Asian Rut: Interesting for a while but ultimately bland. I could see this song being boyed up on a strong album but it doesn't have that luxury on Kill Uncle. As someone else pointed out, it's about a minute too long. It might have made a better novelty as a 2 minute song, but it turns into a "rut" at it's current length. 2.5 ranking out of 5.
Have to agree with this. I’ve been generous with my scoring in several other tunes, but can only give points for trying to do something new... no points for the outcome though. 2/5... and I’m probably still being generous. (... and oh boy what a sigh of relief I give when those opening chords or Sing Your Life come in. )
“There's peace through our school It's so quiet in the hall It's a strange sign for one Of what's to come Tough and cold and pale Oh, they may just impale you on railings Oh, English boys It must be wrong Three against one?” So I listened to all the 1991 singles and Kill Uncle again yesterday to make sure my memory isn’t being fogged up (can’t believe this was 28 years ago, where does the time go?) The above lyric rarely gets quoted , and of the controversial “race” trilogy (Bengali, Rut, NF Disco) this is possibly the best lyric , I’ve always thought this is the mocked Bengali deciding that trying to fit in is pointless after the death of his friend , deciding to take revenge by gong back to school with a gun (a chilling thought post Hungerford and pre Columbine ) , so it’s a warning that “outsiders” can be pushed too far perhaps? Musically it’s sympathetic to the lyric, but kills the album stone dead , and the live version was awful . Noted that it was moved to track 5 on the reissue which makes more sense , and probably the only correct decision about that reissue . But this song when ranked against the smiths and the highs of 1988 can only get a 2/5 for me , it’s just too plodding musically. “Brakes slammed, and His gun jammed, and As far as I could tell Brave Asian boy Was dealt a blow and fell I'm just passing through here On my way to somewhere civilized And maybe I'll even arrive Maybe I'll even arrive”
“Asian Rut” works better following “King Leer” — a good decision on the otherwise confused Kill Uncle reissue.
I've always thought it was one of the better Uncle songs. It's a bit of a delicacy and not always to my taste, but when I do listen I actually like the funereal music and the lyric seems entirely uncontroversial to me. As others have said, I always felt King Leer should have been track two and this track three. Anyway, a rare and welcome bit of gravitas on the album. 3.5/5
Asian Rut Interesting song, for me, but as people have said, a strange one to have as song two. Violins used sparingly I rather like but the free form type that happens a couple of times here, jar slightly. The lyrics are typical Morrissey, outsider, fatalist etc and I cannot see any controversy in them. Not amazing by any stretch but worth a couple of points. 2/5
I like "Asian Rut" a lot better than "Our Frank," although I agree with the general consensus that putting it in the second slot was a poor decision. 3/5
Asian Rut "It's a strange sign for one Of what's to come" (Heavy sighs....) Musically, this funeral waltz/lament type track has been done miles better by the likes of Tom Waits; Leonard Cohen; & Elvis Costello, as they avoided making a dirge like this. 0.5/5 Goes off to listen to an uplifting, better post Smiths related track (co-written by Johnny Marr) from the same year to cheer me up, with a much more positive, inclusive message:
Today's song is Sing Your Life: Clive Langer admitted that this song is "frighteningly lightweight" and it should have been a surprise to nobody when it barely scraped into the top 40. The lyrics are not exactly substantial and Suggs again was rather underused, but Steve Nieve's string arrangement helps to lift it into the acceptable category. This song also represents one of the relatively few times during this era that the live band managed to come up with a new arrangement that actually worked. The KROQ version isn't a masterpiece, but it is fun enough and hints at the style of the live shows from 1991. I always quite liked the video (starring Chrissie Hynde) for this one as well. As both versions have something to enjoy, 3.5/5.
I like the album version but love the KROQ version. I first heard the rockabilly version staying up late to watch Moz on Carson (with Bill Cosby making Morrissey jokes to the rowdy audience) but when Moz finally appeared, the sound was incredibly dry. The KROQ version is killer. So a 5 due to the KROQ Version
"Sing Your Life" Probably another attempt at an early 60s / Joe Meek vibe, indeed the rhythm could have come straight off a Tornados track like "Jungle Fever" or "The Ice Cream Man". I remember a comment at the time saying it sounded like a Eurovision entry, which isn't too far from the truth. The idea is good, the song is fine, but it doesn't really catch fire until the last 30 seconds. The opening 20 seconds might be the most unpromising start to any song ever, but it is one of the more likeable tracks on this album. 3/5.
An oddly upbeat and positive song for Morrissey. It acts as a nice shift in tone from the previous track and predicts his later experiments in rockabilly. Quite fluffy and lightweight, though undeniably catchy, I think I liked it more at the time. It’s all nice enough and very inoffensive, but it doesn’t really say a lot to me today. 3/5
Sing Your Life - Nice peppy bass line. Some good melodies and well sung. Agree it's lightweight but you need a break from the heavy stuff every now and then. Certainly not a classic, but It's a fun listen: Especially the first half. The arrangement starts to get too big for its own good later on. I'm not fond of the backing vocals and I'd like the arrangement to be even more stripped down to showcase the melodies even more. 3 ranking out of 5.
