen to this album a lot, really. It has been a long time.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have a go at it in commemoration.
marred
Member
That's what I love about it. It sounds absolutely nothing like Vauxhall And I.
wastelandofyourhead
Active Member
I was thinking about that, just how much variety there was in that span of 90's albums.
I had my re-listen after quite a long time. It sounded really fresh. I like the vibe of the guitars. They don't sound like grunge to me at all. I also enjoyed the drums. The L-R panning toms in Southpaw sound great. It just has a different energy than any of the other albums.
I have to rethink my ranking order. Or just never do one of those again.
It's not my favourite record but I think the band sounded fantastic at this point and the production is great by Steve Lillywhite. In my opinion it was just slightly too sharp a change in philosophy just because the length of a couple of the songs simply served no purpose. Some of his best songs are on this record but "Southpaw" and "Teachers..." are about 4 minutes too long. Chop them down and add in "Nobody Loves Us" and a final version of "Honey You Know Where To Find Me" and you truly have one of his best records.
"Best Friend..." should have been the lead single.
"Best Friend..." should have been the lead single.
fredkocherpepsi
Active Member
I much prefer the original version to the reissue, despite liking the extra tracks. I think the title track is fantastic.
FER
Perpetual Junior Member
Thanks for making me feel so damn old!!!! I was 18 when it came out.
A
Anonymous
Guest
my least fav moz record. cant take the long songs as like the above stated theyre just a bit to overwrought for me and the overall sounds kinda brittle. boy racer is great but thats about it for me overall. reissue made it a bit better but its still at the bottom with ringleader. much prefer maladjusted
FER
Perpetual Junior Member
Probably a lot of cool stuff.
To finish my point about this album potentially being one of his best with a few changes made now that I have a moment I'll go through that in detail:
I would fade "Southpaw" out to have it end at 8:10. "Teachers..." ends sharply at 10:09 rather than dragging on that extra minute after the decline.
"Honey..." sounds like a rough mix; I'd touch that up and include it as well since it's too good to exclude and that brings us to an even 10 song record.
1. The Boy Racer
2. The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils
3. Best Friend On the Payroll
4. The Operation
5. Dagenham Dave
6. Do Your Best and Don't Worry
7. Reader Meet Author
8. Honey, You Know Where To Find Me
9. Nobody Loves Us
10. Southpaw
Lead single: "Best Friend On the Payroll" -- UK #8
Second single: "The Boy Racer" -- UK #36
Third single: "Dagenham Dave" -- UK #26
Fourth single: "Nobody Loves Us" -- UK #12
I would fade "Southpaw" out to have it end at 8:10. "Teachers..." ends sharply at 10:09 rather than dragging on that extra minute after the decline.
"Honey..." sounds like a rough mix; I'd touch that up and include it as well since it's too good to exclude and that brings us to an even 10 song record.
1. The Boy Racer
2. The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils
3. Best Friend On the Payroll
4. The Operation
5. Dagenham Dave
6. Do Your Best and Don't Worry
7. Reader Meet Author
8. Honey, You Know Where To Find Me
9. Nobody Loves Us
10. Southpaw
Lead single: "Best Friend On the Payroll" -- UK #8
Second single: "The Boy Racer" -- UK #36
Third single: "Dagenham Dave" -- UK #26
Fourth single: "Nobody Loves Us" -- UK #12
marred
Member
The rankings never work out. I only do them because I like clicking buttons. Other than that can you really rank Morrissey albums to the degree where each and every one of them belongs on a step of a ladder?
marred
Member
Southpaw has to be one of the best Moz album closers ever. Right up there with Speedway!
fredkocherpepsi
Active Member
Yup. Speedway is my favorite Moz solo tune of all time, for sure. And I'd say Southpaw is definitely in second as far as closers go.
fredkocherpepsi
Active Member
Jamie
Bluff, Ardour & Assoc.
Loved it then, love it now, love it for life. I became a fan in June 1995 so it was the first Morrissey album to be released in the lifespan of my fandom. I bought the September 1995 issue of Q immediately after I returned to university and bought the album shortly after. The Q review/interview (one of his wittiest ever, imo) gave me fair warning about the bookend behemoths of Teachers and Southpaw. I vividly recall rushing back to my then-girlfriend's dorm room, putting it on, and just getting smacked in the jaw with the power of it. The lurch of Teachers from controlled to chaos, the teeter-tottering solo on Reader Meet Author, the piledriving guitars on The Boy Racer, the bipolarity of The Operation (a drum solo, then a very sweet melody - a hit, if edited, surely - then a nervous breakdown screamed through a guitar pickup), the effervescence of Dagenham Dave (sue me, but I'm one of those people who hear Motown through the prism of Morrissey here) and Do Your Best And Don't Worry, the serpentine riff and bluesy lyrical repetition on Best Friend on the Payroll. And then...Southpaw. Ten mesmerizing minutes leading up to a voice hauntingly gasping for someone, something to "....HELP me...."
Given (a) a CD player and (b) a reliable power source, it would be on my desert island. Turned up to 11.
[I have few qualms about the Legacy Edition. I wish there had been more of a longview towards the possibility of a Your Arsenal reissue at the time as Fantastic Bird sits awkwardly on the track listing. There was also sufficient room for You Must Please Remember, which I feel is highly underrated. Most of all, I wish the reissue approach Rhino was planning in the early Aughts had been enacted: original album on disc one, the complete Miraval sessions on disc two. Perhaps for the 20th, 25th, or 30th?]
Given (a) a CD player and (b) a reliable power source, it would be on my desert island. Turned up to 11.
[I have few qualms about the Legacy Edition. I wish there had been more of a longview towards the possibility of a Your Arsenal reissue at the time as Fantastic Bird sits awkwardly on the track listing. There was also sufficient room for You Must Please Remember, which I feel is highly underrated. Most of all, I wish the reissue approach Rhino was planning in the early Aughts had been enacted: original album on disc one, the complete Miraval sessions on disc two. Perhaps for the 20th, 25th, or 30th?]
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