Vauxhall And I

Alright, alright, fine! Just stuff me with vegetables and fuck me already. Fuckin' Morrissey just won't give up until he's got a parsnip up my ass and is greasing up his penis and waving it in my cabbage filled face.

Seriously, fuck this guy.

I have somehow managed to never listen to The Smiths or Morrissey in my life. I really liked this album. It’s really good! Morrissey’s politics, on the other hand 😬. Yikes.

MOZZA!! He's such a prick. I can't emphasise that enough. But this is a great album both lyrically and muscially. Its still not as good as the Smiths though. 4/5

don't care + didn't ask + you lost your dynamic after the smiths

Why is he so sad?

You know you’re in for a dud when the Wikipedia entry is pretty much “ya this album existed”

twat

You know, pre-comeback Morrissey isn't as bad as post-comeback Morrissey but it's still pretentious, self-centered, sad-sack twaddle and I'm not here for it.

Now My Heart Is Full - Pretty generic rock thus far, I think it had some bearings on future Coldplay releases? I can hear a lot of 90s. It's definitely not my favourite track. It is a bit catchy. Morrissey's voice is as smooth as ever, though. Not impressed by the guitars, can do a lot better. Springed-Hill Jim - The bass. The bass. I like it. Using samplers. This is Morrissey more like you've heard in the Smiths. This rocks more. I like the sampling. I like how it fits within the narrative of the song. The man is obviously a whore. Billy Budd - Rocking backtrack. I like it. The guitar is kind of psychedelic, very Hendrix-y. But it's overshadowed a bit by Morrissey's voice. Definitely my favourite song so far. Is this song a reference to the novel? Hold On To Your Friends - Nice little melody, I guess. I think this is going to a ballad. Social commentary on capitalism and happiness? Meh.... a bit hypocritical . The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get - I can fuck with this instrumental. I like it. It's.... Unique. A lot of repetition of lyrics throughout the album, especially regarding time. I like this track-- But it feels like Morrissey is just Morrissey. And Morrissey is a controversial figure. I can sort of hear a Pixies-like... Parallel. The distortion of the guitars are a treat and I feel like the instrumentals are what shines on this album and Morrissey could be removed, I'd enjoy these songs more. Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself - A groovy little piece. It's nothing extraordinary but it does its job. The commentary continues through the album through repeated imagery and lyricism. It has a recurring theme of death and loss and acceptance of death and loss. I Am Hated for Lovin - I like the instrumentals a lot. It's a good song, I'd heard it before. I don't know what else to say. It is kind of devoid of the usual rock and forced "agony" for lack of better words of the Smiths, it feels like a very very bittersweet goodbye. May be acceptance is really the recurring theme and motif of the album? He just doesn't belong, he doesn't have many friends... Morrissey needs a psychiatrist and a therapist, not to release albums. This feels more and more like a suicide note. Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning - Oh, I love the instrumentals. This is baroque rock. This is very worrying, as worrying as it is pretty. The poor girl didn't deserve to drown, what is Morrissey on about? This is a real album with a theme of accepting loss and death. Makes me want to read into his mind state when writing this. But the instrumental shines and even his vocals and his vocal delivery is very different. "Please don't worry..." Yeah, suicide notes have been written to sound happier than this album. This album will kill the mood if you play it during sex. The girl at the end is literally being silenced by the cymbals... She died. Used to Be a Sweet Boy - This is a pretty decent song, I guess? But very samey... Which is a problem with this album. Something went wrong? And he's not to blame. Is that his relationship with his father? I feel like I should have some context for this album, far more than is provided. Otherwise, we don't feel the "pathos" or the "acceptance" as much if we are not already initiated to Morrissey. The background vocals are amazing though, very angelic choir-like. Is Morrissey talking about himself dying or having died and being an angel now? The Lazy Sunbathers - World War? I'm sorry... I don't get this one. War is bad, I guess? But he seems like he's accepting it. This album in general is grim. It's a bit of a kill-mood, it makes you feel a bit depressed. And if that's you want, then sure, this album is for you-- All of you weird folks out there. Speedway - Oh, this song is faster. Chainsaw massacre? This is odd... Definitely cool but very grim very very very grim. A decent finisher to this "album", I think he's released all of his anger and got the pathos he sought. Score - If you know Morrissey and you like Morrissey, then... Sure, this album might be for you. That is, if you want to feel depressed. In that respect, it does really well; it conveys the artist's emotions but requires an already-existing bond to be able to be experienced fully. I would give it a 3.5/5... It's certainly not bad, but it's not on the podium for me. It's just shy of a bronze metal.

