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I Am Not a Dog on a Chain

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I Am Not a Dog on a Chain is the thirteenth solo studio album by Morrissey, released through BMG on 20 March 2020. It is Morrissey's first album of original material since 2017's Low in High School.[1] It was produced by Joe Chiccarelli, and lead single "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?" features vocals from Thelma Houston.[2]

I Am Not a Dog on a Chain
Studio album by
Morrissey
Released20 March 2020 (2020-03-20)
Studio
GenreElectronic rock, alternative rock, pop rock, soul, R&B, disco
Length49:26
LabelBMG
ProducerJoe Chiccarelli
Morrissey chronology
California Son
(2019) 		I Am Not a Dog on a Chain
(2020) 		Without Music the World Dies
(2024)
Singles from I Am Not a Dog on a Chain
  1. "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?"
    Released: 10 January 2020
  2. "Love Is On Its Way Out"
    Released: 31 January 2020
  3. "Knockabout World"
    Released: 21 February 2020

Recording and promotion

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The album was produced by Joe Chiccarelli and recorded at Studio La Fabrique in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, as well as Sunset Sound in Hollywood.[3][4]

In a press release, Morrissey called the album "the very best of me" and "too good to be true [...] too true to be considered good".[1] Producer Joe Chiccarelli described it as Morrissey's "boldest and most adventurous album yet", claiming that he has "pushed the boundaries yet again – both musically and lyrically".[3]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic62/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB−[6]
AllMusic     [7]
The Independent     [8]
NME     [9]
Pitchfork6.1/10[10]
The Telegraph     [11]

I Am Not a Dog on a Chain currently holds a score of 62 out of 100 - indicating "generally favourable" reviews - on review aggregator Metacritic, based on 13 reviews.[5] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club gave the album a B− and felt that the lyrical content was the weakest but that Morrissey displayed songcraft and "a great vocal performance".[6] The editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine summing up his review by calling the album "one of the better latter-day Morrissey records" but decrying how "placid and complacent he's been for the better part of a decade".[7] Mina Tavakoli of Pitchfork rated the album 6.1 out of 10 and called it "frequently ridiculous, mildly captivating, and occasionally repetitive, pocked by moments of goofiness that come from the runoff of a man eager to chase old miseries and find new ones to berate".[10]

Writing for The Independent, Jake Cudsi rated the album two out of five stars, opining that it "has its moments, but they are brief and virtually lost amid the more experimental forays".[8] Laura Snapes of The Guardian also gave the album two out of five stars, judging that Morrissey plays the "victim" and is "often lost among the strident music as he hectors people afraid to be themselves", though his "coyness undermines his apparent glee as a truth-teller".[12] Associated Press wrote: "Morrissey delivers his best musical performance in years"[13]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jim Jim Falls"Morrissey, Jesse Tobias3:44
2."Love Is on Its Way Out"Morrissey, Gustavo Manzur3:15
3."Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?"Morrissey, Manzur5:46
4."I Am Not a Dog on a Chain"Morrissey, Tobias3:53
5."What Kind of People Live in These Houses?"Morrissey, Tobias3:42
6."Knockabout World"Morrissey, Tobias3:25
7."Darling, I Hug a Pillow"Morrissey, Mando Lopez4:47
8."Once I Saw the River Clean"Morrissey, Tobias4:20
9."The Truth About Ruth"Morrissey, Manzur3:45
10."The Secret of Music"Morrissey, Lopez7:52
11."My Hurling Days Are Done"Morrissey, Tobias5:01
Total length:49:26

Personnel

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Additional musicians

  • Steve Aho – orchestration (track 6), conductor (track 6), contractor (track 6)
  • Boz Boorer – string arrangements (track 1), saxophone solo (track 3), acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 8, 11), electric guitar (track 7), mandolin (tracks 8, 9), zither (track 9), clarinet (track 10)
  • Joe Chiccarelli – production, engineering, drum programming (tracks 1, 10, 11), additional synthesizer (track 10)
  • Daniel Cayotte – recitation (track 10)
  • Sally Chae – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Mike Daly – drum programming and synthesizer (track 8)
  • Glendale Tab & Apple Choir – kids choir (track 11)
  • Thelma Houston – vocals (track 3)
  • Sean Hurley – bass guitar (track 5)
  • Victor Indrizzo – drums (track 5)
  • Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar (track 5)
  • Danny Levin – trumpet (track 7)
  • Mando Lopez – bass guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–8, 10, 11), bass solo (track 8)
  • Roger Manning – harmonium (track 9), Mellotron (track 2), organ (track 9), piano (track 11), string and horn arrangements (track 6), synthesizer (tracks 1, 3–6, 8, 10, 11), backing vocals (tracks 5, 6, 11)
  • Gustavo Manzur – drum programming (track 2), nylon string guitar (track 2), Mellotron (track 11), piano (tracks 1, 3, 9), synthesizer (tracks 2, 6), backing vocals (track 2), accordion (track 10)
  • Karla Manzur – backing vocals (track 2)
  • Rose Mary – laughing (track 10)
  • David Ralicke – saxophone (track 3)
  • Bridget Regan – fiddle (track 8)
  • Megan Sluiter – laughing (track 10)
  • Jesse Tobias – acoustic guitars (tracks 5, 11), electric guitars (tracks 1–9, 11), recitation (track 10), electric sitar (track 1), guitar solo (track 6), cigar box guitar (track 10)
  • Matt Walker – drums (tracks 1–4, 6–11), percussion (tracks 3–7, 9, 11)

Technical personnel

  • John Fekner – photography
  • Miro La Gagioia – assistant engineering
  • Liam Lynch – artwork, design
  • Ken Sluiter – mixing
  • Chris Stewart – cover photo
  • Jose Vergara – photography
  • Emily Lazar – mastering engineering
  • Chris Allgood – assistant mastering engineering

Charts

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Chart performance for I Am Not a Dog on a Chain
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 80
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 80
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 117
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 13
Irish Albums (OCC)[19] 47
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 89
Norwegian Vinyl Albums (VG-lista)[21] 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[22] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 3
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] 44

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Young, Alex (28 November 2019). "Morrissey announces new album I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ Bloom, Madison; Monroe, Jazz (10 January 2020). "Morrissey Announces New Album I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, Shares Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Reilly, Nick (11 January 2020). "Morrissey announces new album 'I Am Not A Dog on a Chain'". NME. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (10 January 2020). "Morrissey Announces New Album 'I Am Not a Dog on a Chain'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b "I Am Not a Dog on a Chain by Morrissey". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b Modell, Josh (20 March 2020). "Morrissey Barks and Bites on I Am Not a Dog On a Chain". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "I Am Not a Dog on a Chain – Morrissey". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b Cudsi, Jake (20 March 2020). "Morrissey review, I am Not a Dog on a Chain: All bark and no bite". The Independent. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  9. ^ Beaumont, Mark (12 March 2020). "Morrissey – 'I Am Not A Dog On A Chain' review: his best album in years (if you can tune out his opinions)". NME. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b Tavakoli, Mina (25 March 2020). "Morrissey: I Am Not a Dog On a Chain Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. ^ McCormick, Neil (14 March 2020). "Morrissey, I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, review: as great as anything he has ever written". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  12. ^ Snapes, Laura (20 March 2020). "Morrissey: I Am Not a Dog on a Chain review – old man yells at cloud". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Music Review: Morrissey delivers his best music in years". AP NEWS. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Vinyl 2020 uke 13" (in Norwegian). topplista.no. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  24. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Morrissey – I Am Not a Dog on a Chain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Morrissey Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
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