Vauxhall and I

The album's title may be a reference to the 1987 film Withnail and I. Vauxhall is an area of London noted for its gay clubs, and there is also a British car manufacturer of the same name.

"Spring Heeled Jim" contains bits of dialogue from We Are the Lambeth Boys, a 1959 documentary that follows the lives of members of a south London youth club.{{cite web |url=http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/faq/faqlyric.htm |title=The Smiths / Morrissey FAQ: Lyrics |website=compsoc.man.ac.uk |access-date=5 December 2014}} The line "Don't leave us in the dark" at the end of "Billy Budd" is sampled from the 1948 David Lean film adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist. This was said by one of Fagin's pickpockets to Fagin when the mob was closing in on their hiding place. The song itself shares the title with a novella by Herman Melville.

Vauxhall and I was a success in the United States, making the top 20. It was also Morrissey's second solo album to reach the top of the charts in Britain, the first being Viva Hate.

The lead single off the album, "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get", became the only song by Morrissey or the Smiths to achieve chart success in the United States, where it reached number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the United Kingdom, the song hit number 8 on the UK Singles Chart and was the only single by Morrissey to reach the top ten during the 1990s.

{{album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/vauxhall-i-mw0000107451 |title=Vauxhall and I – Morrissey |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=5 December 2014 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}

| rev2 = Blender

| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2717 |title=Morrissey: Vauxhall and I |magazine=Blender |date=15 September 2004 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Power |first=Tony |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630193757/http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2717 |archive-date=30 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = A−{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1994/03/25/vauxhall-and-i |title=Vauxhall and I |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=25 March 1994 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Romero |first=Michele}}

| rev4 = Los Angeles Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-27-ca-38864-story.html |title=Morrissey, 'Vauxhall and I'; Sire/Reprise |work=Los Angeles Times |date=27 March 1994 |access-date=5 December 2014 |last=Ali |first=Lorraine |author-link=Lorraine Ali}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 8/10{{cite magazine |title=His Astra's Voice |magazine=NME |date=12 March 1994 |last=Bailie |first=Stuart}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 7.8/10{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19411-morrissey-vauxhall-and-i/ |title=Morrissey: Vauxhall and I |work=Pitchfork |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=5 December 2014 |last=Heller |first=Jason}}

| rev7 = Q

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Morrissey: Vauxhall and I |magazine=Q |issue=91 |date=April 1994 |last=Collins |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Collins (broadcaster)}}

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=44338&cf=84 |title=Morrissey: Vauxhall and I |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=7 April 1994 |access-date=15 June 2020 |last=Volk |first=Steven |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010629235336/http://www.rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=44338&cf=84 |archive-date=29 June 2001 |url-status=dead}}

| rev9 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Morrissey |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/561 561–62]}}

| rev10 = Select

| rev10score = 5/5{{cite magazine |title=Vauxhall Viva! |magazine=Select |issue=46 |date=April 1994 |last=Harrison |first=Andrew}}

}}

Q listed Vauxhall and I as one of the top ten albums of 1994.{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104040314/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#1994 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=4 January 2006 |title=Rocklist.net ...Q magazine Recordings of the Year |website=Rocklist.net |access-date=5 December 2014}} In February 2006, the same magazine voted it at number 89 on its list of the best albums ever.{{Cite web|url=https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=213&cbid=0&f=&fv=&orderby=Rank&sortdir=asc&page=9|title = 100 Greatest Albums Ever}}

In a three out of four star review, Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Morrissey’s poetic, frank lyrics and cultured, despairing croons seem less inhibited than in his previous solo works."{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-27-ca-38864-story.html |title=Morrissey, 'Vauxhall and I'; Sire/Reprise |work=Los Angeles Times |date=27 March 1994 |access-date=6 April 2024 |last=Ali |first=Lorraine |author-link=Lorraine Ali}}

In a retrospective review from 2014, Jason Heller of Pitchfork wrote that "besides being one of Morrissey’s most vital solo albums, Vauxhall and I is also his first truly mature one, and flaws and all, it’s as essential—and as perversely alive—as ever."{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19411-morrissey-vauxhall-and-i/ |title=Morrissey: Vauxhall and I |work=Pitchfork |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=6 April 2024 |last=Heller |first=Jason}}

In a list published in 2014, the NME named Vauxhall and I as Morrissey's best solo album.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/morrissey-what-is-his-best-solo-album-weve-ranked-them-20200/ |title=Morrissey – What Is His Best Solo Album? We’ve Ranked Them |work=NME |date=22 May 2014 |access-date=6 April 2024}}

{{track listing

| all_lyrics = Morrissey

| title1 = Now My Heart Is Full

| music1 = Boz Boorer

| length1 = 4:57

| title2 = Spring-Heeled Jim

| music2 = Boorer

| length2 = 3:47

| title3 = Billy Budd

| music3 = Alain Whyte

| length3 = 2:08

| title4 = Hold On to Your Friends

| music4 = Whyte

| length4 = 4:02

| title5 = The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get

| music5 = Boorer

| length5 = 3:44

| title6 = Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself

| music6 = Whyte

| length6 = 3:20

| title7 = I Am Hated for Loving

| music7 = Whyte

| length7 = 3:41

| title8 = Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning

| music8 = Boorer

| length8 = 3:42

| title9 = Used to Be a Sweet Boy

| music9 = Whyte

| length9 = 2:49

| title10 = The Lazy Sunbathers

| music10 = Whyte

| length10 = 3:08

| title11 = Speedway

| music11 = Boorer

| length11 = 4:30

}}

The 2014 anniversary remaster includes the previously unavailable 1995 concert from Theatre Royal, London.

1. "Billy Budd"
2. "Have-a-Go Merchant"
3. "Spring-Heeled Jim"
4. "London"
5. "You're the One for Me, Fatty"
6. "Boxers"
7. "Jack the Ripper"
8. "We'll Let You Know"
9. "Whatever Happens I Love You"
10. "Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself"
11. "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get"
12. "National Front Disco"
13. "Moon River"
14. "Now My Heart Is Full"

Musicians

• Morrissey – vocals & lyrics
• Alain Whyte – guitars & backing vocals
• Boz Boorer – guitars & keyboards
• Jonny Bridgewood – bass
• Woodie Taylor – drums

Technical

• Greg Ross – art direction
• Dean Freeman – photography
• Chris Dickie – producer, engineer
• Steve Lillywhite – producer
• Danton Supple – assistant engineer

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Vauxhall and I}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Morrissey|title=Vauxhall and I |award=Gold|certyear=1995|relyear=1994|id=7947-2037-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|5314}}

{{Morrissey}}

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Category:Morrissey albums

Category:1994 albums

Category:Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite

Category:Sire Records albums