"Low In High School" review by Andrew Perry (4/5 stars) in Q (Dec. 2017)

'His best since 'Vauxhall and I', and will be known as his Israel album.' Line from 'Israel': "They bitch and moan because they are not like you". Oh dear.

---

Scan posted by 001:

 

[Anonymous]

I thought the Kill Uncle era sound was just thin and watery. It could have been the production as much as the music, but I definitely listen to that era the least. I do realize that it is important, and the people who caught the wave of mania surrounding the Kill Uncle tour will defend it to the death, but the band and songs improved so drastically by the time Arsenal came out, and Vauxhall is pretty much perfect, and the the high water mark for the Boz/Alain/Gary/Spencer band. It's the difference between youthful exuberance versus practiced musicianship.

It is always amusing to read comments from someone who thinks they hold the truth. Objectively, musically, KU was retrospectivelly a platform to Vauxhall in many ways: too bad certain few people haven't noticed it. Proof is... The samples of dialogues added to spooky music were already present on KU with great success. DYGH is beyond beauty and is as brilliant as Vauxhall & I stuff, like TIAPIHFMAMF. Side 2 of KU is superb. It is just track 2 and track 3 on the a-side that lower the quality of the album and did put the good taste in people's mouth from day 1.

It is hard to speak music with someone telling the title track of WPINOYB is a good song, In case you don't know, the masterpiece that WPINOYB was supposed to be if reading the reviews of 2014, doesn't even make it in the top 1000 of the records released in 2014 on rateyourmusicdotcom. Normal people keep on rating this album very low whereas they keep on Vauxhall fascinating.

 

[Anonymous]

Euh, have you heard the fantastic live FM broadcast of the Paris'1991 show? The live version of the rockabilly King Leer stands very well. And the band plays tight.

Meanwhile in Australia...

 

[bhops]

This review seems far more in keeping as to how I feel about the album based on the songs I've heard so far. I love, I mean really really LOVE every single song off this album that they have played live and for the album to fall into the middling ground of say Ringleaders, or Quarry would mean that I would have to feel ho-hum about every song I've yet to hear, which seems fairly implausible. In 20-25 years when the revisionist history comes in I suspect that World Peace and Low in High School will be rated much more highly than they are now (I'm assuming that this album won't receive too much glowing critical praise.)

 

[celibate]

as some wrote, I'll buy it anyway,don't need journalists with their opinions...know Morrissey his whole carreer musicly and the Legendary band he was singer and made the lyrics...

and about ditching his band, I've never made a secret I really miss Alain...but starting with a new band is a gamble, or it must be well known musicians

 

[Anonymous]

It was a quirky phase, and I don't think I could name a more love it or hate it song from that era than Pregnant For The Last Time.

Morrissey's rockabilly phase was the peak of his solo years. He followed it up with still more rockabilly sounds on Vauxhall & I. These were his two most heralded albums. Since then, it's been all down hill.

After that, Morrissey seemed to fail to establish a distinctive musical identity like he had with Stephen Street, and that he began having with Boz and Alain. Since Vauxhall, his sound became this plodding hodge-podge of pub rock, and random genre dabbling that I guess was meant to give the impression that he was broadening his palette, but comes across as cliched, and aimless.

What is remarkable is that it took him this long to show any real advancement in his sound. Even on the singles between Years of Refusal and World Peace, he seemed to be delve back into the sludge rock sound. That's How People Grow Up is hands down one of the worst songs he has ever released.

Now he has a more interesting sound, but the lyrical content has become wonky, and uninspired.

Your Arsenal was truly one of his best albums. The rockabilly playfulness on stage is exactly what the genre is about. If only the band members had anything resembling that kind of spirit now.

Now, Boz looks like a stage-float character strumming robotically while glaring at the audience like he can't stand them. Jesse looks like a guy playing air-guitar at the wrong concert.

The rest are great musicians, but they're basically just a rent-a-band. The Lads started out as a unit, and now it's become a lottery of session musicians who are pulling everything in to too many different directions.

In the end, it's a rarity that any artist can maintain consistency over so many albums. It's just not supposed to happen. Pop artists are designed to sparkle and fade rather swiftly. In all honesty, how many more Morrissey songs do we really need? I don't really expect him top surprise me at this point.

