Editing Southpaw Grammar

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Southpaw Grammar
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Morrissey]]
| cover      = Morrisseysouthpawgrammar.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 28 August 1995
| recorded   = March–April 1995
| studio     = [[Hookend Recording Studios|Hook End Manor]], [[Oxfordshire]], England
| genre      = 
*[[Alternative rock]]
*[[art rock]]<ref name="Erlewine"/>
| length     = 47:50
| label      = [[RCA Records|RCA]]
| producer   = [[Steve Lillywhite]]
| prev_title = [[Vauxhall and I]]
| prev_year  = 1994
| next_title = [[Maladjusted]]
| next_year  = 1997
| misc       = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = 2009 re-release cover
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = Remasteredsouthpawgrammar.jpg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption =
}}
{{Singles
 | name        = Southpaw Grammar
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Dagenham Dave (song)|Dagenham Dave]]
 | single1date = 21 August 1995
 | single2     = [[The Boy Racer]]
 | single2date = 27 November 1995
}}
}}

'''''Southpaw Grammar''''' is the fifth studio album by English [[alternative rock]] singer [[Morrissey]], released on 28 August 1995 by record labels [[RCA Records|RCA]] in the UK and [[Reprise Records|Reprise]] in the US.

The album charted at number 4 in the UK and number 66 in the US, but received a mixed response from critics. The singles lifted from the album were "Dagenham Dave" (which reached number 26 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] in August 1995) and "The Boy Racer" (which reached number 36 in December).

== Content ==
The nature of the album is different from past Morrissey releases, such as the inclusion of two tracks which surpass the ten-minute mark, the near two-and-a-half-minute drum solo courtesy of Spencer Cobrin which opens the track "The Operation" and the sampling of a [[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]]<sup>1</sup> symphony. [[AllMusic]] described it as Morrissey's "[[art rock]] album, complete with strings, drum solos and two ten-minute songs."<ref name="Erlewine"/> The album cover features a picture of boxer [[Kenny Lane]]. Morrissey said the album title refers to the [[School of Hard Knocks|school of hard knocks]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maconie |first=Stuart |date=September 1995 |title="Do You F*@kin' Want Some? |work=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |pages=102-108 |issue=108}}</ref>

=== Musical style ===
''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine described the album's musical style as "[differing] from the crushed flowers studio formalisations of last year's ''[[Vauxhall and I]]'', building instead on the earlier ''[[Your Arsenal]]'', Morrissey's sly, unexpected blending of [[rockabilly]] and [[glam rock|glam]]."<ref name="Hunter"/>

== Release ==
''Southpaw Grammar'' was released on 28 August 1995 by record labels [[RCA Records|RCA]] in the UK and [[Reprise Records|Reprise]] in the US. On its release ''Southpaw Grammar'' was an eyebrow-raiser for fans and critics alike.<ref name="Uncut">{{cite journal |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/morrissey/morrissey-southpaw-grammar-maladjusted-review |title=Morrissey – ''Southpaw Grammar''/ ''Maladjusted'' |journal=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=27 April 2009 |accessdate=4 December 2014}}</ref>

