Track Listing

1. America Is Not The World
2. Irish Blood, English Heart
3. I Have Forgiven Jesus
4. Come Back To Camden
5. I'm Not Sorry
6. The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
7. How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
8. The First Of The Gang To Die
9. Let Me Kiss You
10. All The Lazy Dykes
11. I Like You
12. You Know I Couldn't Last

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11184 in Music
• Released on: 2004-05-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Running time: 47 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's been a long while coming and the world is a very different place, but there's something remarkably timely about You Are the Quarry, the album that marks the return of Manchester's most famous miserablist to the pop arena. And be assured, this biting, lyrically ambiguous collection of songs is pop through and through, albeit pop with its heart on hold and its loins full of unrequited lust.

"America" is typical Morrissey vitriol, a big, contentious opener that slams you in the jaw with a critical knuckleduster lyric. It's strange though that somebody now resident in LA should take a swipe at a country "where a president is never black, female or gay". Even odder, for this normally purist rocker, is the suggestion of a breakbeat (think George Michael rather than George Clinton) and almost--gasp--funky guitars. Elsewhere, bass and drums are pushed upfront in that swaggering Moz style, although "I Have Forgiven Jesus" is welcomingly reflective and nostalgic. "The World is Full of Crashing Bores" is another highlight and a caustic comment on the curse of Pop Idol culture, but the best track here, "You Know I Couldn't Last", is what the people really want. Both melancholy and euphoric in equal measure, it's a fine reminder of why hit-and-miss Morrissey is still so revered. Welcome back misery guts; all is forgiven. --Paul Tierney

CD Description
The former Smiths frontman's seventh solo album follows on from 1997's 'Malajusted'. Lyric-wise, Morrissey is as socio-political as ever with titles such as 'America Is Not The World' and 'I Have Forgiven Jesus', but the album is balanced with lovelorn tracks such as 'I Like You' and 'Let Me Kiss You'. The single, 'Irish Blood English Heart', is also included.

Customer Reviews

He's not sorry... and why should he be?
Morrissey's post-Smiths solo career has been a troubled one to say the least, moving from the sublime pop-joys of Viva Hate, through to the problematic follow up Kill Uncle, and then off into the realms of pure genius with the doubled-headed Your Arsenal and Vauxhall and I... It was around this time however that Morrissey's reputation began to wane, with right-on journalists (and the NME) mistaking the ironic underpinning of songs like Bengali in Platforms, Asian Rut, and The National Front Disco as latent racism, attacking Morrissey's choice of subject matter, and his growing infatuation with supposed-nationalist iconography, and pretty much missing the point of his work entirely. Thus, two progressive-rock albums followed (Southpaw Grammar & Maladjusted) to almost universal disdain, before the singer absconded to America... leaving tabloid thugs like Oasis to be idolised as the saviours of modern-rock.

Now, after a break of seven-years, Morrissey has finally returned with possibly the greatest album of his career... eschewing the sound of the past for something slightly more contemporary, invigorated and direct. The record-sleeve is a clear reflection of this new, up-front mentality, acting as the most candid statement that Morrissey has ever put across... posed with his Thompson machine gun, decked out in a sharper-than-sharp suit, and with a quizzical grin on his face, it is clear that Morrissey is quite literally on the 'attack' and is gunning for the quarry without humility or remorse. This no-holds-barred approach is apparent in both the sound and the lyrical concerns also, with it becoming fairly obvious to even the most myopic of listeners that Morrissey's time spent away from the public eye was not a period of readjustment - nor was it spent on reflection and forgiveness - with You Are the Quarry offering us a more confrontational singer, who croons spiteful vitriol like never before... as those familiar with first single Irish Blood-English Heart will no doubt attest.

The rougher, 21st century sound is unarguably the work of producer and mixer Jerry Finn (he of Greenday, Blink 182 and Sum 41 shame) who incorporates a few digital samples and 'swishy' effects in order to enliven Morrissey musings, though, that said, the melodies created by the star and his ever-faithful backing band (Alain Whyte, Bozz Boorer and Gary Day, who have been co-writing and performing with Morrissey since Your Arsenal) are truly stupendous, with at least six of the songs here going beyond the melodious excellence set in stone by the Smiths' own classic The Queen is Dead. Opening track America is not the World sets up a political theme that runs throughout many of the subsequent numbers, whilst also acting as the flipside to Irish Blood... by detailing Morrissey's apathy for the country he now calls home, for reasons that allude to the current problems in the middle-east. Though it is a song of real emotional honesty, it most certainly does not represent Morrissey's skill as a communicator of feelings and ideas as well as some of the other songs found on the album... such as I Have Forgiven Jesus ("...for all this desire he placed in me, when there's nothing I can do with this desire") and All the Lazy Dykes ("at last... your life begins").

