Low in High School

Low in High School
A young boy standing in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace. He is holding an axe in one hand and a sign saying "Axe the monarchy" in the other.
The French vinyl edition features a blue background rather than an orange one.
Studio album by
Morrissey
Released17 November 2017
Studio
  • Forum Studios, Italy
  • La Fabrique Studios, France
Length53:25
LabelBMG
ProducerJoe Chiccarelli
Morrissey chronology
World Peace Is None of Your Business
(2014) 		Low in High School
(2017) 		California Son
(2019)
Alternative cover
A sepia high school headshot of Morrissey.
2018 deluxe edition cover
Singles from Low in High School
  1. "Spent the Day in Bed"
    Released: 19 September 2017
  2. "Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up on the Stage"
    Released: 7 November 2017
  3. "My Love, I'd Do Anything for You"
    Released: 23 March 2018[1]
  4. "All the Young People Must Fall in Love"
    Released: 6 July 2018[2]

Low in High School is the eleventh solo studio album by British singer Morrissey, released on 17 November 2017 through BMG.[3] It was produced by Joe Chiccarelli, and recorded at La Fabrique Studios in France and at Ennio Morricone's Forum Studios in Italy.[4]

The album debuted at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Low in High School generally received mixed or average reviews.

Background and release

[edit]

Prior to the album's release, it was reported that several retailers including HMV had refused to stock the album due to its cover art,[4] though this was later denied by HMV.[5] The child on the cover is Max Lopez (noted in the article as Msax), the son of Morrissey's bassist, Mando Lopez.

The first single, "Spent the Day in Bed", received its first play on 19 September 2017 and was released on the same day.[6] Along with the release of the single, Morrissey announced an upcoming US tour.[7] "I Wish You Lonely" was released as an instant grat download on 24 October.[8] "Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up on the Stage" was released on 7 November.[9] Two more singles were released in 2018.

The 'deluxe edition' of Low in High School was released in December 2018, and features four extra studio tracks and five bonus live tracks. The deluxe edition studio track "Back on the Chain Gang" was issued as a single in late 2018.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The A.V. ClubB[12]
The Daily Telegraph[13]
The Guardian[14]
The Irish Times[15]
Mojo[16]
NME[17]
Pitchfork5.7/10[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
The Times[20]

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Low in High School has a score of 59 out of 100 based on 43 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reception.[21] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave Low in High School a rating of three out of five stars, stating it is "one of Morrissey's most musically adventurous records" but "can seem as aurally conflicted as it is politically".[11] Josh Modell, writing for The A.V. Club, gave the album a B rating and said it might be Morrissey's best release since You Are the Quarry.[12] Alexis Petridis in The Guardian also gave it three out of five stars. Jordan Bassett, writing for NME, gave the album two out of five stars, stating "the 12-song album's first five tracks are passable, if not actually quite enjoyable. Beyond this point, though, only the most hardened Moz fan should dare to venture."[17]

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Radio X 30 Best New Albums of 2017
N/A
[22]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Love, I'd Do Anything for You"
  • Morrissey
  • Mando Lopez
4:43
2."I Wish You Lonely"
2:59
3."Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up on the Stage"
  • Morrissey
  • Boorer
4:19
4."Home Is a Question Mark"
  • Morrissey
  • Lopez
4:00
5."Spent the Day in Bed"
  • Morrissey
  • Gustavo Manzur
3:31
6."I Bury the Living"
7:25
7."In Your Lap"
  • Morrissey
  • Manzur
4:36
8."The Girl from Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn't Kneel"
  • Morrissey
  • Manzur
4:57
9."All the Young People Must Fall in Love"
  • Morrissey
  • Boorer
3:37
10."When You Open Your Legs"
  • Morrissey
  • Tobias
3:17
11."Who Will Protect Us from the Police?"
  • Morrissey
  • Boorer
4:05
12."Israel"
  • Morrissey
  • Manzur
5:56
Total length:53:25
Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Lover-to-Be"
  • Morrissey
  • Boorer
4:09
14."Back on the Chain Gang"Chrissie Hynde3:51
15."Never Again Will I Be a Twin"
  • Morrissey
  • Lopez
4:15
16."This Song Doesn't End When It's Over"
  • Morrissey
  • Boorer
3:57
17."You'll Be Gone" (live)
2:33
18."Rose Garden" (live)Joe South3:06
19."Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?" (live)Waylon Jennings3:25
20."I Didn't Know What to Do" (live)Gilbert O'Sullivan1:54
21."Judy Is a Punk" (live)Joey Ramone1:37