On 27 April 2009 [[Sony BMG]] released a remastered version of ''Southpaw Grammar'' in the UK. This version included a substantially altered running order, three previously unreleased tracks, "Honey, You Know Where to Find Me", "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" and "Fantastic Bird" (the last of which dates from the ''[[Your Arsenal]]'' sessions) as well as a single B-side "Nobody Loves Us". The digital version from iTunes Store adds live versions of "London" and "Billy Budd", recorded in London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_080530_01 |title=''Years of Refusal'': New Album Information; ''Southpaw Grammar'': Remastered Version Details; Ireland Festival and Concert Dates <nowiki>|</nowiki> True to You |date=30 May 2008 |website=True to You |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210154921/http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_080530_01 |archive-date=10 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Reception ==
{{album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/southpaw-grammar-mw0000173702 |title=''Southpaw Grammar'' – Morrissey |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=5 December 2014 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' (2004 review)
| rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Blender">{{cite magazine |url=http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2733 |title=Morrissey: ''Southpaw Grammar'' |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |date=15 September 2004 |accessdate=18 November 2015 |last=Power |first=Tony |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128124139/http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2733 |archivedate=28 November 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/07/morrisseysouthpaw-grammar-reprise-star-star-12morrisseys-songs/ |title=Morrissey: ''Southpaw Grammar'' (Reprise) |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=7 December 1995 |access-date=5 December 2014 |last=Webber |first=Brad}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4score = B<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1995/09/15/music-review-southpaw-grammar |title=''Southpaw Grammar'' |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=15 September 1995 |accessdate=20 June 2016 |last=Romero |first=Michele}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite news |title=CD of the week: Morrissey – remember him? |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 September 1995 |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|3|4}}<ref name="Cromelin">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-16-ca-46457-story.html |title=Morrissey's Essence Remains the Same |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=16 September 1995 |access-date=5 December 2014 |last=Cromelin |first=Richard}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Q">{{cite magazine |title=Morrissey: ''Southpaw Grammar'' |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=108 |date=September 1995 |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |page=120}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Weisel">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/southpaw-grammar-19951005 |title=''Southpaw Grammar'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=5 October 1995 |accessdate=5 December 2014 |last=Weisel |first=Al |authorlink=Al Weisel}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
| rev9score = 3/5<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Knuckle dusted |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |issue=63 |date=September 1995 |last=Morris |first=Mark}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev10score = 8/10<ref name="Hunter">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYlQ2Hsft8QC&pg=PA122 |title=Morrissey: ''Southpaw Grammar'' |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=11 |issue=8 |date=November 1995 |accessdate=5 December 2014 |last=Hunter |first=James |pages=122–24}}</ref>
}}
The critical reception to ''Southpaw Grammar'' was mostly positive upon release. Richard Cromelin of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described it as "the most musically dynamic album from the Messiah of Moans since he revitalized British rock with The Smiths in the mid-'80s".<ref name="Cromelin"/> [[Al Weisel]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' qualified it as Morrissey's "most powerful solo outing to date".<ref name="Weisel"/> ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''{{'}}s Phil Sutcliffe wrote that ''Southpaw Grammar'' "shapes up as the kind of severe work that accrues more honour than love, more favourable comments than sales to record-buyers",<ref name="Q"/> and the magazine later listed it as one of the top 50 albums of 1995.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=50 Best Albums of 1995 |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=113 |date=February 1996 |page=66}}</ref> In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 79 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~tewing/ned/nedmain.html |title=The Top 136 Or So Albums of the Nineties |work=[[Freaky Trigger]] |accessdate=28 September 2011 |last=Raggett |first=Ned |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000120192755/http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~tewing/ned/nedmain.html |archivedate=20 January 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to an article published in ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' magazine in 2009: "On its release, ''Southpaw Grammar'' seemed to be the point where the Great British Public officially fell out of love with Morrissey. The casual Smiths fan had all but lost interest while even the scary Moz obsessives were a little puzzled."<ref name="Uncut"/> ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''{{'}}s Tony Power rétrospectively called it an "ugly, noisy, grumpy album, recorded while [[Britpop]] stole Moz's thunder and the [[Mike Joyce (musician)|Mike Joyce]] court case loomed."<ref name="Blender"/> Andrzej Lukowski of ''[[Drowned in Sound]]'' was more favourable in his retrospective assessment, writing that the album "is in some ways the most daring thing the ex-Smith has ever put his name to... [...] At the same time it's also pretty craven, in that it dilutes the impact of its three key tracks – 'The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils', 'The Operation' and 'Southpaw', dark, sprawling semi-instrumentals dominated by the remarkable drumming of Spencer James Cobrin – with lightweight fluff like 'Dagenham Dave' and 'The Boy Racer'."<ref name="Lukowski">{{cite web |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136717 |title=Morrissey: ''Southpaw Grammar'' and ''Maladjusted'' (Expanded Editions) |work=[[Drowned in Sound]] |date=29 April 2009 |accessdate=5 December 2014 |last=Lukowski |first=Andrzej |archive-date=23 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023125026/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136717 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Brad Shoup of ''[[Stereogum]]'' retrospectively named it Morrissey's "peak" and "quintessential document".<ref name="Stereogum">{{cite web |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1587712/morrissey-albums-from-worst-to-best/list/attachment/morissey_southpaw/ |title=Morrissey Albums from Worst to Best: ''Southpaw Grammar'' (1995) |work=[[Stereogum]] |date=10 December 2013 |accessdate=5 December 2014 |last=Shoup |first=Brad}}</ref>

