National Music Reviews
Morrissey
World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Harvest
Street: 07.15
Morrissey =
Anthony Newley +
Frank Sinatra
Reclaiming his crown as one of our greatest living lyricists (was that ever really in doubt?) on his first album in five years, Moz immediately reminds us that he also remains our finest title-ist too: witness “Neal Cassady Drops Dead,” “Kick The Bride Down The Aisle,” or “Smiler With Knife.” Of course, it helps that, vocally, he is in excellent form, especially when he’s crooning plaintively, like on the pointedly gorgeous “Istanbul,” or the confessionally intoned “Smiler.” Most worth the price of admission are the grandiosely epic “I Am Not A Man” (where he effortlessly balances a list of male stereotypes against his wit, like rhyming “beef-a-roni” with “lonely”) and the irresistibly playful “Kiss Me A Lot,” in which maestro Moz shows us that a great pop song can be fun and intelligent, without sacrificing melody. Similarly, “Cassady” and “Oboe Concerto” boast alluring vocalizations. Welcome back, Moz!
–Dean O Hillis
World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Harvest
Street: 07.15
Morrissey =
Anthony Newley +
Frank Sinatra
Reclaiming his crown as one of our greatest living lyricists (was that ever really in doubt?) on his first album in five years, Moz immediately reminds us that he also remains our finest title-ist too: witness “Neal Cassady Drops Dead,” “Kick The Bride Down The Aisle,” or “Smiler With Knife.” Of course, it helps that, vocally, he is in excellent form, especially when he’s crooning plaintively, like on the pointedly gorgeous “Istanbul,” or the confessionally intoned “Smiler.” Most worth the price of admission are the grandiosely epic “I Am Not A Man” (where he effortlessly balances a list of male stereotypes against his wit, like rhyming “beef-a-roni” with “lonely”) and the irresistibly playful “Kiss Me A Lot,” in which maestro Moz shows us that a great pop song can be fun and intelligent, without sacrificing melody. Similarly, “Cassady” and “Oboe Concerto” boast alluring vocalizations. Welcome back, Moz!
–Dean O Hillis
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