Personnel

[edit]

Additional personnel

  • Jesse Tobias – guitars
  • Gustavo Manzur – keyboards
  • Boz Boorer – guitars
  • Matthew Ira Walker – drums
  • Mando Lopez – bass guitar
  • Roger Joseph Manning – string arrangement, horn arrangement
  • H.E.R. – violin (8, 12)
  • Steve Aho – orchestration
  • Songa Lee – violin
  • Kathleen Sloan – violin
  • Erik Arvinder – viola
  • Andy Martin – trombone
  • Fred Simmons – trombone
  • Gustavo Manzur – backing vocals
  • Davide Dell'Amore – engineering
  • Damien Arlot – engineering
  • Samuel Wahl – engineering
  • Morgane Myollet – engineering
  • Miro Lagioa – technical
  • Joe Chiccarelli – producing

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 81
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 67
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 40
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 20
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 71
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 15
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 8
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 36
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[33] 3
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[35] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 5
US Billboard 200[38] 20

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Morrissey My Love, I'd Do Anything for You : 7" Vinyl Single | HMV Store". HMV. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Morrissey All The Young People Must Fall In Love : 7" Vinyl Single | HMV Store". HMV. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  3. ^ Welsh, April Claire (19 September 2017). "Morrissey shares first single from new album, 'Spent The Day In Bed'". Fact. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b Marszalek, Julian (11 September 2017). "Is Morrissey's new album Low In High School facing a ban over its cover?". Gigwise. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ Gaca, Anna (11 September 2017). "HMV Denies Refusing to Stock Morrissey's New Album". UK. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  6. ^ Trendell, Andrew (19 September 2017). "Morrissey unveils new single 'Spent The Day In Bed'". NME. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  7. ^ Yoo, Noah (19 September 2017). "Morrissey Details New Album Low in High School". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. ^ Hughes, Josiah (24 October 2017). "Morrissey: "I Wish You Lonely"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  9. ^ Morgan Britton, Luke (7 November 2017). "Hear Morrissey's new track 'Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up On The Stage'". NME. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Critic Reviews for Low in High School - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  11. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (17 November 2017). "Low In High School". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  12. ^ a b Modell, Josh (16 November 2017). "Morrissey still has some fight left in him on Low In High School". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  13. ^ McCormick, Neil (17 November 2017). "Morrissey, Low in High School, review: misanthropy at its most superbly elegant". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  14. ^ Petridis, Alexis (16 November 2017). "Morrissey: Low in High School review – old greatness spoiled by ugliness and spite". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  15. ^ Murphy, Lauren (17 November 2017). "Morrissey: Low in High School – dodgy politics, but still a class act". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Low in High School". Mojo. 9 November 2017. p. 87.
  17. ^ a b Bassett, Jordan (14 November 2017). "Morrissey – 'Low In High School' Review". NME. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  18. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (21 November 2017). "Morrissey: Low in High School Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  19. ^ Hermes, Will (17 November 2017). "Review: Morrissey, Alt-Rock's Greatest Stand-Up, Still Has It on Album Number 11". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  20. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (17 November 2017). "Pop review: Morrissey: Low in High School". The Times. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  21. ^ "England Is Mine Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Radio X's 30 Best New Albums of 2017". Album of The Year. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  23. ^ "ARIA Chart Watch #448". auspOp. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Morrissey – Low in High School" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Morrissey – Low in High School" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Morrissey – Low in High School" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Morrissey – Low in High School" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Morrissey: Low in High School" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 47, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Morrissey – Low in High School" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 24 November 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  32. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 47 (dal 2017-11-17 al 2017-11-23)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  33. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  35. ^ "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 47: del 17.11.2017 al 23.11.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  36. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  38. ^ "Morrissey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
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