Kill Uncle is an album by Morrissey, released on March 5, 1991. It is generally considered Morrissey's most unconventional album, probably due to its mature torch song ("There Is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends") aspects combined with quirky music and lyrics that range from "Girlfriend in a Coma"-ish to some of his more introspective.

About the album

The album was recorded when Morrissey was in a transitional phase. He had parted ways with producer Stephen Street but had not yet started working with his future long-term team of guitarists Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer. As such, the album, produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley with most music written and guitar work done by Fairground Attraction's Mark Nevin presents Morrissey singing to an unfamiliar style of music.

Track-by-track description

In many ways Kill Uncle plays like the last Smiths album, as its musical arrangements are as complex as Johnny Marr's and there is an ironic tongue-in-cheek factor to some songs to balance the existential realism of others. "Our Frank", the lead single from the album (reaching #26 in the UK and #2 on the US Modern Rock chart), is also the first and one of the strongest tracks on the album. It represents the album as a whole in many ways. It commences with a drooping violin track accompanied by a fairly unrestrained rhythm section. The song picks up when Morrissey's voice comes on, accompanied by some catchy piano chords.

Yet, the song has a distinct strangeness about it. Morrissey's lyrics describe "frank and open, deep conversations" that get him nowhere and leave him disheartened. Throughout the song he complains about his frustration, asking his conversation partner to stop and uncharacteristically demanding cigarettes and alcohol to get through the dross. The final verse, however, sees Morrissey singing "Won't somebody stop me from thinking? From thinking all the time. So deeply, so bleakly..." indicating that the conversations he so dreads are in fact with himself. This introspective twist gives the song a hit of Morrissey's wry wit, but at the same time it displays the dark uniqueness that pervades the album. The lyrics of "Our Frank", along with the brooding music and strange production (Morrissey's voice is overdubbed and echoed) offer some insight into why the album was poorly received and also why some of the songs have become particularly popular with fans.[1]

Kill Uncle pushes onward after "Our Frank" with the song "Asian Rut", a tale about the murder of an Asian by three English boys. Morrissey's voice is backed only by strings and bass, lending an eerie quality to the somber narrative. The song continues the tradition of Morrissey attacking English racism from a unique angle, first established with "Bengali in Platforms" on Viva Hate.

"Sing Your Life" is the third track on the album. It was released as a single but was not very successful, reaching #33 in the UK and #10 on the US Modern Rock chart. A strange drum loop, featuring bass drums and toms but no snare drums, repeats itself throughout the track. The strings from the first two tracks are present in the song as well, and they rise and fall in a fashion similar to "Our Frank". The song has Morrissey instructing the listener on how to make a song, as he sings, "Walk right up to the microphone and name all the things you love, all the things you loathe." Ironically, Morrissey fails to take his own advice, as he does none of the things he is singing about in the song.[2]

"Mute Witness", the fourth track, is a strong track with a riveting piano backing composed by Clive Langer. The song is a somewhat farcical tale of an attempt to get information out of a witness who cannot speak at a trial.

"King Leer" follows, a pleasant and upbeat tune that features some very trite puns.[3][4] "Found Found Found" comes next, another Langer track and the only heavy song on the album. Morrissey sings that he's found "someone who's worth it in this murkiness" but again gives the song a twist at the end, complaining that this person is "somebody who wants to be with me...all the time".

"Driving Your Girlfriend Home" comes next, a deeply emotional ballad. Morrissey tells of how he's driving the girlfriend of one of his friends home. He reveals that she asks him, "'How did I end up so deeply involved in the very existence I planned on avoiding?'" and that "She's laughing to stop herself crying." These outpourings are interspersed with driving instructions, and Morrissey tells us, "I can't tell her" what he feels about her and that the ride concludes with them "shaking hands goodnight so politely." This sad tune is another example of how fans think that some tracks on Kill Uncle are superior to most of Morrissey's other works and also demonstrates that hopeless theme that permeates the album.[5]

The next track is "The Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye", often cited as Morrissey's most misunderstood song ever recorded. [6] The lyrics are describing the "pain because of the strain of smiling" and the dichotomy between one's public image and private personality. The music consists of a carnival-like synthesizer and also features off-putting sound effects like that of a door slamming and a camera lens snapping, along with out-of-place piano pieces. This is an interesting track in that it shows a cleverness in musical arraignment, a hallmark of Kill Uncle.

"The Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye" is followed-up by one of the album's stronger songs, "(I'm) The End of the Family Line". The singer rues that he will never have children, an insult into the "fifteen generations...of mine" that produced him. There is a hint that the reason for this is that protagonist is homosexual, as he sings that these generations were "all honoring nature, until I arrive...with incredible style".[7] The lyrics are complemented nicely by a well-orchestrated but subdued guitar backing, and the song features the kind of false fadeout that first appeared on such Smiths songs as "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore", and is used here to great effect.

The album concludes with "There Is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends", a simple piano piece that again reflects the existential longing of the album and showcases Morrissey's torch song influence as the New Wave Sinatra. As, Morrissey is personal friends with Nancy Sinatra and is responsible for releasing her 2006 solo record on his own record label "Attack Records".

Track listing

Side A

1. "Our Frank" – 3:25
2. "Asian Rut" – 3:22
3. "Sing Your Life" – 3:27
4. "Mute Witness" – 3:32
5. "King Leer" – 2:55

Side B

1. "Found Found Found" – 1:59
2. "Driving Your Girlfriend Home" – 3:23
3. "The Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye" – 5:34
4. "(I'm) The End of the Family Line" – 3:30
5. "There's a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends" – 1:52
6. "Tony the Pony" – 4:11 - US release only