A pretty fair review? In what way?
I explain why I think it's fair in the next part of the post. It's fair because his primary complaints - that Morrissey's lyrics are lazy and that the band is boring - are perfectly valid complaints.
We've established you like Birthday. So you think Skull, Mama, Black Cloud, Paris, Carol, AYNIM, OK by myself and Good in your time are bland and uninspiring? Seriously, if you do then i can't understand why you frequent a Moz fansite. In my opinion these are really strong songs and I can't quite understand what else you are expecing from a Moz album.
Sigh. "Skull" is a good song - with not-so-great lyrics in the verses. It could have been magnificent, but it fell into that old "Sorrow Will Come In The End" lyrical trap that Morrissey seems to always fall into these days. I think the chorus is brilliant, and I still love the song - I just wish it wasn't sullied by lines about "uncivil servants" and "bailiffs with bad breath" and the like. "Black Cloud" is extremely mediocre in every way. I love the melody of "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" but the lyrics are lazy and the song sounds unfinished. "All You Need Is Me" is okay, but the music is awful, and the melody is bland. I do quite like the last verse ("You don't like me but you love me..."), but on the whole it's bland. "I'm OK By Myself" has grown on me - I like that song a lot. The lyrics are not his best though. It's another example of falling into the same old patterns. "You Were Good In Your Time" is very good. Some of the best lyrics on the album.
Again, what exactly are you looking for? What topics do you want him to be singing about? So what if much of his work returns to the subject of love or unrequited love?
Well, I can tell you that I DON'T want to hear him whining about lawyers anymore. That's a pet peeve of mine. But apart from that, it's not the WHAT so much as the HOW. I love his major themes of unrequited love, sadness and persecution. It's the artless and dull way that he expresses those themes on this album that distresses me.
The majority of great pop songs throughout history are about love. Paris, for example may not be full of deep, hidden meanings and references from Elizabeth Smart but its a beautiful song about unrequited love accompanied by a strong melody with a great hook. Name another artist that writes lyrics as intelligently as those in 'Carol'?
I love the lyrics of "Carol". Those are among the best lyrics on the album. And as I said, I LOVE songs about unrequited love. I just don't think that lyrics like, "I was wasting my time looking for love/For a love that never comes from someone who does not exist" are good lyrics. I mean, you can go through the history of Morrissey and find dozens of lyrics that express this same theme much better.
It pisses me off the way every single lyric he writes is subject to extensive analysis and criticism. Lilly Allen's album gets rave reviews up and down the country with songs about f***ing chinese takeaways.
Well, you have an excellent point there. Morrissey is the victim of his own track record. I firmly admit that I hold Morrissey songs to a completely different standard than anyone else. For example, even though I don't think that "Sorry Doesn't Help" is a good Morrissey song, I still prefer it immensely to almost every other song that I hear on the radio. (My gf called me on this the other day: "You know, you were complaining that you weren't very impressed with the new Morrissey album, but I sure here you singing it a lot in your office!") Yeah, even though I'm disappointed with it, it's still my current favorite album. I just get frustrated because I know that he's capable of so much better than this! I just listened to this song from a few years ago and was reminded of what he's capable of:
There is something I wanted to tell you
it's so funny you'll kill yourself laughing
but then I, I look around
and I remember that I am alone / alone / forevermore
The tile yard, all along the railings
up a discoloured dark brown staircase
here you'll find / despair and I
calling to you with what's left of my heart, my heart / forevermore
Drinking tea with the taste of the Thames
sullenly on a chair on the pavement
here you'll find / my thoughts and I
and here is the very last plea from my heart, my heart / forevermore
Where taxi drivers never stop talking
under slate-grey Victorian sky
here you'll find / despair and I
and here I am every last inch of me's yours / yours
forevermore
Your leg came to rest against mine
Then you lounged with knees up and apart
and me and my heart
we knew / we just knew
forevermore
Where taxi drivers never stop talking
under slate-grey Victorian sky
here you'll find / my heart and I
and still we say "come back / come back
to Camden / and I'll be good"
I'll be good
I'll be good
I'll be good
That's what I'm missing on this album.
