Southpaw Grammar
Encyclopedia
Southpaw Grammar is the fifth solo album by the British alternative rock
singer Morrissey
. It was released in August 1995 and charted at number 66 in the United States and at number 4 in the United Kingdom. The singles lifted from it were "Dagenham Dave" (which reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart
in August 1995) and "The Boy Racer" (which reached number 36 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1995).
, often considered to be Morrissey's finest solo moment, this was a change in direction.
The nature of the album is certainly different from past Morrissey releases. Musically, the inclusion of two tracks which surpass the ten minute mark, the near two and half minute drum solo courtesy of Spencer Cobrin which opens the track "The Operation" and the sampling of a Shostakovich
1 symphony have led some to dub this album as "Morrissey's flirtation with prog-rock". Some critics were impressed by this apparent attempt at progression, while others dismissed the longer tracks as mere self-indulgence. By this album Morrissey had been writing with Alain Whyte
and Boz Boorer
for almost as long as he had been writing with Johnny Marr
by the time of the Smiths' demise. The catchy pop numbers are by no means gone, as proven by the two singles "Dagenham Dave" and "The Boy Racer". There are no ballads on this album.
According to Morrissey himself, the title refers to 'the school of hard knocks', that is, boxing
(a southpaw being boxing
slang for a left-hander and grammar a reference to grammar school
s). Some have taken this a step further and believe Southpaw Grammar to be a concept album
about boxing, or just the violence prevalent in modern society in general.
Another reference to boxing is the original cover photo, not of Morrissey, but a photo of boxer Kenny Lane
taken from the April 1963 issue of boxing magazine The Ring.
The lyrics are different from those found in Vauxhall and I, though it could be argued the protagonist's quotation in "Reader Meets Author", "no-one ever sees me when I cry", is auto-biographical, which follows in a similar path to the one left by Vauxhall and I.
Opening track "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" is noteworthy as it is possibly the antithesis of the ideas he put forward in the Smiths song, "The Headmaster Ritual", from their album Meat Is Murder
. The theory here is that Morrissey goes from berating the over-zealous administration of discipline, as he saw it, to berating the lack of it. Whether this would be pure hypocrisy or simply a shrewd re-evaluation in light of the abolition of corporal punishment
is a moot point.
The critical reception to Southpaw Grammar was mixed. Some fans still regard this as his most exciting work and a brave departure from past success with Vauxhall and I. Q
listed it as one of the Top 50 albums of 1995. Some critics gave it bad reviews, but it would be wrong to say there was total condemnation. Indeed, some hailed it as Morrissey's most real, intense and ambitious work yet, others lambasted it as over-orchestrated. The NME
were especially damning of their one-time hero, claiming the album was 'a loud mess to sell to America.' It must be borne in mind also that many reviewers commented upon the idiosyncratically English nature of the lyrics, even by Morrissey's standards, so there is no real consensus on which market this album was aimed at.
. Various release dates were announced but the album finally hit UK shelves on .
The three unreleased tracks were: "Honey, You Know Where to Find Me", "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" and "Fantastic Bird", the last of which dates from the Your Arsenal
sessions. The album also featured new sleeve artwork by Anthony Lui, including previously unseen photographs by Linder Sterling
. Anthony had also designed the sleeves for Ringleader of the Tormentors
, Live at Earls Court
and Greatest Hits
plus the last eleven UK singles.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
. It was released in August 1995 and charted at number 66 in the United States and at number 4 in the United Kingdom. The singles lifted from it were "Dagenham Dave" (which reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in August 1995) and "The Boy Racer" (which reached number 36 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1995).
The record
On its release Southpaw Grammar was an eyebrow raiser with fans and critics alike. Following the success of Vauxhall and IVauxhall and I
Vauxhall and I is a 1994 Parlophone album by British musician Morrissey. Q listed it as one of the top ten albums of 1994. The release cemented Morrissey's success in the US, giving him a top 20 album and his first hit single there with the song "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get"...
, often considered to be Morrissey's finest solo moment, this was a change in direction.
The nature of the album is certainly different from past Morrissey releases. Musically, the inclusion of two tracks which surpass the ten minute mark, the near two and half minute drum solo courtesy of Spencer Cobrin which opens the track "The Operation" and the sampling of a Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
1 symphony have led some to dub this album as "Morrissey's flirtation with prog-rock". Some critics were impressed by this apparent attempt at progression, while others dismissed the longer tracks as mere self-indulgence. By this album Morrissey had been writing with Alain Whyte
Alain Whyte
Alain Gordon Whyte is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is most known for being Morrissey's main songwriting partner since 1991 and his lead guitarist from 1991-2004...
and Boz Boorer
Boz Boorer
Boz Boorer is a British guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group, The Polecats, and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and musical director with Morrissey.-The Polecats:The band "Cult Heroes" was formed in 1977 by Tim Worman , Boz...
for almost as long as he had been writing with Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
by the time of the Smiths' demise. The catchy pop numbers are by no means gone, as proven by the two singles "Dagenham Dave" and "The Boy Racer". There are no ballads on this album.
