Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on March 14, 1988. The album was considered Morrissey's very strong foray into a solo career, as he utilized his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It was listed by Q as one of the top 50 albums of 1988. The album was originally going to be called Education in Reverse; some LPs in Australia and New Zealand were released...
more
Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on March 14, 1988. The album was considered Morrissey's very strong foray into a solo career, as he utilized his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It was listed by Q as one of the top 50 albums of 1988. The album was originally going to be called Education in Reverse; some LPs in Australia and New Zealand were released with the original title.
The album was released a mere six months after The Smiths' final album, Strangeways, Here We Come. The title predicts the content as Morrissey's lyrics are sardonic and filled with invective, while some of the tracks deal with the harshness of the breakup of The Smiths.
The album was produced by Stephen Street and most of the arrangements were by Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column. Reilly's distinctive style is evident throughout the entire album, especially in tracks such as "Late Night, Maudlin Street" and "Bengali...
less
