WPINOYB: Is the album growing on you?

I loved ROTT and YOR so much, that my first listen to WPINOYB was a slight letdown. However, after spending the last two days walking the city streets listening to the album through headphones I am totally in love with it. I'm Not A Man is up there with Christian Dior as one of the best songs of Morrissey's life.
 
I think tomorrow morning before work I’m going to take a walk and listen as well. Despite listening to it about 30 or more times at this point, I’ve yet to do that!
 
I loved ROTT and YOR so much, that my first listen to WPINOYB was a slight letdown. However, after spending the last two days walking the city streets listening to the album through headphones I am totally in love with it. I'm Not A Man is up there with Christian Dior as one of the best songs of Morrissey's life.

I was going to do just that on a milk run tonight but can't find my bloody headphones!
 
I never said either of you two had decided you weren't going to like it. I just said I wasn't surprised to hear you didn't like it. That's all. I could be surprised in a week or two hearing that it's grown on you. Anything can happen. Not that my opinion matters. I also never said anything about an agenda. Taking a stab at who wouldn't like the album is hardly proclaiming you have an agenda. It was just an observation.

I'm fine with admitting his best days are behind him. Even if you don't want to admit and I can it still doesn't mean it's actually true.

I haven't really been ranking his days so to speak like others do here. I'm not waiting for another V&I or viva hate. Those albums have already been released. I don't even mind that these aren't his best lyrics either. I'm just very happy he got an album deal and is still releasing good songs. There is enough in this 18 song track list to satisfy me.

Did either of you like anything from YOR, ROTT or YATQ?

I adored Quarry when it came out. I thought it was f***ing glorious. Two of the best singles of his whole career (First of the Gang, Irish Blood) - and a bunch of good-to-excellent album tracks. Come Back to Camden is the post-wilderness Morrissey epic, right up there with Late Night, Maudlin Street and I've Changed My Plea to Guilty in the torch song stakes. I liked a few of the b-sides as well, fake strings and all, especially The Never-Played Symphonies. Much love for YATQ.

Ringleader...I never really liked. Jesse Tobias had landed and I had trouble distinguishing his clunky co-writes from each other. It was musical mulch. The only songs I liked were "I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now" and the b-side Ganglord. The artwork was pretty nice, I'll give it that.

Refusal - stronger than Ringleader, not as good as YATQ. A louder, more aggressive album. I liked the first half and hated everything after "Carol". A lot of filler, a lot of Green Day posturing, terrible videos but some great singles. "Skull.." blew my socks off.

World Peace - the only track I even half-like is Staircase at the University. God knows what the rest of it is all about. There is nothing on here to touch the quality of Camden, or Paris, or Irish Blood. It's like a Spanishy concept album gone wrong. Even the diehards on here are having to listen to it over and over to find something they like, as though they don't trust their own ears. Music shouldn't be that much effort.
 
I adored Quarry when it came out. I thought it was f***ing glorious. Two of the best singles of his whole career (First of the Gang, Irish Blood) - and a bunch of good-to-excellent album tracks. Come Back to Camden is the post-wilderness Morrissey epic, right up there with Late Night, Maudlin Street and I've Changed My Plea to Guilty in the torch song stakes. I liked a few of the b-sides as well, fake strings and all, especially The Never-Played Symphonies. Much love for YATQ.

Ringleader...I never really liked. Jesse Tobias had landed and I had trouble distinguishing his clunky co-writes from each other. It was musical mulch. The only songs I liked were "I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now" and the b-side Ganglord. The artwork was pretty nice, I'll give it that.

Refusal - stronger than Ringleader, not as good as YATQ. A louder, more aggressive album. I liked the first half and hated everything after "Carol". A lot of filler, a lot of Green Day posturing, terrible videos but some great singles. "Skull.." blew my socks off.

World Peace - the only track I even half-like is Staircase at the University. God knows what the rest of it is all about. There is nothing on here to touch the quality of Camden, or Paris, or Irish Blood. It's like a Spanishy concept album gone wrong. Even the diehards on here are having to listen to it over and over to find something they like, as though they don't trust their own ears. Music shouldn't be that much effort.

I'm already looking ahead to his next album, hopefully he's got a few things out of his system with WPINOYB. I was expecting a barnstorming return, something sharp & edgy, like "Your Arsenal", I mean after 5 years you'd expect an explosion of attitude and mischief but it's lukewarm, I won't give up tho, I'll keep listening, maybe I'm missing something.
 
Damn right it's growing on me.
I think it's excellent, Latin influences and all.
The flamenco guitar is glorious.
 
agreed about the guitar, i love it as well. its a grumpy album in some ways that dosent give the casual fan much to bite into until istanbul hits but hey thats how it goes. ive been playing it everyday myself. maybe this is morrisseys crystal pepsi period and he'll go back to standard with the next album.
 
