About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

Morrissey resequenced and rejiggered Southpaw Grammar in 2009, burying its ominous opener "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" to the back of the album among other moves, including adding four B-sides to the album proper. All Moz's alterations significantly change the impact of Southpaw, downplaying the somewhat proggy overtones of the original 1995 incarnation, turning this into a testament to his band's muscular power -- which was, according to his liner notes for the 2009 reissue, Morrissey's original intention for the project in the first place, to bring him away from his "wordy personal stocktaking." In either incarnation, Southpaw Grammar certainly accomplished that shift, but this 2009 edition succeeds in emphasizing brawn over brain, making it something akin to Your Arsenal without the glam dressing and precise pop. And if some may miss the generally foreboding nature of the original Southpaw, where the tight, eight-track running time couldn't help but give heavier weight to the gloom of "The Operation" and "The Teachers," this extended, reworked incarnation does seem richer and fuller -- and in either version, it remains one of Morrissey's most underrated records. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide