MORRISSEY: World Peace Is None Of Your Business :: 14th July 2014

Quote :

The title of Morrissey's first album in five years references world peace, but it's not exactly a hopeful proclamation.

Morrissey zine True to You has confirmed that the former Smiths frontman's new album is entitled "World Peace is None of Your Business." According to the post, the album is "provisionally set" for a release in either late June or early July.

The album will be released by Harvest Records, an imprint of Capitol, Rolling Stone reports.

In a most un-Morrisseyesque twist, the album is now streaming on the internet. After the underwhelming previews thus far, I'd have thought less would yield more in promoting this album. Still, I'll judge it when I've bought it next Monday.

Haven't listened to the steam yet, but will shortly and with trepidation. The only song I've been impressed by so far is "Istanbul", and that's mostly due to Boz rather than Moz.

Crazy as it sounds, my trepidation began months ago when the tracklist was revealed. Many of the song titles hinted at a more impersonal and detached album than usual, a feeling further enhanced by the previews and reviews. Hope I'm wrong.

Great to see you back on the boards, Largo's Shark.  :)

Lazenby. wrote:

Crazy as it sounds, my trepidation began months ago when the tracklist was revealed. Many of the song titles hinted at a more impersonal and detached album than usual, a feeling further enhanced by the previews and reviews. Hope I'm wrong.

I know what you mean. As wonderfully entertaining as his auto-bio was, I can't help feel the self-reflection has had a negative effect on Moz's songwriting ability. Like how John Cleese stopped being funny after he went into psychoanalysis and became a miserable sod.

There's a distinct lack of subtlety in the songs I've heard. No more wordplay, bite, unreliable narration, clever self-mockery - just belligerent lecturing a as in the ridiculously overrated/overplayed Irish Blood, English Heart. Gone are the days of Speedway, Piccadilly Palare, November Spawned a Monster, Last Night on Maudlin Street, or even This World is Full of Crashing Bores (by far the best track on You Are the Quarry).

Christ, even taking my initial fears into account and hoping to be just slightly surprised by a few great tracks, it well and truly pains me to say that this album is right down there with his very weakest releases such as KILL UNCLE and MALADJUSTED, the only redeeming feature being that the title track sounds noticeably better on a good sound system than on a shitty internet stream, but the rest of the album, when it doesn't sound like a pile of half-arsed b-sides, sounds like a pile of fucking mexicans scoring a bloody shite Doritos ad, with Morrissey yodelling the weakest and least relatable set of lyrics he's ever penned over the top of it. How the f*ck did five years absence yield such a can't be arsed bag of shite? If he's fat and happy living in Mexico, Tel Aviv, Rome, New York or wherever the fuck he lives now, he should just release songs about bulls, Allen Ginsberg and f*cking oboes to people over there who might actually give a flying f*ck about that stuff, instead of robbing the hardworking, non-voting British taxpayers he claims to understand of twelve quid which each of us ain't gonna get back during a f*cking recession. May as well have called this album BRITAIN IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS, as the Moz we knew and loved seems to have truly departed from our shores both geographically and musically but also, most fatally, lyrically with this album.

Amen. This is a steaming pile of shite. I'd put it even lower than Maladjusted and Kill Uncle. At least they had a few decent tunes like Alma Matters (with its A Touch of Honey references, and that stunning descending chord figure in the verse which sounds like a spiritual successor to Suffer Little Children and Reel Around the Fountain), the Gospel-inflected Trouble Loves Me, There Is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends and maybe Our Frank-- if not much else.

Morrissey needs to get himself a decent songwriting partner. What the fuck happened to Clive Langer?! He wrote and produced arguably Moz's best solo record (November Spawns..) and then disappeared. What about Steven Steet? Can't Moz. drop his stupid grudge due to him blabbing to the press in the early 90s?

Just stick to novels.

Even if the songwriting was up to par, the subject matters on so many of these tracks just make those songs inessential and uninvolving. When you consider all of the things out there right now which are just so ripe for Moz to attack; The coalition, bedroom tax, Benefits Britain, Big Brother, TOWIE, twerking, the pop charts, drink & drugs culture, Operation Yewtree, etc, all of these ills upon society being shoved in his face should be like waving the proverbial red rag at Moz's usually dependable bull. But instead, he chooses to write about the f*cking bull.

Rankings-wise, I'd rate this album above KILL UNCLE & MALADJUSTED, but a couple of steps behind SOUTHPAW & TORMENTORS.

I've been meaning to get some Moz solo albums.

Any recommendations for a relative newcomer?

Would probably start with BONA DRAG, which is the strongest solo Moz record - although it's a complication, not a proper album. Then VIVA HATE, followed by VAUXHALL AND I, YOUR ARSENAL,YOU ARE THE QUARRY and maybe YEARS OF REFUSAL. YMMV with the others - KILL UNCLE, SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR, MALAJUSTED, RINGLEADER OF THE TORMENTORS and now WORLD PEACE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. All of them are very flawed but have their own gems.

I'd recommend giving a listen on Spotify before purchasing.

Three of my favourite Moz songs.

Thank you very much, Largo's Shark. I remember hearing parts of YOU ARE THE QUARRY on its release.

The best track from that record IMO, though Laz. might beg to differ.



Did you get round to reading the autobiography?

I've not got round to reading his autobiography yet, no. I'm afraid I'm rather piled under with books at the moment but thank you very much for your recommendations, LS!

In response to LS, there are plenty of good pop songs on YATQ, including near-perfect anthem FIRST OF THE GANG TO DIE, the classic Moz black humour of I HAVE FORGIVEN JESUS and the driving rant of HOW CAN ANYBODY POSSIBLY KNOW KNOW HOW I FEEL?, plus the lovely lilt of AMERICA IS NOT THE WORLD and Moz's very own MY WAY or LIFE ON MARS in COME BACK TO CAMDEN. My own personal fave on YATQ is probably either AMERICA or ALL THE LAZY DYKES, two tracks which just have breezy, beautiful sunset tones, neither come across as trying too hard or trying too little and both float nicely around the mind once the big killer hooks from many other tracks on YATQ have worn out.

As far as other Moz recommendations go, I'd promote NATIONAL FRONT DISCO as one of the very best Moz anthems, but some shitbag might report me to Forumotion for alleged racism.

Can't go wrong with the first batch of albums LS recommended.

Brian's gone now Laz. We're now preaching to an imaginary Moz fan.

Brian's never gone, you know that by now mate.