(B-side to single, "First Of The Gang To Die" from album, "You Are The Quarry")
Just a quick one from me here.
Until today, this was a Morrissey song, which, bizarrely, I had never heard. Though I do own the B-side collection, "Swords", the opening glare of this track always put me off on shuffle, and so, I would callously jump past it having heard only a mere second or two.
Instead, as I am not paying much attention, I let the track roll onward. Before I realise it, I am half way into "Mexico", by no means the best Morrissey track, but certainly not a song shoddy enough to be condemned, as previously reviewed B-sides, to simply the flipside of another song. Perhaps, however, it really doesn't belong on the album, "You Are The Quarry", the undeniable genius of the A-side, "First Of The Gang To Die", lifted from said release, is reflected here and there throughout the album; this song is great, but that stuff is brilliant - it wouldn't work, and the superb single is suitable testament to this.
So the track itself. Wonderful, amazing, weaving bass line that makes you want to cry (almost as much as not being able to find tab for the song online - it's one of the lesser known tracks). The tremolo-heavy guitar overdub is very South American and the shiny, glossy, imitation Johnny Marr guitar slides over the top of the layers beautifully. The drum is repetitive at a lulling, druggy pace and the desert, mirage-ridden, sandy atmosphere is conveyed almost perfectly by this.
The most important, integral and essential aspect is present also; the sarky lyric. Not exactly as great as previous efforts such as, 'your frankly vulgar red pullover', but similarly not as lacking as others; 'I was bored, in a fjord' or 'Your mascara and your Fender guitar', 'taste a trace of American chemical waste' has something going for it, as the following 'feel the hate from the lone star state' retains Moz's famous, satirical, dry and stiff-upper-lip-edness, giving that comic aspect, so perfectly fitting and timed with the seriousness of the tone and the sound. Its a very pleasurable thing indeed.
The actual music itself, is beautiful. Its up there with tracks like "We'll let You Know" or "I've Changed My Plea To Guilty", and the sliding wonder of the guitars is beautifully tinged with the semi-racist overtones. Not the best Morrissey song. Not the worst. The lyrics are there, but its the sound that matters with this one.
★★★★★
Versions of "Mexico"
B-side Single Version - 4:06