First up: Mozza 2023 is a knob. Mozza 1994 was a different man. His masterful lyrics flow through each track. The More You Ignore Me remains infectious. This is a great, great break up album. It's still a little raw for me, almost 30 years later. There's a ray of hope from the old bigot with The Lazy Sunbathers. Lyrics on ecological issues didn't get you NME covers back in the day. It still stacks up. A reluctant five stars.

The guy is a fucking prick, but he makes great music. 4/5

God I hate morrissey

I’m biased, but I’ll always love a Morrissey album. The lyrics are unsurprisingly brilliant here, and they’re combined with some really nice instrumentation. I’m probably ignoring some flaws here because I have nostalgia for the british prick, but to me it’s great.

Just being very clear that giving 1992 Morrissey 5 stars in no way condones 2023 Morrissey. I wonder if he can remember the person that produced this charming, knowing, clever album ?

His masterpiece. Hang it in the fucking Louvre. If this had been his final album, and speedway the last song out of his mouth then his myth would have been cemented. I said what I said.

Morrissey's last great album. Really stands up, even if I wish we'd never heard from him again after this.

Doesn't get better with age. Self indulgent, arrogant, dire, over-hyped, badly structured, poorly engineered, crap lyrics.....garbage.

I bought this for my dad back in HS. He was a big Smiths fan and didn't have any solo stuff. I didn't really like it as much at first. When I relistened in college I fell in love. No skippable songs. Biggest standouts are the more I love you, Lazy sunbathers and speedway. The album really ends on a bang. The drums on the last song are killer.

Difficult person but some really good songs.

Not listening to this shit. Fuck Morrissey

Two Morrissey solo records down, two more to go.

cool

If an album could qualify for 5 stars on a single song, Speedway is it. It is quintessential Morrissey... dramatic pauses, biting lyrics, a loud orchestral sound, passion. One of my favorite songs of all time. Spring-Heeled Jim and Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself capture a similar passion that really elevate this album. Though I can pass on Billy Budd, everything else here are nice variations of the Morrissey formula and really are a nice continuation of what he was doing with the Smiths. Great.

Regrettably this is pretty great

I'm just going to put this out there - this is the first time I've listened to this or any album by Morrissey in its entirety. It came out in the early '90s when tween/teen me was preoccupied with grunge, which spoke to my soul. I'd heard some of his solo work but just a song here or there. But I listened to it three times. I can see why so many friends and acquaintances are/were big Morrissey fans. He taps into that melancholic, misunderstood energy that so many feel. His voice is lovely and soothing, the music was easy to listen to.

Morrissey is a piece of shit and a sad excuse for a human being. But damn is he an amazing songwriter. If you are able to separate the art from the artist with Morrissey his catalogue is a fantastic lesson in music history especially in The Smiths era. And if you don't know how The Smiths wrote music it's worth learning because it is a strange situation that became wonderful art. All that being said this is an amazing album. It opens strong and then "Spring-Heeled Jim" is a weird track and "Billy Budd" falls flat. "Hold on to Your Friends" has a beautiful guitar part. "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" reminds you that Morrissey is a creep while backed by a great song. The next two tracks just feel like classic Morrissey but nothing too special to me. "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning" is strange vocally but solid musically. The next two have that classic Morrissey sound again and "The Lazy Sunbathers" is my second favorite song on the album. "Speedway" I think is the most progressive song on the album, it somehow balances the Morrissey sound with a much more progressive musical sound that is an energetic masterful way to end an album. Morrissey is a 0/5 person this album is a 4.5/5. If Morrissey wasn't a shitty person and was more of a musician I'd be inclined to give it a 5, but I'll stick to a 4.

