Nicko Manuva
Active Member
1. Vauxhall and I - Stunning. An absolute masterpiece.
2. Viva Hate - Some wonderful tracks, especially the first half. But even the flaws have their charms, considering his vulnerabilities at the time.
3. You are the Quarry - Great album, with a few flaws in hindsight. But I've a special affection for it given that this was the period I discovered him.
4. Your Arsenal - Solid album. There isn't a bad song on it.
5. World Peace is None of Your Business - I don't get the hate for this album. Sure, there's a few clunkers, but overall there's some fantastic tunes here. Staircase is the best song he's produced in years.
6. Ringleader of the Tormentors - A great first half, let down by a mostly forgettable second half.
7. Southpaw Grammar - Good album. But definitely his weirdest.
8. Years of Refusal - I never really warmed to this album as a whole. I always skipped through it. But when it's good, it's really good.
9. Kill Uncle - It has its charms. I feel the production lets it down though.
10. Maladjusted - Not necessarily a bad album, but a weak one. There's only about 3 or 4 songs here worth listening to.
11. Low in High School - Maybe on reflection, I'll consider this harsh - 1 or 2 songs are better than anything on some of the albums above, and there's small flashes of brilliance. But overall, as an album, I find it humourless, cold, and uninteresting. It all goes wrong after I Bury the Living.
Morrissey albums do seem to take a while to sink in. I didnt like ‘Ringleader’ at first but many years later decided I liked it.
I may have misjudged ‘World Peace’ too. Or judged it by its worst horrors. I had it on in the car this morning and as long as you skip some aural torture such as ‘Kiss me a lot’ it is an enjoyable listen. And more inventive musically than a lot of his albums. I have yet to figure out what ‘Neal Cassady’ is about, other than it must be some sort of tribute to ‘Howl’.