I think tomorrow morning before work I’m going to take a walk and listen as well. Despite listening to it about 30 or more times at this point, I’ve yet to do that!

I'd also advise the car.
Earth Is especially sounded better on a drive yesterday.
 
I love this album-I really do. I agree that Earth sounds fantastic on a drive.

However, none of the songs hit me emotionally, like Late Night, Maudlin Street or the like. Morrissey has always had the ability to bring out so many emotions with his songs( whether it be the voice or the lyrics), but although his voice still makes me weak at the knees I'm not feeling it on this album.
 
I just can't get into this cd. At best it's a triumph of interesting production over mundane songwriting. "the little fella has got rubella" has now officially become his worst ever lyric beating off "your boyfriend he went down on one knee, could it be he's only got one knee". I can only listen to World, Kiss, Kick, Scandi ("i was bored, in a fjord"..brilliant) and Art (can't hear if he's singing open or opera..keep changing my mind) and some of those are starting to grate. Sometimes a song only grabs me once i've heard it live but i can't imagine any off this album having that effect. Such a shame but clearly i'm in the minority as most people here are going for it and the critics surprisingly are giving it 4 out of 5 generally.
 
Of the eighteen songs ( including b-sides) I absolutely love nine of them!! "Smiler with Knife," "Kick the Bride Down the Aisle," and "Art-Hounds" are all masterpieces. The music on "Art-Hounds" is astonishing, and I think this song solidifies Boz Boorer's place as one of the 20 greatest songwriters of all-time. Morrissey's vocals on "Art-Hounds" are equally as astonishing. "Smiler with Knife" is truly special. Frankly, beautiful songs like this make it much easier to live. Easier, to just live. Thank you, Morrissey. Your beautiful vocals, and lyrics on this song, mellow my soul. (I know this is an over-the-top statement, but this is how this song makes me feel.) The first three days I listened to the new album, I was listening to it driving in my car. Most of the driving was done on highways, with my windows rolled down. Originally, I thought the music was complex and complicated in "Smiler with Knife," but I was wrong. Listening to the music, in the quiet of home, I realize it isn't complex at all. It's still unpredictable, which I love, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I hope Morrissey & Jesse Tobias are proud of their beautiful song.

"Kick the Bride Down the Aisle" is a masterpiece, and for my money, is the best music Jesse has ever written. The music in this song is complex and absolutely incredible. The music is reminiscent of Billy Corgan's best work. Incredibly, Morrissey's vocals are even better than the music, and the lyrics he wrote are brave. Most women aren't like the bride-to-be descibed in the song, but there are a lot of women who are. My friend Jason got married and his new bride literally quit her job, the next day. She called her boss and quit on the phone, in a Honolulu hotel, on their honeymoon! Then she told Jason, "Okay, you're going to take care of me now." After a year & a half of pure, unmerciful hell, Jason finally divorced the creep. Sometimes, you really do just have to "Kick the Bride Down the Aisle." And sometimes you have to kick the stupid groom down the aisle too.

I also love "One of Our Own." Morrissey's lyrics and vocals shatter everything bad and difficult in this world, at least in the moments one is listening to this powerful song. How any die-hard Morrissey fan can not be moved by a powerful song like this one, makes no sense to me. Gustavo's music is lovely and Moz is at his very best.

The other five songs I love on the album are "Neal Cassady Drops Dead," "Kiss Me A Lot," "Mountjoy," "Oboe Concerto," and "Julie In The Weeds." "Neal Cassady..." isn't the most accessible song, but once you get past the first 45 seconds are so it blossoms. I like the whole song now. The lyrics on "Mountjoy" could be the best ever written, by anyone. When I was listening to this song, driving in my car, I underestimated Boz's music. At home, I realized the subtle power that the music has with Morrissey's vocals and lyrics. The music isn't as repetitive as it seems, and is the coiled rattlesnake that shakes its rattle, but never strikes. Morrissey is the one who strikes. "Julie in the Weeds" is peaceful. Gorgeous and peaceful.

Of the other nine songs there are six that I like, and three that I don't like. The three that I don't like are the title track, "The Bullfighter Dies," and the unlistenable "Scandinavia." I should like "The Bullfighter Dies," but I just don't. I think it's because I much preferred the live version of it, before the album broke. I feel the same about, "The World is Full of Crashing Bores." I preferred the live version of it better than the slow version of it on, "You Are the Quarry."

I'm actually shocked that several long time Morrissey fans can't find anything to like about this album, and the b-sides. I appreciate the honest assessments but I'm just very surprised. Maybe if you take the album, and go for a two or three hour drive while listening to it, it will click with you. Or put on some headphones and go for a one or two hour walk listening to it. Don't give up on it. Give it a chance.
 