 

[Anonymous]

How any Morrissey fan could call the video below the awkward phase of Morrissey's solo career is beyond me, especially as it was so clearly the highpoint:

Totally agree. He was at full powers during this period, and when he followed it up with Vauxhall & I, it seemed like he could do no wrong, and then...into the wilderness.

With Your Arsenal, he finally managed to break free from The Smiths aura, and sound that had dominated his early solo releases. He was reborn with that album, and it fit his persona, and voice perfectly. The dark Elvis was what Morrissey always was at heart.

Scientifically speaking, Morrissey wasn't designed to sing Kiss Me A Lot, or Spent The Day in Bed. These are horrible mutations.

The rockabilly sound is still his best sound, and a sound that he had already dabbled in with The Smiths on various occasions. It was a sound that the band, was in fact, hired to do.

 

[SeniorLife]

...Btw, I think Spent The Day In Bed is
his all-time worst single. I wish he’d never written, recorded or released it. Truly dire.[/QUOTE]

erhhhh....Roy's Keen was released as a single

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey's rockabilly phase was the peak of his solo years. He followed it up with still more rockabilly sounds on Vauxhall & I. These were his two most heralded albums. Since then, it's been all down hill.

After that, Morrissey seemed to fail to establish a distinctive musical identity like he had with Stephen Street, and that he began having with Boz and Alain. Since Vauxhall, his sound became this plodding hodge-podge of pub rock, and random genre dabbling that I guess was meant to give the impression that he was broadening his palette, but comes across as cliched, and aimless.

What is remarkable is that it took him this long to show any real advancement in his sound. Even on the singles between Years of Refusal and World Peace, he seemed to be delve back into the sludge rock sound. That's How People Grow Up is hands down one of the worst songs he has ever released.

Now he has a more interesting sound, but the lyrical content has become wonky, and uninspired.

Your Arsenal was truly one of his best albums. The rockabilly playfulness on stage is exactly what the genre is about. If only the band members had anything resembling that kind of spirit now.

Now, Boz looks like a stage-float character strumming robotically while glaring at the audience like he can't stand them. Jesse looks like a guy playing air-guitar at the wrong concert.

The rest are great musicians, but they're basically just a rent-a-band. The Lads started out as a unit, and now it's become a lottery of session musicians who are pulling everything in to too many different directions.

In the end, it's a rarity that any artist can maintain consistency over so many albums. It's just not supposed to happen. Pop artists are designed to sparkle and fade rather swiftly. In all honesty, how many more Morrissey songs do we really need? I don't really expect him top surprise me at this point.

Like
BtBB

 

[Anonymous]

Regardless of lyrical quality, Morrissey tends to at least create an infectious tune. Still, I can't believe that this was the lead-off single. It's baffling.

The "I love my bed" phrase seems redundant, and like lyrical filler meant to buy time until the next phrase.

The "sheets for which I've paid" line is another odd quote. Why was this revelation necessary? Would it matter if he hadn't paid for them? Great, you're a big boy now. Soon you'll get your driver's license, and maybe even your own vehicle.

Also, the lyrics seem like a patchwork of unrelated slogans. In the middle of this ode to retired nihilists, Morrissey finds it necessary to tell us to "stop watching the news...." Again, I don't see the continuity here? What does this have to do with Morrissey reminding everyone that he can pay for his own sheets (expensive ones, I'm sure), has purchased enough pillows to make pillars out of them, and has all the time in the world to do as he wishes; while you have to work your horrible job?

Most people aren't moderately wealthy pop-stars. They have people who need them. Go beyond the developed world, and these daily struggles become even greater.

Beyond the "stop watching the news lyric," and the vague "be good to yourself" lyric (which he recycles from All The Lazy Dykes), I hear nothing in this song that sounds like any real attempt to connect with others. It just comes across as an elitist, sneering reminder by Morrissey that you're an enslaved peasant, and he's not. Oh, but, go ahead and be good to yourself. Whatever that means.

We all know that low income communities don't have enough income being spent on vice. Urban ghettos have experienced this for decades, and white rural Americans are now dying at a faster rate than any other group. Suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, and isolation have all played a part in this epidemic.

Inhibition is the least of modern society's problems. Morrissey's an inhibited person, and he projects that struggle onto everyone else.

Maybe that's the point: Morrissey is simply singing a lullaby to himself. He's not trying to connect. He's taunting.

