If Vauxhall and I represented a more mature Morrissey, Southpaw Grammar superficially presents a more rough and tumble version of the singer.
As his previous single, "Boxers," indicated, Morrissey's fascination with boxing and violence has reached full fruition.
The music appropriately reflects this, with growling, distorted guitars and martial rhythms.
But Southpaw Grammar doesn't rock as hard or with as much style as the rockabilly-inflected Your Arsenal -- instead, it's his art rock album, complete with strings, drum solos, and two ten-minute songs.
Of these, the winding, menacing "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" works the best, and it represents a significant change in Morrissey's outlook; instead of the children being outsiders, "the teachers" are.
Throughout Southpaw Grammar, the privileged are oppressed by their fortunes, while working-class toughs are celebrated for their violence.
However, there is no cohesive glue to the record.
"The Teachers" uses its 11 minutes effectively, but "Southpaw" is merely ponderous.
"Reader Meet Author" and "Dangenham Dave" are classic three-minute pop songs, but "Do Your Best and Don't Worry" is strictly by the books.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of enjoyable music on the record, even if the concept is flawed.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Teachers Are Afraid of the PupilsBoz Boorer, Morrissey | Morrissey | Play | 11:19 | 25 MB | 77 MB |
| 2 | Reader Meet AuthorBoz Boorer, Morrissey | Morrissey | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | The Boy RacerMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 04:46 | 10 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | The OperationMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 06:53 | 15 MB | 51 MB |
| 5 | Dagenham DaveMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Do Your Best and Don't WorryMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | Best Friend on the PayrollMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | SouthpawMorrissey, Alain Whyte | Morrissey | Play | 10:00 | 22 MB | 75 MB |
| 47 mins | 109 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 355 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boz Boorer | Bass, Composer, Guitar |
| 2 | Jonny Bridgewood | Bass |
| 3 | Spencer Cobrin | Drums |
| 4 | Tom Elmhirst | Assistant Engineer |
| 5 | Steve Lillywhite | Producer |
| 6 | Morrissey | Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 7 | Laurence Stevens | Artwork, Layout Design |
| 8 | Danton Supple | Engineer |
| 9 | Alain Whyte | Composer, Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Tim Young | Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |