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Rating: Usually, 1994 is not considered Morrissey's golden period; although in that year he placed his only single in the top 50 of the Billboard chart (the captivating "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get") and reached the top of the Anglo-Saxon charts, his name inevitably continues to evoke the '80s branded Smiths, or at most his early solo career, with a series of successful singles, the sold-out in 23 minutes at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Finsbury Park scandal followed by notorious accusations of racism by the Nme. Yet, listening to this record, one cannot help but notice the maturity reached in the lyrics, never so deep (finally not too anchored to late-teen themes and increasingly less direct), and the refinement of Boorer and Whyte's compositions, capable of putting together tracks of a mature and never banal pop rock.
The album, thanks also to the hand of producer Steve Lillywhite (previously with U2), is extremely compact and homogeneous, and an atmosphere of elegant melancholy pervades the entire record, as can be sensed right from the intense opening track, "Now My Heart Is Full". The only songs that break the subdued and dark flow of the album (the aforementioned single "The More You Ignore Me…" and "Billy Bud") remain valuable pieces but lose charm amidst tracks steeped in pathos such as those that surround them. Morrissey sings to us about the value of friendship ("Hold On To Your Friends", "Speedway"), his inability to love ("I Am Hated For Loving"), the importance of finding oneself ("Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself"), and he shows himself as a skillful storyteller in narrative scenes in the form of songs in pieces such as "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning", "Billy Bud", and "Spring-Heeled Jim".
Musically, the album deviates both from his previous production and from the predominant grunge and brit-pop of the time; the guitars never scratch, instead, they seek delicate arpeggios and comfortable melodies on which Morrissey adeptly places his voice, never so warm, and at times they recall chamber pop harmonies from the '60s ("The Lazy Sunbathers", "Used To Be A Sweet Boy"). Ultimately, this is the highest peak of Morrissey's solo career, a splendid, intense, and at times touching album. Perhaps not the best to get to know him, but certainly the best to appreciate him.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Spring-Heeled Jim (03:47)
Spring-heeled Jim winks an eye
he'll "do," he'll never be "done to"
he takes on whoever flew through
"Well, it's the normal thing to do"
Spring-heeled Jim lives to love
Now kissing with his mouth full
And his eyes on some other fool
So many women
His head should be spinning
Ah, but no!
Spring-heeled Jim slurs the words:
"There's no need to be so knowing
Take life at five times your average speed, like I do"
Until Jim feels the chill
"Oh, where did all the time go?"
Once always in for the kill
Now it's too cold
And he feels too old
03 Billy Budd (02:08)
Say, Billy Budd
So you think you should?
Oh, everyone's laughing
Say, Billy Budd
So you think that you should?
Everyone's laughing!
Since I took up with you
Things have been bad
Yeah, but now it's 12 years on
Now it's 12 years on
Yes, and I took up with you
I took my job application into town
Did you hear? They turned me down
Yes, and it's all because of us
Oh, and what was in our eyes
Oh, what was in our eyes, yeah
I said, Billy Budd
I would happily lose
Both of my legs
I would lose both of my legs
Oh, if it meant you could be free
Oh, if it meant you could be free
(Don't leave us in the dark!)
04 Hold On to Your Friends (04:02)
A bond of trust
Has been abused
Something of value
May be lost
Give up your job
Squander your cash - be rash
Just hold on to your friends
There are more than enough
To fight and oppose
Why waste good time
Fighting the people you like
Who would fall defending your name
Don't feel so ashamed
To have friends
But now you only call me
When you're feeling depressed
When you feel happy I'm
So far from your mind
My patience is stretched
My loyalty vexed
You're losing all of your friends
Hold on to your friends
Hold on to your friends
Resist - or move on
Be mad, be rash
Smoke and explode
Sell all of your clothes
Just bear in mind:
There just might come a time
When you need some friends
05 The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get (03:44)
The more you ignore me
The closer I get
You're wasting your time
The more you ignore me the closer I get
You're wasting your time
I will be
In the bar
With my head on the bar
I am now
A central part
Of your mind's landscape
Whether you care
Or do not
Yeah, I've made up your mind
The more you ignore me
The closer I get
You're wasting your time
Beware!
I bear more grudges
Than lonely high court judges
When you sleep
I will creep into your thoughts
Like a bad debt that you can't pay
Take the easy way
And give in
Yeah, and let me in
Oh, let me in
It's war
It's war
It's war...
11 Speedway (04:29)
And when you slam
Down the hammer
Can you see it in your heart?
All of the rumours
Keeping me grounded
I never said, I never said that they were
Completely unfounded
So when you slam
Down the hammer
Can you see it in your heart?
Can you delve so low?
And when you're standing
On my fingers
Can you see it in your heart? ...ah...
And when you try
To break my spirit
It won't work
Because there's nothing left to break
Anymore
All of the rumours
Keeping me grounded
I never said, I never said that they were
Completely unfounded
You won't sleep
Until the earth that wants me
Finally has me
Oh you've done it now
You won't rest
Until the hearse that becomes me
Finally takes me
Oh you've done it now
And you won't smile
Until my loving mouth
Is shut good and proper
FOREVER
All of the rumours
Keeping me grounded
I never said, I never said that they were
Completely unfounded
And all those lies
Written lies, twisted lies
Well, they weren't lies
They weren't lies
They weren't lies
I never said
I never said
I could have mentioned your name
I could have dragged you in
Guilt by implication
By association
I've always been true to you
In my own strange way
I've always been true to you
In my own sick way
I'll always stay true to you
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