World needs more Morrissey, less Billy Bragg.

6.5/10 FT: The more you ignore me, the closer I get

The problem with Morrissey (aside from the fact that he is a twat) is that he is a great lyricist but he needs a musical genius like Johnny Marr beside him. That is what ultimately made the Smiths work. Some musicians need that collaborative friction to bring out the best in them, and the Smiths are a prime example (alongside the Beatles and Pink Floyd)

Is the art beholden to the artist, or can it jettison the maker’s flaws? The songs do their part, never surprising, but carrying his romantic sting with confidence, and they don’t hang around. The impression of watching a poison-pen writer dance to themselves from behind a one-way mirror is present. Keep yourselves buttoned; he knows we’re here. The sound is apt: big, dense, surging, regal, with the notes of antiquarianism he wielded in The Smiths - pub chat and siren sounds in Spring-Heeled Jack, not to mention the title itself - the purposefully old beside the modern, out-and-out grandeur never far. Reading the notes, I see Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte deserve more prominence than the blanket “Morrissey” branding allows. Generally, I keep personal life out of these reviews, but context can creep in. As recent arrivals in this country, we’re trying to fit in and be worthy citizens, so in that spirit went on a march today to help safeguard our new home. As we chanted at a cruise ship and burned stuff (libraries with foreign books, a burrito stall, Mazdas), the delicate melodies of Stephen Morrissey synched to our rowdier nativist cries… Immigrants go home, immigrants go home, I heard him sing as smoke curled wistfully over downtown Vancouver.

Vaguely familiar, likely due to a friend desperately pretending that each new Morrissey release of the period was "a return to form". Nope The trouble with Morrissey's solo career is *not* what a dick he became, it's that (barring "Viva Hate" and parts of "Your Arsenal") the tunes are so threadbare it becomes such a dull slog. Boorer/Whyte (who?) were no match for Johnny Marr, unlike perhaps Vini Reilly or Mick Ronson. But, sure, sample some more Ealing film dialogue and grind out some more basic rockabilly indie mush, someone will buy it. The hit and Speedway afford this a high 2, but nothing more

Usually I have to weigh the music against the level of asshole and artist is. Morrissey is a known asshole so that usually would hurt an albums score. Here though, the album sucks anyway. This one isn't any good. So it's easy to score.

I like the sound of this one. This is one I would consider buying and would look into more of his music.

This is cool, I didn’t really know what to expect from morrissey but I like this

This was way too relatable.

Cool 90-S pop. Clean and rich sound!

Really liked this one. Somehow it put me on a very good mood.

Classic Moz. Well, he has better albums with or without Johnny Marr but this is still really good stuff with some essential songs for any fan. Moz always gets a 5.

Is this my first solo Morrissey? I think it is, I know which albums of his are on the list and three of them might very well be his top three albums. I think I slightly prefer "Kill Uncle" over "You Are The Quarry" but it's not my list, is it? Besides this is "Vauxhall And I"

Morrissey has the inimitable sound. Drones on and hits very dissonant tones with his voice. Genius.

Now My Heart Is Full, The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

One of the easiest to give a five star.

sonzeira, um grande mestre

Let your guard down for a minute, catch Morrissey religion. Vauxhall And I was a total surprise mostly delightful and entirely melodramatic. Each melody is hummably familiar, mood-as-theme works perfectly. This also sounds rather unlike the Smiths, which helps the vocal choices not-grate.

i really liked it and it’s def my music taste :-)

Just perfect. Probably clouded slightly by my strong memories attached to this one, but it definitely does it for me.