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Today I started listening to it on vinyl. Flip, flip, flip, flip...it's a whole new world. The songs take new shape when they're grouped together in threes, with a pause to flip in between. The sound is so rich and and warm! Mountjoy in particular is really blowing me away on vinyl.

Interesting to be listening to it without the bonus tracks now, too. As much as I like all six, I do wish they'd been released separately from the album proper.

Could not agree more! I also actually like it more as a 12 song album, and the extra 6 on the deluxe are just gravy.
 
Of the eighteen songs ( including b-sides) I absolutely love nine of them!! "Smiler with Knife," "Kick the Bride Down the Aisle," and "Art-Hounds" are all masterpieces. The music on "Art-Hounds" is astonishing, and I think this song solidifies Boz Boorer's place as one of the 20 greatest songwriters of all-time. Morrissey's vocals on "Art-Hounds" are equally as astonishing. "Smiler with Knife" is truly special. Frankly, beautiful songs like this make it much easier to live. Easier, to just live. Thank you, Morrissey. Your beautiful vocals, and lyrics on this song, mellow my soul. (I know this is an over-the-top statement, but this is how this song makes me feel.) The first three days I listened to the new album, I was listening to it driving in my car. Most of the driving was done on highways, with my windows rolled down. Originally, I thought the music was complex and complicated in "Smiler with Knife," but I was wrong. Listening to the music, in the quiet of home, I realize it isn't complex at all. It's still unpredictable, which I love, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I hope Morrissey & Jesse Tobias are proud of their beautiful song.

"Kick the Bride Down the Aisle" is a masterpiece, and for my money, is the best music Jesse has ever written. The music in this song is complex and absolutely incredible. The music is reminiscent of Billy Corgan's best work. Incredibly, Morrissey's vocals are even better than the music, and the lyrics he wrote are brave. Most women aren't like the bride-to-be descibed in the song, but there are a lot of women who are. My friend Jason got married and his new bride literally quit her job, the next day. She called her boss and quit on the phone, in a Honolulu hotel, on their honeymoon! Then she told Jason, "Okay, you're going to take care of me now." After a year & a half of pure, unmerciful hell, Jason finally divorced the creep. Sometimes, you really do just have to "Kick the Bride Down the Aisle." And sometimes you have to kick the stupid groom down the aisle too.

I also love "One of Our Own." Morrissey's lyrics and vocals shatter everything bad and difficult in this world, at least in the moments one is listening to this powerful song. How any die-hard Morrissey fan can not be moved by a powerful song like this one, makes no sense to me. Gustavo's music is lovely and Moz is at his very best.

The other five songs I love on the album are "Neal Cassady Drops Dead," "Kiss Me A Lot," "Mountjoy," "Oboe Concerto," and "Julie In The Weeds." "Neal Cassady..." isn't the most accessible song, but once you get past the first 45 seconds are so it blossoms. I like the whole song now. The lyrics on "Mountjoy" could be the best ever written, by anyone. When I was listening to this song, driving in my car, I underestimated Boz's music. At home, I realized the subtle power that the music has with Morrissey's vocals and lyrics. The music isn't as repetitive as it seems, and is the coiled rattlesnake that shakes its rattle, but never strikes. Morrissey is the one who strikes. "Julie in the Weeds" is peaceful. Gorgeous and peaceful.

Of the other nine songs there are six that I like, and three that I don't like. The three that I don't like are the title track, "The Bullfighter Dies," and the unlistenable "Scandinavia." I should like "The Bullfighter Dies," but I just don't. I think it's because I much preferred the live version of it, before the album broke. I feel the same about, "The World is Full of Crashing Bores." I preferred the live version of it better than the slow version of it on, "You Are the Quarry."

I'm actually shocked that several long time Morrissey fans can't find anything to like about this album, and the b-sides. I appreciate the honest assessments but I'm just very surprised. Maybe if you take the album, and go for a two or three hour drive while listening to it, it will click with you. Or put on some headphones and go for a one or two hour walk listening to it. Don't give up on it. Give it a chance.

Does it matter how many windows are wound down or if the car is stationary or in motion, I don't wanna spend all that money on a new car if its not going to increase the quality of my album.
 
I'm already looking ahead to his next album, hopefully he's got a few things out of his system with WPINOYB. I was expecting a barnstorming return, something sharp & edgy, like "Your Arsenal", I mean after 5 years you'd expect an explosion of attitude and mischief but it's lukewarm, I won't give up tho, I'll keep listening, maybe I'm missing something.

You see this is the right attitude for the detractors. So okay the album hasn't hit Just yet but at least there's a consideration for some growth. The album, not the person. Try the headphones before you get a car :)

It's the "This album is shit, I am right and the rest of you are morns" crap that is getting old. We don't need you to like it but just give it a chance.
 
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