The Arts Desk review by Russ Coffey - Dog on a Chain 3/5

Doesn't seem to carry a score. Reads like a 7/10. (UPDATE: star rating added)

www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-morrissey-i-am-not-dog-chain
by Russ Coffey (3 of 5 stars)

Oddly, it reaches the opposite conclusion to the NME review i.e. that it gets better towards the end.

"The album's low-water mark is "Darling, I Hug a Pillow" which mopes around like a bad Marc Almond cover.
But, by the album's end, he is back on form. The three tracks that close the album are as emotive as anything he's recorded. "The Truth About Ruth" rolls along with exotic piano lines, while "My Hurling Days are Done" reflects on the passing of time with a sweet, pastoral melody. Best of all is "The Secret of Music", a languid, tortured eight-minutes where Mozza moans "I'm out of tune" at the top of his register. Partly, the song is simply about the power of melody. But, intentionally or not, the words also seem to be a comment on the singer's increasingly problematic views. Such moments of (indirect) self-awareness are where I Am Not A Dog on a Chain really shines."
 
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Well, I think we can all agree that the takeaway from that review is, "true artistry".

One thinks that they should've just written that really. All the other words are superfluous.
 
Controversial... out of tune views... but not bad! He's inching out of the awfulness.
 
Strange because 'Darling I Hug A Pillow' is one of my early favourites from what I consider to be a magnificent album.

Haters gonna hate, slaters gonna slate.
 
the secret of music was being slaughtered on here last week and yet this person says its the best track,just goes to show we all have different tastes.
 
the secret of music was being slaughtered on here last week and yet this person says its the best track,just goes to show we all have different tastes.

It's really good. It's a wry song about depression (typical Moz).
 
Screw that. Darling I Hug A Pillow is one of the best songs on it. I love the chorus. Bloody great album just in time to alleviate some of the Covid-19 blues.
 
It's really good. It's a wry song about depression (typical Moz).
I love The Secret Of Music. Reminds me of Maladjusted although I dunno why. The only song I don't like (yet) is The Truth About Ruth, and I'm not convinced yet by What Kind Of People Live In Those Houses. I love all the other songs.
 
I love The Secret Of Music. Reminds me of Maladjusted although I dunno why. The only song I don't like (yet) is The Truth About Ruth, and I'm not convinced yet by What Kind Of People Live In Those Houses. I love all the other songs.

Houses grew on me.

I like Ruth because its subject matter makes it harder to paint him as a far right bigot & should make more journalists realise how complicated he is.

Music & Malajusted are both about mental states & they build like a stream of consciousness, so they do have similarities.

It's a quirky album, but it's very catchy.
 
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I love The Secret Of Music. Reminds me of Maladjusted although I dunno why. The only song I don't like (yet) is The Truth About Ruth, and I'm not convinced yet by What Kind Of People Live In Those Houses. I love all the other songs.

Strange! that’s what I thought too ! :D :thumb:

and while hearing it the first time, I was wondering why people didn’t like it, because I was digging it!
 
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