 

[gordyboy9]

i have a soft spot for roys keen,is it as bad as people say,same with king leer,there is no rule to say this is a good song or this is a bad song,its all subjective.
if this album was to get three out of ten I would still buy it because I have bought every other album so why wouldn't I complete the collection.

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey's rockabilly phase was the peak of his solo years. He followed it up with still more rockabilly sounds on Vauxhall & I. These were his two most heralded albums. Since then, it's been all down hill.

Can't find any rockabilly sounds on my copy of Vauxhall & I?

Don't leave us in the dark.

And I reckon Southpaw Grammar, which I prefer, was more rockin' than Vauxhall.

When your spirits on trial, these nights can be frightening...

 

[Uncleskinny]

Yesterday: "Reviewers. Pah. What do they know. It's MY view that counts"

Today: "Reviewers: YAY!"

 

[Anonymous]

Yesterday: "Reviewers. Pah. What do they know. It's MY view that counts"

Today: "Reviewers: YAY!"

Uncleskinny version

Yesterday: "Reviewers: YAY!"

Today: "Reviewers. Pah. What do they know. It's MY view that counts."

 

[Uncleskinny]

Uncleskinny version

Yesterday: "Reviewers: YAY!"

Today: "Reviewers. Pah. What do they know. It's MY view that counts."

YOUR version, my German friend:

"Has he posted yet? He HAS? Right, I am SO there..."

 

[Anonymous]

Yesterday: "Reviewers. Pah. What do they know. It's MY view that counts"

Today: "Reviewers: YAY!"

Yeah, it's bloody irritating isn't it, not to mention baffling.
People wanting his new album to be well received.
What on earth are they doing at a Morrissey website!

 

[LizSK2]

5/10 in Uncut. Said his worst since Kill Uncle. That is more accurate. And btw, as a Jew I find his philosemitism most uncomfortable.

 

[Sidnettle]

That is a piss-poor review. Most people seem to like it just because it gives 4 Stars. The Mojo one was written better and made more sense (even if it was shy of talking about the songs.)

 

[Sidnettle]

Morrissey's rockabilly phase was the peak of his solo years. He followed it up with still more rockabilly sounds on Vauxhall & I. These were his two most heralded albums. Since then, it's been all down hill.

After that, Morrissey seemed to fail to establish a distinctive musical identity like he had with Stephen Street, and that he began having with Boz and Alain. Since Vauxhall, his sound became this plodding hodge-podge of pub rock, and random genre dabbling that I guess was meant to give the impression that he was broadening his palette, but comes across as cliched, and aimless.

What is remarkable is that it took him this long to show any real advancement in his sound. Even on the singles between Years of Refusal and World Peace, he seemed to be delve back into the sludge rock sound. That's How People Grow Up is hands down one of the worst songs he has ever released.

Now he has a more interesting sound, but the lyrical content has become wonky, and uninspired.

Your Arsenal was truly one of his best albums. The rockabilly playfulness on stage is exactly what the genre is about. If only the band members had anything resembling that kind of spirit now.

Now, Boz looks like a stage-float character strumming robotically while glaring at the audience like he can't stand them. Jesse looks like a guy playing air-guitar at the wrong concert.

The rest are great musicians, but they're basically just a rent-a-band. The Lads started out as a unit, and now it's become a lottery of session musicians who are pulling everything in to too many different directions.

In the end, it's a rarity that any artist can maintain consistency over so many albums. It's just not supposed to happen. Pop artists are designed to sparkle and fade rather swiftly. In all honesty, how many more Morrissey songs do we really need? I don't really expect him top surprise me at this point.

The only Rockabilly came between Kill Uncle and Your Arsenal.

 

[ordinaryboy86]

but a character assassination is not a record review.

Sorry to break it to you but the Uncut 5/10 was a record review score and nothing else. Tell yourself it’s a disgruntled reviewer with a grudge to bare if it makes you feel better.
Who cares anyway. Create your own review when the album comes out. Yours is the only opinion that really matters.

 

[Uncleskinny]

Yeah, it's bloody irritating isn't it, not to mention baffling.
People wanting his new album to be well received.
What on earth are they doing at a Morrissey website!

Errr, that's missing the point. The point being that unthinking drones will dismiss reviews, unless they're favourable, in which case not.