Music Talk Thursday: Morrissey appraised.

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So Morrissey's autobiography is finally coming out and there's already a lot of chatter about what revelations their may be about his sexuality, relationship with Johnny Marr and general thoughts on all the subjects he's never been shy of making a contentious comment about. This blog post is not here to judge the contents of the book though, but rather take the opportunity to take a look at Morrissey's career.

Whatever you think of him as a person though, as lets face it he is very much a marmite artist - you either love him of hate him. Well, that's not strictly true, i don't mind a bit of marmite on my toast but i don't crave it and i like a bit of Morrissey but i'm not a crazed fan. I think he does say some things that really are a little but out there but i also find that it's heartening to find someone who is so true to his principles. A man who will stand up and make a point to back up his beliefs, even when he knows it won't be received well, and when he knows the press will take quotes out of context and blow them up out of proportion. However, he also doesn't help himself with the way he expresses himself sometimes.

When it comes to The Smiths  and his music though, there is nothing but love. There's were a near perfect career where nearly every album, every single and even every b-side was a joy. It took me a while to really jump in and discover their music properly, contenting myself initially with the excellent compilation 'Louder Than Bombs'. I got this vinyl and loved it almost immediately, songs such as Half a Person, Sweet and Tender Hooligan and You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby really grabbed me. The latter really spoke to me at the time - questioning why i wasn't having as much luck in love and life as i would've like at that time in my life.

There's nothing i can really say about The Smiths output that hasn't been said before, the lyrics do speak to me about my life, the tunes are excellent and the look was iconic. Instead i'll give you a top 5 of my favourite Smiths songs.

5. Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
4. Half A Person
3. Paint A Vulgar Picture
2. These Things Take Time
1. Reel Around the Fountain

I'm less keen on Morrissey's solo output as a whole. However, the first album and in particular the singles Suedehead and Everyday is Like Sunday were amongst the first songs i ever loved. Having heard them on my Now! compilations and from taping the charts each week. Indeed the first album Viva Hate, is a masterpiece and despite containing the contentious Bengali in Platforms, is one of those few albums that to me is perfect from start to finish. what followed though was a careerof diminishing returns, he's always had the ability to come up with a great single but the albums have failed to really grab me.

Morrissey will always be considered an important artist in the history of British music but with each average release his legendary status is dimished a little bit. This mirrors the effect that his statements and media image in recent years have done to his legacy too.

The good news is that he has that little bit of genus that means he can still turn it around with one more great record. He just needs to find the right people to work with i feel.