I love Morrisey! And the smiths

Now My Heart Is Full, The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

One of my absolute faves, ever

Pretty collection of tunes with great guitar.

4.5/5

Now My Heart Is Full, The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

Another Morrissey album in this list and one that could likely be considered his best work to date, with closing track Speedway possibly the best solo song he has released. "All of the rumours keeping me grounded I never said that they were completely unfounded And all those lies, written lies, twisted lies Well, they weren't lies, they weren't lies, they weren't lies"

Always enjoyed Marcy. I grabbed the deluxe remaster that included live versions of all the songs so it was doubly good.

Great album

Not only is the man devilishly handsome, but I love the smiths. I knew this was for me before I even hit play. I need a pint

One of mythe two great albums by Morrissey.

I hate Morrissey but pretty good album

moody, check, yodely outburst, check, it's Morrisey.

false

Great indie

Solid

Not bad

Surprising a d almost funny. Take a Smiths album master tape, go to the mixing desk and slide every channel containing Johnny Marr's guitar parts down to zero. What you will be left with is this album. It's good, but it would have been so much better with him.

Geweldige stem vind ik dit. Liesjes op zich niet zo spannend maar die stem is echt erg prettig om naar te luisteren.

4/5

Vauxhall and I- Morrissy (1994): 7/10 Right off the bat I am impressed with the sound. The epic guitar and drums intertwined with Morrissys vocals is really captivating. We are off to a great start. Next, we have a mellower track that really showcases Morrissys cryptic writing style, with an intriguing use of what seems to be… Radio chatter? In the background. Once again, I am impressed by the guitar on the next track. “Hold onto your friends“ has officially converted me to this style of production, plus I’m digging the message lyrically. The next track starts out on a riff that’s borderline iconic. This stadium filling sound is really something. An upbeat haunting acoustic tune comes next, and I’m not complaining about this one. “The lazy sunbathers“ has a great message about complacency during difficult times. Album finishes epically with “speedway”.

Moral Sea

I probably need a few more spins to process and make sure I truly love the album, and it isn't just Moz trying to seduce me with those baby blues on the album cover. So far, Morrissey's solo work lives solidly right there in the 4 area for me. Which, hey, is nothing to crow about. I can't help but wonder if all that's keeping him from classic status is either the willingness to eat meat or enjoy having sex. No one needs a good lay as badly as Morrissey does.

Dude's a d-bag to the nth degree, but hell if he can't make pretty music with a great voice.

I'm a Smiths / Morrissey fan but this album. So ehow escaped my orbit. There are some absolutely gorgeous so gs on this album. As usual his band is spot on...they sound amazing the rockers like Billy Budd; ROCK! The more subtle songs like the beautiful I am Hated For Loving and Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning are arranged with beautiful tasteful touches. The album is lovely from beginning g to end. Highly recommended. 4 🌟

Pretty good. Makes good background music. Would listen again

Albums Decent. Morrissey has a song here called I am hated for loving, That shit didn't age all that well too well, which is fucking hilarious. Dudes the worst. Fuck Morrissey.

Tricky to listen to now. 0 out of 5 for the person. 4 out of 5 for the songs

Actually enjoyed this a lot, shame he’s a cunt

The perfect definition of a solid four star album.

I don't know, I got into this one. I'm listening to "Speedway" again right now, matter of fact. Maybe there's hope for me as a potential Smiths fan yet?? Or does me liking this one mean the opposite? I'm really confused here.

Well...I don't like his politics but fuck, if this album doesn't deserve to be on here I don't know what does. Despite being an unrepentant narcissist and all-around absurd person, Morrissey is an incredible musician. Not only do I get the appeal, it's kind of my thing. It's the mopey teenager in me. Why are so many famous people such weirdos? Probably because you have to be bizarre to actually want all of the trappings of fame. There's really not a skip on here for me. That said, still prefer his work with the Smiths. Fave track: Now my Heart is Full or Moon River. Got a good laugh out of him saying "I wrote that" at the end of the latter too. Haha

Siri unique voice and sound on this album.

