A superb effort, sparkling with his old Smithsonian genius

Morrissey is back. Those three words can now be spoken louder than ever before – its 2004, he has just launched his first new studio album in seven years, and his world tour is a massive hit.

So, why so long? Morrissey had a long-drawn out legal battle with his former label EMI over termination of contract after his poorly received Maladjusted album in 1997. In addition, there was also a successful law suit against him and former Smith's guitarist Johnny Marr by drummer Mike Joyce to obtain equal access to royalties.

His first track on the album is penned as a thought-provoking reflection on America's foreign policy. The track is entitled 'America Is Not The World'. Indeed it isn't, and Morrissey carries through alot of social commentary on this album that most popular musicians deliberately avoid. Morrissey is as pugnacious as ever, demonstrated with track titles such as I Like You, You Know I Couldn't Last, This World is Full of Crashing Bores and All the Lazy Dikes!

This an excellent album, full of deep emotional reflections on life events and sensations that have obviously caused the author a lot of hurt. Having seen him twice in concert this year, I am a completely biased as I am an obsessive fan of his. It is my duty to convert! Behold!

: 16 Dec 2004 21:04 |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem