Viva Hate - Morrissey

Viva Hate was the first solo Morrissey album following the break up of The Smiths in 1987. Released in 1988 and produced by Stephen Street, Morrissey brought in guitarist Vini Reilly to work with and while Reilly is no Johnny Marr, the result was an interesting if not perfect album and a strong debut. Anyone expecting Morrissey to fall flat on his face without his former guitar maestro was wrong. The record is, unsuprisingly!, very dark and melodramatic but consistently interesting with some high spots that live comfortably with anything The Smiths produced. The Songs Alsation Cousin With a title inspired by ...  Read the complete review

Viva Hate was the first solo album Morrissey released following 'The Smiths's' breaking up. Expectations were high and Morrissey pulled off a largely excellent album, with his lyrics just as witty, just as poignant as ever and the music adopting new styles than past Smiths work. The album starts with the quirky sounding 'Alsatian Cousin', which is almost a haunting sound, where Morrissey sneers his typically layered lyrics. It's a great sounding track and the perfect opener. It announces Morrissey's arrival in your ears with a thought-provoking piece of music. This fades straight into 'Little Man, What Now?', which is a short track, with Morrissey singing ...  Read the complete review

Morrissey - Viva Hate (1988) Producer: Stephen Street Alsatian Cousin Little Man, What Now? Everyday is Like Sunday Bengali in Platforms Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together Late Night, Maudlin Street Suedehead Break up the Family The Ordinary Boys I Don't Mind if You Forget Me Dial-a-cliché Margaret on the Guillotine For his solo debut Morrissey got on board Stephen Street, who had been a producer on The Smiths' final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come. Viva Hate was released in 1988 and just 6 months after Strangeways. Because of this it primarily sounds like a continuation ...  Read the complete review

Morrissey's debut solo record, 1988's 'Viva Hate' is an admirable offering full of catchy hooks, melodies and straightforward production values; an incredibly mainstream LP, this is a major departure from the edgy, unpolished sonic harrowing the Smiths' usually pummelled the listener with. It teams Morrissey with Vini Reilly of the Durrutti Column, and sees Smiths' producer Stephen Street flexing his muscles instrument-wise(he plays bass and other stuff here!) 'Viva Hate's lyrical content tackles everything from downhome, kissin' cousins( the oddly metallic screech of 'Alstatian Cousin') to suicide(the chiming, ...  Read the complete review