Viva Hate (studio album) by Morrissey

Songwriting is still good and some beautiful melodies here and there, but it's not on the level of The Smiths work.

From Jboy56 02/22/2022 08:19

Spotify tracklist was different from that one in BEA?. An airy and great-sounding LP this is.

Honestly IMO an album that adding Johnny Marr would have fit pretty well on Smith's discography.

Given Morrissey recent "foot in mouth disease" I get the apprehension towards Bengali In Platforms but to myears it sounds like he is saying to the immigrant not to get his/her hopes up as this place can be pretty dour and depressing. As someone who in the past had a brief stint as an immigrant in the U.K it kind of talks to me and how I felt over there.
Sure it beats my third world country's standard of living but it can be tough dealing with cultural shock and a general sense of not belonging.

From hoyquarlow 09/19/2021 14:30

The best Morrissey album along with "You are the quarry", without a doubt. But where is Hairdresser on fire in the tracklist ?

The Morrissey genius is still there, with some great songs and still some humour there. I find elements of Bengali in Platforms disturbing though.

A dower album, which is to be expected. Some stand out moments but somewhat inconsistent.

Perhaps his best album. Any chance it'll be re released with the original and superior title "Education in Reverse"? Remember seeing a copy on cd in a second hand shop many years ago. Should have pounced.

Morrissey's solo debut pretty much carried on where the Smiths left off, it was certainly on a par with Strangeways Here We Come, which had appeared only 6 months prior. This was a very nostalgic collection of songs for Morrissey which very clearly reached back into the early 70's.

Viva Hate was Morrissey's first number 1 album since Meat Is Murder with the Smiths and it spawned two top ten singles in Suedehead and the majestic Everyday Is Like Sunday.

From durrysquid 12/03/2015 21:36

As a huge Morrissey fan I was surprised I wasn't as fond of this album on the first listen. But I was so wrong; this is probably one of the most consistent albums on Morrissey's discography- lyrically beautiful with fantastic instrumentation to compliment his voice.

Lyrically and musically dreary, without the effervescene of Johnny Marr's Smiths sound, this is still a worthwhile solo debut from Moz. Sometimes you just need to wallow in music like this.