According to Morrissey himself, the title refers to 'the school of hard knocks', that is, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
(a southpaw being boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
slang for a left-hander and grammar a reference to grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s). Some have taken this a step further and believe Southpaw Grammar to be a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about boxing, or just the violence prevalent in modern society in general.
Another reference to boxing is the original cover photo, not of Morrissey, but a photo of boxer Kenny Lane
Kenny Lane
Kenny Lane was a famous southpaw boxer. He fought for lightweight and light welterweight titles of the world, once against Joe Brown and twice against Carlos Ortiz.-Early life:...
taken from the April 1963 issue of boxing magazine The Ring.
The lyrics are different from those found in Vauxhall and I, though it could be argued the protagonist's quotation in "Reader Meets Author", "no-one ever sees me when I cry", is auto-biographical, which follows in a similar path to the one left by Vauxhall and I.
Opening track "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" is noteworthy as it is possibly the antithesis of the ideas he put forward in the Smiths song, "The Headmaster Ritual", from their album Meat Is Murder
Meat Is Murder
Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released in February 1985 and became the band's sole number one album in the UK charts during the band's lifetime, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. It reached number 110 in the US...
. The theory here is that Morrissey goes from berating the over-zealous administration of discipline, as he saw it, to berating the lack of it. Whether this would be pure hypocrisy or simply a shrewd re-evaluation in light of the abolition of corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
is a moot point.
The critical reception to Southpaw Grammar was mixed. Some fans still regard this as his most exciting work and a brave departure from past success with Vauxhall and I. Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
listed it as one of the Top 50 albums of 1995. Some critics gave it bad reviews, but it would be wrong to say there was total condemnation. Indeed, some hailed it as Morrissey's most real, intense and ambitious work yet, others lambasted it as over-orchestrated. The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
were especially damning of their one-time hero, claiming the album was 'a loud mess to sell to America.' It must be borne in mind also that many reviewers commented upon the idiosyncratically English nature of the lyrics, even by Morrissey's standards, so there is no real consensus on which market this album was aimed at.
2009 remaster
On , true-to-you.net revealed Sony-BMG was going to issue a remastered version of Southpaw Grammar. This version of album included three previously unreleased tracks, B-side "Nobody Loves Us", and new artwork. The album was originally set for a release but was pushed back after the delay of Years of RefusalYears of Refusal
Years of Refusal is the ninth solo album by Morrissey. Distributed by Decca in the UK and Lost Highway in the US, it was released on 16 February 2009 in the UK and on 17 February 2009 in the US...
. Various release dates were announced but the album finally hit UK shelves on .
The three unreleased tracks were: "Honey, You Know Where to Find Me", "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" and "Fantastic Bird", the last of which dates from the Your Arsenal
Your Arsenal
Your Arsenal is a 1992 album by British singer Morrissey, which was released through HMV Records. The album was regarded by many fans and critics as his strongest and heaviest effort yet upon its release...
sessions. The album also featured new sleeve artwork by Anthony Lui, including previously unseen photographs by Linder Sterling
Linder Sterling
Linder Sterling is a visual artist, performance artist and musician from Liverpool, England. She spent her teen years in Manchester. She also uses the single name "Linder".-Early life:...
. Anthony had also designed the sleeves for Ringleader of the Tormentors
Ringleader of the Tormentors
-The Band:* Morrissey – vocals* Alain Whyte – guitars and backing vocals* Boz Boorer – guitars* Jesse Tobias – guitars* Gary Day – bass guitar* Matt Chamberlain – drums* Michael Farrell – piano, organ, keyboards, trumpet, trombone and percussion...
, Live at Earls Court
Live at Earls Court
Live at Earls Court is a live album by Morrissey. Its sleeve notes state that it was "recorded live at Earls Court in London on the 18 December 2004 in front of 17,183 people."-Track listing:...
and Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Morrissey album)
-Bonus live CD:Initial runs of the album will be accompanied by a bonus CD of songs recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. The international version features eight tracks, whereas the US version features "That's How People Grow Up" as Track 8, pushing "Life Is a Pigsty" to track...
plus the last eleven UK singles.
Track listing
The band
- MorrisseyMorrisseySteven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
– vocals - Alain WhyteAlain WhyteAlain Gordon Whyte is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is most known for being Morrissey's main songwriting partner since 1991 and his lead guitarist from 1991-2004...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Boz BoorerBoz BoorerBoz Boorer is a British guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group, The Polecats, and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and musical director with Morrissey.-The Polecats:The band "Cult Heroes" was formed in 1977 by Tim Worman , Boz...
– guitar - Jonny Bridgewood – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Spencer James Cobrin – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....