BookishBoy
Well-Known Member
Today's entry in the A-Z is this track from You Are the Quarry. What do we think of it?
No. It isn't a 'vision of Englishness' that Morrissey is portraying, rather it's a specific, personal nostalgia that he's relating. I would assume that Morrissey was living abroad (LA?) when he wrote it so he's just reminiscing on a place and time that probably seemed very far away, both in time and distance.Does anyone agree with this Alexis Petridis view on the song, from his 2004 review of YATQ:
"Come Back to Camden offers a vision of Englishness so caricatured it would have caused the lowliest Britpopper to scoff: cockney cabbies, bad weather, tea. The urge to hit fast-forward before he mentions bowler hats, Yorkshire pudding or lovable chimney sweeps is quelled only by the song's enrapturing melody."
I posted this clip about 8 years ago.
Boz is very proud of this track - you ask him, he'll tell you
A highlight on Quarry for myself at least.
Regards,
FWD.
I think it's his second-best album. There's hardly a duff track on it. One might even argue that it's the last decent album he made.a classic from M,im surprised that quarry takes a bit of a kicking on here these days,when it was released it was very well recieved on here at the time.
Does anyone agree with this Alexis Petridis view on the song, from his 2004 review of YATQ:
"Come Back to Camden offers a vision of Englishness so caricatured it would have caused the lowliest Britpopper to scoff: cockney cabbies, bad weather, tea. The urge to hit fast-forward before he mentions bowler hats, Yorkshire pudding or lovable chimney sweeps is quelled only by the song's enrapturing melody."
It's such a dim-witted misreading of the song, isn't it? Just completely ignoring the personal aspects of the lyric which obviously make it nothing about a "vision of Englishness". And why are the taxi drivers "cockney"? No mention of that in the song. Sigh.No. It isn't a 'vision of Englishness' that Morrissey is portraying, rather it's a specific, personal nostalgia that he's relating. I would assume that Morrissey was living abroad (LA?) when he wrote it so he's just reminiscing on a place and time that probably seemed very far away, both in time and distance.
It's such a dim-witted misreading of the song, isn't it? Just completely ignoring the personal aspects of the lyric which obviously make it nothing about a "vision of Englishness". And why are the taxi drivers "cockney"? No mention of that in the song. Sigh.
I just love this song so much. (Yes, the production could be sharper / more lush.) The little details, the emotional heft of the whole thing, the nostalgia, the voice. It's just gorgeous.
One of the highlights on You are the Quarry and one of the factors which helped to make it a significantly stronger album than Maladjusted.
Wasn’t “I Know Who I Love” supposed to offer a similar themed contribution to “Maladjusted” until Morrissey removed it from the running order.One of the highlights on You are the Quarry and one of the factors which helped to make it a significantly stronger album than Maladjusted.
Mature lyrics from Morrissey and they conjure up some nice imagery.
Boz is right to be proud of this and, listening to it again this week, the only thing that might be improved is the production. Jerry Finn generally did a fine job with that album, but it's a shame that for whatever reason it didn't have a more authentic sound. I don't know whether this was down to budget or Morrissey not wanting to open things up too much.
In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 40th from 264 solo songs.
Yes, and probably both of those roads lead to Jake - especially if sharing space together...Wasn’t “I Know Who I Love” supposed to offer a similar themed contribution to “Maladjusted” until Morrissey removed it from the running order.
One might argue that, but one would lose the argument.I think it's his second-best album. There's hardly a duff track on it. One might even argue that it's the last decent album he made.