== Track listing ==
{{track listing
| title1 = The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils
| writer1 = [[Morrissey]], [[Boz Boorer]]
| note1 = features [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Shostakovich)|Fifth Symphony]] sample
| length1 = 11:15
| title2 = Reader Meet Author
| writer2 = Morrissey, Boorer
| length2 = 3:39
| title3 = [[The Boy Racer]]
| writer3 = Morrissey, [[Alain Whyte]]
| length3 = 4:46
| title4 = The Operation
| writer4 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length4 = 6:52
| title5 = [[Dagenham Dave (song)|Dagenham Dave]]
| writer5 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length5 = 3:13
| title6 = Do Your Best and Don't Worry
| writer6 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length6 = 4:05
| title7 = Best Friend on the Payroll
| writer7 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length7 = 3:48
| title8 = Southpaw
| writer8 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length8 = 10:03
}}

{{track listing
| headline = 2009 Expanded Edition version
| title1 = The Boy Racer
| writer1 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length1 = 4:55
| title2 = Do Your Best and Don't Worry
| writer2 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length2 = 4:05
| title3 = Reader Meet Author
| writer3 = Morrissey, Boorer
| length3 = 3:39
| title4 = Honey, You Know Where to Find Me
| writer4 = Morrissey, Boorer
| length4 = 2:55
| title5 = Dagenham Dave
| writer5 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length5 = 3:13
| title6 = Southpaw
| writer6 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length6 = 10:03
| title7 = Best Friend on the Payroll
| writer7 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length7 = 3:48
| title8 = Fantastic Bird
| writer8 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length8 = 2:53
| title9 = The Operation
| writer9 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length9 = 6:52
| title10 = The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils
| writer10 = Morrissey, Boorer
| note10 = features [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Shostakovich)|Fifth Symphony]] sample
| length10 = 11:15
| title11 = You Should Have Been Nice to Me
| writer11 = Morrissey, Boorer
| length11 = 3:35
| title12 = Nobody Loves Us
| writer12 = Morrissey, Whyte
| length12 = 4:50
}}

: <small>Note: Given the 2009 re-release CD is a mock up of a vinyl record, the words "the heart is a lonely hunter" appear on the runout grooves.</small>

== Personnel ==
* [[Morrissey]] – vocals
* [[Alain Whyte]] – guitar, backing vocals
* [[Boz Boorer]] – guitar
* Jonny Bridgwood – bass guitar
* Spencer James Cobrin – drums

; Technical

* [[Steve Lillywhite]] – production

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1995 chart performance for ''Southpaw Grammar''
! scope="col"| Chart (1995)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite Ryan|page=194}}</ref>
| 74
|-
{{album chart|Canada|35|chartid=2780|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|79|artist=Morrissey|album=Southpaw Grammar|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Finland|38|artist=Morrissey|album=Southpaw Grammar|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|14|artist=Morrissey|album=Southpaw Grammar|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|4|date=19950903|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|66|artist=Morrissey|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2009 chart performance for ''Southpaw Grammar''
! scope="col"| Chart (2009)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|France|175|artist=Morrissey|album=Southpaw Grammar|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Ireland2|75|artist=Morrissey|rowheader=true|access-date=9 June 2022}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''Southpaw Grammar''}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Morrissey|title=Southpaw Grammar|award=Silver|certyear=1995|relyear=1995|id=6174-2037-2}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Discogs master|5344}}

{{Morrissey}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Morrissey albums]]
[[Category:1995 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite]]
[[Category:RCA Records albums]]
[[Category:Art rock albums by English artists]]