Great write-up on the individual albums, as long as Bono Drag isn't in the running (the obvious place to start) I'm fine with Southpaw Grammar at the top. The songs that bookend that album are so epically great that they overshadow the ones that fall between them. Both "The Teachers..." and "Southpaw" really are anomalies in Morrissey's catalog - but they also may be his two best songs.
My personal rankings:
1 - Southpaw Grammar
2 - Your Arsenal
3 - Viva Hate
4 - Vauxhall and I
5 - Kill Uncle
6 - Years of Refusal
7 - You are the Quarry
8 - Maladjusted
9 - Ringleader of the Tormenters
First off, I have been impressed with Stereogum's excellent write-ups on Blur and Suede recently. I love that the Britpop movement is given it's due here and its one of the reasons I love this website.
That being said, Suede were a great singles band. You could easily grab 10 songs from the 1st two albums and Sci-fi lullabies and there would still be notable omissions. I can't argue with no. 1 and I love seeing "Europe..." and "...Flash Boy" on the list. Still, I would have made room for "So Young" "Animal Lover" "Chemistry Between Us" "Together" and "He's Dead"
Definitely "Second Edition" aka "Metal Box" I am also partial to "Album" although its a bit of a departure into hard rock territory (that's not as bad as it sounds). "Flowers of Romance" is pretty great too and fits into the first three albums trilogy.
As a huge PIL fan I thought his was an excellent write up. The list, eh, not so much. I agree that some of PIL's mid 80s output was plagued by dodgy production but there are some gems, and "Don't Ask Me" is certainly not one of them (and I'm also not a big fan of "...Love Song"
I can't argue with the top two slots but "Poptones" is the obvious omission here. I would have also found room for "Fishing" or "Home" from Album. Oh, and I've always had a soft spot for "Seattle" and "Save Me" from Happy? I'm just thrilled that you included "The Order of Death"
My top 10:
1. Public Image
2. Death Disco
3. Poptones
4. Home
5. The Order of Death
6. Seattle
7. Fishing
8. Save Me
9. Ease
10. USLS 1
Great write-up. One the best debut albums of all time. As an American college-age kid in 1994 this sounded like music beamed in from another planet. Thank god for Suede and brit pop in the 90s....
I don't know, this is kind of a strange list, but I guess it would have been quite difficult to put together.
I probably would have swapped out "The Teachers..." for "Southpaw" (or just had them both on there)
I would have also found room for "Tomorrow" " Lucky Lisp" "Billy Budd" "Picadilly Palare" and "Alsatian Cousin"
The Smiths are the kind of band that would show up all over my favorite songs of all time list but would be hard pressed to make my best albums list - kinda like New Order (and I'm a huge fan of both).
That being said, Meat Is Murder is probably their best proper album.
not sure i understand the love for "spanish bombs" ....love seeing "clampdown" on here.
"white man..." should be no 1 and you've gotta find room for "hateful" and "all the young punks" but it's a solid list nonetheless
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