Southpaw Grammar

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 Shostakovich1 symphony. AllMusic described it as Morrissey's "art rock album, complete with strings, drum solos and two ten-minute songs." Musical style 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." == Release ==

Southpaw Grammar was released on 28 August 1995 by record labels RCA in the UK and Reprise in the US. On its release Southpaw Grammar was an eyebrow-raiser for fans and critics alike. 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. == Reception ==

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". In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 79 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties". According to an article published in 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." Brad Shoup of Stereogum retrospectively named it Morrissey's "peak" and "quintessential document". == Track listing ==

All tracks written by Morrissey and Alain Whyte except where noted. : 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. == Personnel ==

• Morrissey – vocals • Alain Whyte – guitar, backing vocals • Boz Boorer – guitar • Jonny Bridgwood – bass guitar • Spencer James Cobrin – drums ; Technical • Steve Lillywhite – production (except "Fantastic Bird") • Mick Ronson - production on "Fantastic Bird" (1992) ==Charts==