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Alma Matters
1997 single by Morrissey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Alma Matters" is a song by Morrissey, released as a single in July 1997. It was the first single to be taken from the Maladjusted album and was released one week before the album.
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The single reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Morrissey's first top 20 hit since "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" in 1994. The song was also notable for seeing Morrissey reference the film A Taste of Honey for the first time since his early days in The Smiths in the line "it's my life to ruin my own way".
The song title is a pun on Alma mater.
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Track listings
7" vinyl and cassette (UK)
- "Alma Matters" (Morrissey/Alain Whyte)
- "Heir Apparent" (Morrissey/Whyte)
12" vinyl and CD
- "Alma Matters"
- "Heir Apparent"
- "I Can Have Both" (Morrissey/Boz Boorer)
Reviews
Jack Rabid of AllMusic called this single "ho-hum", saying it was "a poor choice to represent Maladjusted".[1] He also criticized guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, asking when Morrissey was going to part company with them, and declared the B-sides "Heir Apparent" and "I Can Have Both" to be the better songs but still lacking in comparison to previous B-sides "Whatever Happens, I Love You" and "Nobody Loves Us".[1] Rabid concludes his review, writing "Morrissey is a major talent with a special voice atrophying in underwhelming material and backing. To quote Joy Division, 'When will it end?'"[1] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club, however, listed the song as a highlight of Maladjusted.[2]
In a 2009 article Uncut described the song as 'Morrissey's worst single'.[3]
Spin's list of '50 Best Morrissey Songs' from 2017 includes "Alma Matters" as his 12th best solo song.[4]
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Personnel
- Morrissey – voice
- Martin "Boz" Boorer – guitar
- Alain Whyte – guitar
- Jonny Bridgwood – bass
- Spencer James Cobrin – drums
Charts
References
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