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Southpaw Grammar (Expanded edition) | 
| Artist: Morrissey
Label: Sony Music
Category: Music
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £7.40
as of 22/11/2009 07:02 GMT details
You Save: £8.59 (54%)
New (21) Used (3) from £7.40
Seller: all your music
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 9277
Format: CD
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 886973325223
EAN: 0886973325223
ASIN: B001P5VT4U
Release Date: April 27, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | The boy racer | | • | Do your best and don\x{2019}t worry | | • | Reader meet author | | • | Honey, you know where to find me | | • | Dagenham Dave | | • | Southpaw | | • | Best friend on the payroll | | • | Fantastic bird | | • | The operation | | • | The teachers are afraid of the pupils | | • | You should have been nice to me | | • | Nobody loves us |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
 'And now, there is something that you should know...' July 16, 2008
Mr. A. Dickson (Harrogate, England)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I agree with the sentiment shared amongst most of these reviews; Southpaw Grammar is a fantastic Morrissey record, demonstrating a darker, more menacing side to his song writing. This is conveyed in the heavy guitar driven soundscape, with some of the longer tracks sounding almost prog-rock.
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br /Perhaps the critical backlash this record received had something to do with the track 'Reader Meet Author', which is basically an attack on middle class journalists trying to emphasise with the working class, with their patronising writing style ('You don't know a thing about their lives, books don't save them 'cos books aren't Stanley Knives').
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br /Many of the lyrics in Southpaw Grammar are embedded in the ideology of the English working class; perhaps more so than any other Morrissey or Smiths album.
br /Dagenham Dave refers to everyone knowing a bit of a 'Jack the lad' who has a way with women, but little intelligence. The chorus reflects this mundane character, with the words 'Dagenham' and 'Dave' repeated constantly in a catchy yet purposely irritating way.
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br /'The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils'; one of the two over 10-minute tracks that bookend the album, is perhaps the most chilling piece of music in Morrissey's back catalogue. Here, the psychological suffering of an inner city teacher is dissected, with some genuinely disturbing lyrics ('mucus on your collar. A nail up through the staff chair. A blade in your soap, as you cry into your pillow. To be finished would be a relief.'). 'You're The One For Me Fatty' this is not. This is daring territory for Morrissey, but thought provoking a provocative throughout.
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br /There are some lighter moments throughout the album, along with Morrissey's traditional moments of humour (such as in the track Boy Racer: 'He thinks he's got the whole world in his hand, stood at the urinal'). The track 'Do Your Best And Don't Worry' appears to be Morrissey's reassuring hug to the listener, but don't be fooled be the title, this is no 'Everybody Hurts'.
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br /Another highlight is 'Best Friend On The Payroll' which appears to be a bit of rhyming slang on the word 'Dole'. In the song Morrissey creates a picture of his own 'Odd Couple', where an unemployed guest has outstayed their welcome ('I turn the music down, and I don't know why, this is my house!').
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br /The final track 'Southpaw' is another epic tale reflecting on innocence of youth giving way to bitter disappointment with life. In some ways this song encapsulates Morrissey's own tale of losing faith in the humanity, as young life in northern England slowly fills him with resentment. ('You were a boy before you became a man: I just don't see the joy. And you ran with your pals in the sun: You turned around...and they were gone'). A slightly disheartening close to the album then, but perfectly in keeping with the other tracks.
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br /Southpaw Grammar for me is the most cohesive album of Morrissey's career. Re-released with some of the b-sides added to bulk up the running time it may gain some of the attention it deserved first time around, hopefully not at the expense of the original themes explored. If you are dipping your toes into Morrissey music for the first time, start elsewhere. This is an album greatly enhanced with a knowledge of what came before it, and the contrast with his earlier work makes it all the more interesting.
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br /'I could say more, but you get the general idea...'
Not worse by a long chalk November 16, 2006
Kirkus (Hull and proud)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I love all things Moz, and can not understand why people down talk this album; its deep, thoughtfull and meaningfull. I love it not only for Morrisseys words and voice, but also for the long, lingering guitar work that lets you drift away into yourself, or at least thats my view for what its worth.
A confident return by Manchester's finest March 16, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Morrissey has followed up the magnificent 'Vauxhall and I' with easily his most confident work to date. With a new emphasis on instrumentation, 'Southpaw' rocks out like no other Moz album. Moz inverts the fear of school of 'The Headmaster Ritual' in opening track 'The Teachers are Afraid of the Pupils,' uttering the spiteful refrain to be finished would be a relief. Moz has been criticised by many for the radio-friendly anthems such as 'Dagenham Dave' and 'Boy Racer,' yet most of the songs sparkle with classic Smiths-esque world-weariness and despair. From the two-minute drum solo intro of 'Operation' to the ambient fadeout of 'Southpaw,' this album is a roller-coaster ride through Morrisseyworld - miss out at your peril.
why does everyone hate this album? May 21, 2004
5 out of 13 found this review helpful
I borrowed this album off of a mate with some levels of suspicion, after all, all critics seem to be unanimous that it is Moz's worst album. They lie. This is one of the greatest things he has done. Have you heard "the Smiths" lp??? There are no tunes. However, on "southpaw..." there are 8. Out of 8 tracks, that ain't bad. Opener "the teachers are afraid of the pupils" (what a title!) is all lush strings and paranoid lyircs, and after the 11 minutes, you want more and more of the same. Other moments of particular note are the self-explanatory "daghenam dave", which shoes that simplicity is the key to everything, as well as "southpaw" itself, which brings a thoroughly disconcerting end to an album full of songs, schizophrenic babbling, paranoia, and some of the best poetry this side of John Keats. If you do not buy this album, your life is worthless, and there is no reason for you to exist on this planet.
A brrrilliant piece of work again! November 11, 1999
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Southpaw Grammar, a brilliant piece of work by Moz again! Ever since the inevitable Smiths broke up (luckily), Moz has been improving his composing qualities which culminated in this cd. Mainly the first 5 tracks of the album as well as the seventh and the ninth are wonderfull. Listen to it, please!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
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