"Alma Matters" is a song by

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

, released as a single in July 1997. It was the first single to be taken from the ''

Maladjusted ''Maladjusted'' is the sixth Album#Studio, studio album by the English singer Morrissey, released on 11 August 1997 by Island Records. On release, the album received a lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike, and was Morrissey's last st ...

'' album and was released one week before the album. 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 "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" is a song by English singer-songwriter Morrissey, co-written by Boz Boorer released as a single on 28 February 1994, by Parlophone. It was taken from the then-unreleased ''Vauxhall and I'' album and was ...

" 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 The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

in the line "it's my life to ruin my own way". The song title is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on ''

Alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

''.

Track listings

7" vinyl and cassette (UK)

# "Alma Matters" (

/ 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 AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called this single "ho-hum", saying it was "a poor choice to represent ''

''". 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". Rabid concludes his review, writing "Morrissey is a major talent with a special voice atrophying in underwhelming material and backing. To quote

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

, 'When will it end?'" Keith Phipps of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', however, listed the song as a highlight of ''Maladjusted''. In a 2009 article ''Uncut'' described the song as 'Morrissey's worst single'. '' Spin''s list of '50 Best Morrissey Songs' from 2017 includes "Alma Matters" as his 12th best solo song.

Personnel

* Morrissey – voice * Martin "Boz" Boorer – guitar * Alain Whyte – guitar * Jonny Bridgwood – bass * Spencer James Cobrin – drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles Morrissey songs Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Songs written by Morrissey Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite 1997 songs Island Records singles Songs written by Alain Whyte