Beyond local football one thing we’re proud of at Abbey is local music. The team runs out to a Manchester anthem and rightly so. With that in mind, this week I’m going to talk about a Manchester music legend’s latest album.
I’ve purposely left it two months since the release date to chew it over and let it sink in. After all it has been five years in the making. I am of course talking about World Peace Is None Of Your Business, the new Morrissey LP.
The Pope of Mope is the musical equivalent of Marmite and splits people down the middle. But when haters accuse him of being maudlin, they completely miss the point. Morrissey lyrics have always dripped with sarcasm, wit and an unrivaled wryness.
Take track 10, Kick The Bride Down The Aisle, for example: “Kick the bride down the aisle, look at that cow......in the field, it knows more than the bride knows.” A sardonic take on what Moz deems to be an outdated alien practise. Fair play.
And as for bringing current affairs to the table goes there’s no braver man in the pop world at the minute. On the title track World Peace Is None Of Your Business he belts out: “Brazil and Bahrain, Egypt, Ukraine, so many people in pain.” So much more valid than singing about nightclubs and bling.
The Bullfighter Dies too provides a worthy platform for Moz’s strong beliefs, this time on the animal rights front: “Hooray, hooray, the bullfighter dies, and nobody cries, because we all want the bull to survive.” Rightly or wrongly you can’t accuse the man of sitting on the fence.
Away from the lyrics, the music on this release is absolutely superb. Production levels are top notch and a nod to Morrissey’s substantial Hispanic fanbase is evident with lovely flamenco interludes.
Texan guitarist Jesse Tobias has been part of the band for nine years now and on this album comes to the fore more than ever in the song-writing department being credited for five of the 12 tunes.
All in all World Peace doesn’t really touch the heights set by 1994’s Vauxhall And I or 2004’s You Are The Quarry but make no mistake, this would still be a worthy purchase for any Manchester music aficionado.
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