I love Morrissey. Without a doubt one of the great songwriters of the late 20th century and 21st century. But is he consistent? No. Finding his brilliance one has to really check out the b-sides to his singles. For instance, I do like his stand-alone solo albums, but it's the collections that are much more satisfying. I'm not sure how or who decides what goes on the final album, or how he chooses what becomes a B-side and not on the A-side, but I find him at times, consistently wrong. His "B" choices are excellent.
For me, the great classic Morrissey is "Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice," which when I first heard, I cried. I haven't the foggiest idea what is in that song that made me tear up. It could be the Daddy image or the passionate delivery of Morrissey's voice. The song is poetic, with a significant amount of anger reflecting on sadness. "Good Looking Man About Town" and "Christian Dior" have a novelist approach in nailing down a character's traits - but with Morrissey, it's a combination of a mirror image as well as a projection of sorts.
Credit should go to his band and his co-writers, who are credited for the music composition. Whyte, Boorer, and Tobias fit into the Morrissey orchestra. In a way, it reminds me of Duke Ellington's big band. Each member can express their 'identity, ' but it has the Morrissey stamp as well. "Swords" is my favorite Morrissey album. A B-side may be the throwaway material, but for that reason alone, I love it more.
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