Great album

Had to check but apparently rated Your Arsenal with 3 stars and wondered why that Morrissey album was on the list. I knew Vauxhall and I is a better album but had not listened to it for at least a decade or so and forgot how much better it is. It contains exactly quite a number of 5-star classic Morrissey songs and I liked it a lot (4 stars, but at the high end so 8/10).

I must have missed this album rating it. I know I listened to it, but I went ahead and listened again. It's still good.

On one hand, this is a Morrissey album with songs that just sound like most Morrissey albums. On the other, I really like Morrissey albums.

It's good, it's a more polished pop version of the Smiths. It's perhaps his best album. 3.5 for me but I round up.

3.5

An excellent Morrissey album that I imagine will improve with each listen. 4 🌟

I was not excited to have a Morrissey album to listen to. While I haven’t a lot of experience with his music, I have found him a bit downbeat and dreary in the past. So I had a little apprehension about the next 40 minutes. I needn't have worried... I found this album really enjoyable! Catchy, upbeat tunes that grew on me even more on subsequent listens. What a lovely surprise!

The best of Morrissey is being moody and lovely. This is both.

I find myself going through periods of loving Morrisey, and loathing in equal measure. Generally means that depending on which day I'd give this a 2 or a 4 star review. Today is a 4 star day.

What a charming young album!!

I never really cottoned to The Smiths, and I know just enough about Moz's current political views that I had to hold myself back from groaning as I queued this up. But once again I was surprised. I dug this record, pure and simple. Great production, some killer guitar work, catchy melodies, and the dude knows how to write lyrics. At the risk of being canceled for liking this, I will definitely dive into more of his solo work.

Oh no. Alright, let's see if I have a new take on this cat. Going into it, my bias is strong. I always found Morrissey impossibly whiny, verbose, and just plain unlikeable. Not the guy I'd like to get stuck talking to at a party. And god damn... another revelation. This album is pretty damned good. Morrissey is nowhere near the insufferable git I remember from The Smiths. I'm hearing a quirky crooner with a bit of an attitude and a penchant for the creepy, which I have to admire. The songs are fairly straightforward on the surface, which is just fine, as it lays the foundation for some cool textures and arrangements that are well done and interesting. And Morrissey uses his voice to great effect, with his melodies sometimes going in odd but familiar directions and his lyrics painted just outside the lines of what most any other writer might arrive at. I'm teetering on a 4, but thinking it's a 3.5. The fact that I'm considering a 4-star review for a Morrissey album is the most surprising thing about this endeavor to date. Couple that with McCormick going low on Marvin Gaye and Marianne buying Limp Bizkit merch and we're about to open a portal to the Upside Down. It's freakin' apocalyptical.

Great album, too bad it had to be Morrissey the person. I will never stop laughing when I see Morrissey wearing his own swag.

Kicking off with Now My Heart is Full, instantly nostalgic and remembering a time when it was OK to like Morrissey, because he wasn't obviously a terrible cunt at this point. Also, remembering that Morrissey really did used to be terribly good. Hold on To Your Friends, words to live by as you get older and it gets harder. Lifeguard Sleeping is great too, really unique on the record. This is a terrific album, and easily his best solo effort, for me.

Mature and balanced, a very good record and by aiming for more understatement than in previous efforts, Morissey wins bigger. The controlled melancholy works beautifully. This is how pop stars can/should age gracefully.

Art 8/10.....Artist 0/10

Moz is at his croony best. Every song feels like a desperate attempt to redeem something the poor bastard is longing for. It’s missing that Johnny Mar touch he had with The Smiths.

One of his best solo albums. There's a rare fragility to his voice that really carries this project forward Anyway the Queen died while I was listening to this so that's a bit mad

Morrissey never disappoints. He always delivers music that is versatile yet never lacks his own signature touch. Yet another good album with a perfect runtime