Vauxhall And I - Morrissey > Reviews > Used To Be a Sweet Boy

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Morrissey's best solo album
Disadvantages:	You might not like Morrissey !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Widely regarded to be the best solo album produced by Morrissey after The Smiths split in 1987, 'Vauxhall and I' was released in 1994. It is a gentle, personal and haunting record quite unlike anything he has attempted since.

Although Morrissey's 1992 album 'Your Arsenal' was seen as a return to form and his early nineties return to the stage had produced mass hysteria and extraordinary ticket sales in the US, Morrissey had recently been deeply affected by the deaths of his video director, manager and producer all in a short period of time.

Feeling somewhat adrift, he announced that 'Vauxhall and I' would be his best and most personal album and probably his swansong. He lived up to the first two promises but unsusprisingly 'Vauxhall and I' turned out not to be his farewell album.

The Songs

Now My Heart Is Full

"Tell all of my friends, I don't have too many" sings Morrissey on the lustrous opening song in which he namechecks Graham Greene's Brighton Rock. Steve Lillywhite, Morrissey's new producer, conjures up a rich, melodic and resigned sound for 'Vauxhall and I' and Morrissey responds with one of his best vocal performances ever - Now My Heart Is Full is very indicative of what is to come from the rest of the album and is a beautiful song. 9/10

Spring-Heeled Jim

Crime and sexual ambiguity, two of Morrissey's pet fascinations, come together in this jaunty but dark tune which samples the film 'Let Him Have It'. The sadness of time passing without anything changing is another Moz obsession and his lyrics, which are excellent throughout this record, find room for a few flourishes.

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 has a sinister undertone and a great bass running through it and is an atypical Morrissey song but a very good one nonetheless. 8/10

Billy Budd

This song is a bit faster than most of the songs on the album and breezes past fairly quickly. It has a poppier feel than some of the other songs and I really like some of the guitar work on this which moves the song along nicely in a brisk manner. "Things have been bad but now it's 12 years on" sings Morrissey. I sort of know what he means! Thesong references the novel Billy Budd, although the film version starring Morrissey's hero Terrance Stamp is clearly the source. The link is one of many homoerotic references and underpinnings that run through the album. 7/10

Hold Onto Your Friends

A bit like the first song on the album, Hold Onto Your Friends has a big, comforting sound and feel, and Morrissey's voice sounds richer and deeper than on previous albums and The Smiths days. Morrissey's message on this one is to hold onto a couple of friends because you might need them one day. This song was memorably described by the NME as 'like Noel Coward with a harpsicord.' 9/10

The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get

The first single from the album this went into the top ten but might just be the weakest song on the album. In fact it would be typical of Morrissey to be obtuse enough to throw out the weakest song as a taste of his new album! In this gentle but gently poppy tune Morrissey informs the object of his affection that;

"I am now
A central part
Of your mind's landscape
Whether you care
Or do not"

The song is pleasant but not essential. The line "I bear more grudges
than lonely high court judges" became somewhat ironic when 3 years later Morrissey (and Johnny Marr) were sued by ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce (Joyce was not happy with his percentage share of Smiths royalties) and taken to the High Court. 7/10

Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself

Another beautiful song that gently pans out and is in perfect sync with Morrissey's haunting vocals. The song is about an aspiring singer and Morrissey's attempts to warn her about the dangers of fame and the people who will exploit and seek your money:

"Why don't you find out for yourself ?
Then you'll see the glass
Hidden in the grass" 9/10

I Am Hated For Loving

Another gorgeous song, this reminds me of one of those melancholic and beautiful Smiths weepies that they would put out as a b-side. Morrissey really digs into the resigned and sad feel that filters through the album and declares that he is falling with no one to catch him and he still doesn't belong to anyone. Lyrics about 'a poison pen' and a 'brick in the small in of the back again' sum up the mood of Morrissey at the time. "I just don't belong to anywhere," he sings as the songs ends, the ultimate outsider but somewhat defiant and resigned. 9/10

Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning

Another amazing song, with dreamlike clarinets and a beautiful wispered vocal by Morrissey, the highest compliment I can pay this song, and many others on this album, is to say it wouldn't be out of place on a Smiths record. It's that good. This one has maudlin Mozza lines like:

"The sky became marked with stars
As an out-stretched arm slowly
Disappears"

The song is cold but strangely affecting. 10/10

Used To Be A Sweet Boy

Another gentle song, Morrissey sings about a sweet ordinary boy who grew up to be a bit strange and tries to work out who is to blame. Yes, this song just might be autobiographical! The orchestration on this song is incredibly lush and wistful and Morrissey's vocals are truly inspired. 8/10

The Lazy Sunbathers

This song is about war, specifically World War II, and the idle rich sunbathing and having a fine time
desperately trying to pretend that nothing is going to affect them and putting thoughts of carnage and suffering to the back of their minds. Despite the strong message the song is melodic and in spirit with the rest of the album.

"Religions fall
Children shelled
"...Children shelled ? That's all
Very well, but would you
Please keep the noise
Down low ?
Because you're waking
The lazy sunbathers ..." 8/10

Speedway

This song is a typically melodramatic and complex Morrissey dialogue to his fans. I find it complex because Morrissey had a spat with the NME in 1992 when they latched onto his comic song 'National Front Disco' (which actually pokes fun at the far right if anything) and his fondness for the Union Jack and asked him what he was playing at. Morrissey's response was to ignore them ("Ignore them, they are beneath our dignity!" as WC Fields said in a film once) and his silence was interpretated as some as a partial admission of guilt. The song begins in this manner:

"All of the rumours
Keeping me grounded
I never said, I never said that they were
Completely unfounded"

Is Mozza talking about the NME spat? Is he talking about something else? Or is he just having a laugh? I veer towards the latter because Morrissey has always been a bit of a tease. The song starts in a restrained way but turns into a mini-epic with the arrival of a chainsaw sample (!) and turns more aggressive as Morrissey rounds on the press who are determined to shut him up.

At the end of the song Mozza speaks directly to his fans and assures them of his loyalty:

"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"

Morrissey described Speedway as 'knotty and complicated'. I agree! 8/10

Vauxhall and I is simply the most personal and unique of Morrissey's solo albums. The record has a dreamlike, ethereal quality with fantastic lyrics. The quality control on this one is excellent with no out and out duds as far as I can see. On most albums you always have one or two (or more) songs you skip, but Vauxhall and I is consistently interesting and rewarding.

Overall the feeling you get is one of resignation and sadness, and these emotions (and the loss of close friends) inspired Morrissey to his best post-Smiths album.