Speedway

Song: Speedway
Artist: Morrissey
Album: Vauxhall and I




I thought this week I would focus on some album tracks. Since the onset of the Billboard singles chart, and music as a business overtaking the artistic aspect of music writing, singles are key… and they make the money. But still there can be hidden gems from artists you dig even though you wouldn’t have heard them on the radio. More specifically this week I wanted to highlight songs that are great but even casual fans of an artist might not know.

I recently took a listen to Morrissey’s 1994 masterpiece “Vauxhall and I,” one of my favorite albums. Even for Morrissey it’s a pretty dark album, though it has been revealed that at the time he thought it could possibly be his last album, and considered it his best to date. It wasn’t, but it still stands as arguably his best, even if his last two were excellent.

“Speedway” the final track on the album has always been a favorite to me. It’s pretty depressing… it is broad lyrically, but seems to be possibly about the nasty end of a relationship. But to make matters worse, it seems one sided and I love (though it’s so sad) the end, where he says:

I've always been true to you

In my own strange way

I've always been true to you

In my own sick way

It’s a punchy dramatic track and one that really exemplifies Morrissey’s style. So if you don’t care for “Speedway,” you won’t dig the Moz. My favorite line though…

All of the rumours

Keeping me grounded

I never said, I never said that they were

Completely unfounded

Send me your choices for great album cuts in the comments below.

Enjoy.

From Vauxhall and I:

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get