Viva Hate

iTunes Review

Morrissey's first solo album after departing from the Smiths is a surprisingly strong collection, considering it came so quickly after the less than stellar final Smiths album Strangeways Here We Come, and he had to find a replacement for his irreplaceable guitarist and co-writer Johnny Marr. Producer Stephen Street serves as Morrissey's foil and Street immediately drops back in the mix, occasionally replicating the Smiths' fluid jangle, but mostly orchestrating with restraint, adding keyboards, synths and dancefloor-friendly rhythms that work subtly behind the flamboyant singer. The Smiths' chemistry is missed, but Morrissey's personal ruminations and playful lyrics bring heightened life and drama to now classic fare such as "Everyday Is Like Sunday," "Suedehead" and "Hairdresser on Fire." He's forever reminiscing ("Late Night, Maudlin Street"), daydreaming ("Alsatian Cousin), playing the self-pity card ("I Don't Mind If You Forget Me"), offering up his unapologetic politics ("Margaret on the Guillotine") and even looking optimistically to the future ("Break Up the Family") with a caustic eye. A first-rate, frontline commentator, Morrissey never runs out of things to say or inventive ways to say it.