Track Listing

1. Bitter Tears
2. Escape Song
3. Locked Doors
4. Baby You're Out Of Your Mind
5. It Ain't No Lie
6. Live Line
7. Just Be Mine
8. Do What You're Told To
9. Mountain Of Regret
10. Latte
11. Walking Down The Highway
12. Song For The Sick
13. Good Times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10011 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Kiss Of Morning, the fourth solo album from Graham Coxon, might just prove an unexpected landmark in the Blur guitarist's career. Previous efforts have proven a convenient outlet for the troubled guitarist to vent frustrations that inevitably arise from being a key cog in one of the biggest British rock bands of the last 10 years. But if the rumours that he's left Blur for good are to be believed, The Kiss Of Morning sees Coxon finally striking out on his own with no comfy motherband to fall back on. Is it great? Well, it's definitely solid: the misconception that all Coxon wants to do is smother everything in feedback is given the lie by the gorgeous "Mountain of Regret", a sleepy country-rock number with a guesting BJ Cole on pedal steel, while fragile folksy strums like "Bitter Tears" and "Baby You're Out of Your Mind" prove perfect vehicles for Graham's shivery, insecure vocals. "Song For The Sick" is a startlingly bileful rant against some bloke called Taylor, where Coxon spits "You ain't no friend of mine / You're a scum-sucking shitty guy" in a feverish rage. But ultimately, this album's strength is its diversity: flitting between moments of warm pathos and awkward rage, it's a well-judged mix of Coxon's ever-changing moods. If The Kiss of Morning is the sound of life after Blur, he's certainly going the right way about it. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Fourth solo album in four years by the former-Blur guitarist, released on his own Transcopic label. Critics have described the record as a diverse offering which takes influence from artists such as Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, Syd Barrett and Grandaddy. Country track, 'Mountain Of Regret', features a pedal steel solo from BJ Cole.

Customer Reviews

Blur's loss=Coxon's gain
...This album, although steeped in melancholy, seems to exorcise a great number of ghosts. His fourth solo outing in five years, The Kiss of Morning is Graham's most accessible by a country mile, and does indeed sound almost 13/Blur-like era Blur in parts. The album has a wonderful warm analogue sound (the sleevenotes even take you through the recording process!) For my money the standout track is "Just Be Mine", for no other reason than it is a great pop song. Yes, pop. There are rockier numbers on here, and there are ballads too. If this is what happens when Graham gets the better of his demons then there is no reason why even with evidently deeply personal material like "Bitter Tears" he won't find commercial as well as critical success. Those Essex boys will have to go some to beat this...

Mountain of Delight
That this album isn't more widely known is nothing short of a cultural crime. Every track on it is a classic! I checked the credits of the album god knows how many times in the first couple of weeks after I got it because I was so sure that I'd known a lot of the songs all my life. You know when you hear a new song and very quickly you can't imagine that there was ever a time it didn't exist? That's especially true for the blues-y "Locked Doors" and terrifyingly catchy "Just be Mine". The genre of this album is pretty undefinable... country? - "Mountain of Regret"; rock? - "Escape Song" and "Do What You're Told To"; blues? - "Locked Doors". "Song for the Sick" has to get a special mention just for its lyrics (made up almost entirely of insults - and some cracking ones at that). Every track truly is a classic, but for me the real highpoints are the beautiful, soulful, lovesong-to-self "Baby, You're Out of Your Mind" and noisy-as-hell "Escape Song". In conclusion: witty insightful lyrics, big noisy guitars, soft soulful guitars, guitars making noises you didn't know guitars could make, file under psychiatric.

How To Pull Girls!
Men! Do you have problems attracting the opposite sex? Then you need The Kiss of Morning. Simply insert into your CD player, press play and learn the songs on your guitar (er, I did mention that you need a guitar didn't I?). You will thus be able to entice women with your renditions. The quiet tracks will reveal your caring side while the thrashing electric ones will hint that you go like Stephenson's Rocket. Best of all, you can tell women you wrote the songs yourself, safe in the knowledge that Coxon's inconspicuous style will ensure his album receives minimal publicity and your secret will remain safe.

Or will it? This is the fourth album from Blur's recently departed guitar player, although you could be forgiven for not noticing the first three, as he doesn't exactly go all-out for attention (like, say, relying on gimmicky cartoon characters). There are no obvious hit singles here but word of mouth - or Amazon! - just might change all that.

Fellow Blur songsmith Damon Albarn may write about interesting people such as wife swappers, Japanese businessmen, etc but tends to say little more about them than what futile lives they all lead. Coxon, on the other hand, sticks to less adventurous subject matter - mainly love or people who have p****d him off - and as a result his songs are less pretentious and constricted. He doesn't break any new ground when it comes to musical genres, presenting us instead with simple but brilliant melodies which grow on you like...er...hair (well, it's the only pleasant thing I could think of).

Apart from occasional guest contributors it's mostly the man, his guitar and a drum kit - and half the tracks even dispense with the percussion. The songs switch from folksy and acoustic to loud and electric, the best track probably being the bluegrass ballad "Mountain of Regret" which has the authenticity of a 50-year old classic. The lyrics tend to be melancholy or bitter but not depressing. Coxon never goes out of his way to sing the right note and the inclusion of occasional mistakes suggests that he doesn't bother with many takes, giving the album a raw but relaxed charm. It seems that Coxon simply plays music he likes and if anyone else likes them enough to buy them then, well, that's a nice bonus.

Coxon's songwriting seems to have weathered the detrimental effects of fame. In fact, it's probably doing something as uncomplicated as these songs that has kept the man sane. It's ironic but if he wasn't already famous he would probably be hailed as the new Badly Drawn Boy. As it is he seems likely to face relative obscurity. And you know what? I'm sure he couldn't give a gorillaz.