Though politics (both governmental and emotional) are central to the record, giving this a definite Kevin Rowland theme, You Are the Quarry is also a brilliant example of Morrissey's wry juxtaposing of cultural ideals... as it manages to reflect on both his move to America and the changes in the social (or anti-social) climate, whilst also acting as a nostalgic peen to the country that made him the man he is today (as lyrics like "drinking tea with the taste of the Thames, sullenly on a chair on the pavement" from Come Back to Camden or "I've been dreaming of a time when to be English is not to be baneful, to be standing by the flag not feeling shameful" from the aforementioned Irish Blood... clearly demonstrate). It's also an album that gives us enough of that trademark lonely romanticism that Morrissey is so adored for, as illustrated on that transcendent, heavenly wonderment The World is Full of Crashing Bores, in which Morrissey manages to attack both mindless technocrats and spineless pop stars whilst also delivering that beautiful, classical Morrissey chorus "the world is full of crashing bores, and I must be one, 'coz no one ever turns to me to say, take me in your arms and love me".

This is a song that is up there with Alsatian Cousin, Everyday is Like Sunday and The More You Ignore Me... - as far as classic Morrissey solo goes - and I really hope that Sanctuary release it as the next single... if not, then it should definitely be The First of the Gang to Die; a typical example of Morrissey guitar pop if ever there was, with a tremendous sing-along-chorus and the kind of subject matter that has been prevalent in his past output, with songs like Last of the Famous International Playboys and Now My Heart is Full. Though some of the tracks, such as I'm not Sorry and Let Me Kiss You aren't quite as well rounded as some of the ones previously noted, the record does end with You Know I Couldn't Last... which along with Crashing Bores, I Have Forgiven Jesus, and Last of the Gang exemplifies Morrissey's new-found creative freedom and a return to the kind of sniping, heartbreaking pop-rock that he has always done so much better than anyone else. ...and he stole all hearts away.

Morrissey wows us all again!
If you like Morrisey - just don't hesitate over this album would be my advice. A slow burner, it took me a couple of listens before certain tracks really started to stand out - with excellent lyrics, astonishing vocal delivery and impressive production. Then the others started to take me by the lapels as well. The entire album is absolutely splendid and will repay the purchase price many times over. It has been constantly in my player for the last 4 weeks and I expect it to remain undislodged for some time to come! Wonderful.

"The Printed Word Might Kill You."
A flop album (1997's "Maladjusted"). Years of bad press. An ugly lawsuit involving members of his former group the Smiths. Exiled to Los Angeles. No record contract for what seemed to be an eternity. If a lesser man dared walk in Morrissey's shoes over the last seven years, they would barely make a step. Yet, though adversity and inner strength, he's come back in a big way with a new record ("You Are the Quarry") and a new label (the resurrected Attack, which is now a branch of Sanctuary). It's easily an improvement over "Maladjusted" and "Southpaw Grammar," and it features Mozzer going on a lyrical rampage, critiquing American culture ("America Is Not the World" - killer lyric: "The President is never black, female, or gay"), countering charges of racism ("Irish Blood, English Heart"), catty critics ("You Know I Couldn't Last"), and organized religion ("I Have Forgiven Jesus"). Eloquent and witty, Morrissey is never at a loss for clever words on "You Are the Quarry." Produced by Jerry Finn, the disc has a polished, tight feel, and the band (which still features his longtime collaborators Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer) is at the very top of its game. On the DVD, we have the video for "Irish Blood, English Heart," as well as lyrics and a photo gallery featuring many pictures of Morrissey in smashing suits. To be sure, he will never return to the brilliance of his work from the 1980s, but "You Are the Quarry" introduces a fresh and invigorated Morrissey for the new millennium. Grade: B+.