You Are The Quarry

Google the word "pussy" and it will auto-play this album.

Despite the hate, I weirdly quite like alot of Morrissey stuff. Yes, yes I know he's POS but doing this list and rating them based on the artist is so tricky so I am trying my darndest too separate them. Oh but back to the album, its okay...there is better stuff by him its a 3

If you ever think your poetry is shit remember there's this 45 years old guy rhyming hamburger with hamburger. Best track: Irish Blood, English Heart

funsies, funny way of writing lyrics, very different than what I'm used to.

cant decide if the lyrics are good or cringey hut they were definitely entertaining. i really enjoyed all the songs

Tällä levyllä on mun lemppari Morrisseyn biisit, mutta niitä lukuunottamatta tää on vähän omahyväistä/itsetietoista myhinää. Mutta taitaa olla Morrisseyn parhaimmistoa. Hyvät kitarat ja bändi ylipäätään.

Yhtä tasapaksua kuin aina: keskitempoista, määrätyillä urilla eteenpäin vellovaa rockia/popia. Hän välittää riittävästi säveltääkseen taas kaksi erottuvaa, jopa oivallista, biisiä. Kunhan hän ei vain esittäisi olevansa politiikan tuolla puolen.

The answer to the question "what's worse than The Smiths?" Wish this guy would just shut the fuck up.

Not really a lot of interest here. Interesting voice I suppose but I expected a bit more. On the three side of 2.5

Album 623 of 1001 Morrissey - You Are The Quarry (2004) Rating : 5 / 5 Many seem to not like Morrissey very much. I'm not in that group. I happen to love this blend of introspective ballads and biting social commentary. Several of his singles have become repeat listens over the years and I didn't realize that most are from this one album. A new one for the list of favorites.

good songwriter

Not sure which is the bigger joke - the songs on this album or its inclusion on this list.

No one deserves to have their whole catalog on this list, least of all His Mopiness.

I don’t care what the haters say. Morissey is melodramatic but still has lines to speak to my doleful soul.

Really didn't need 3 albums by this guy. Oh jeez just checked and he has 4 solo albums on this list + 3 with the Smiths. His voice is fine and the music is ok I guess but it falls flat a bit for me like it's kind of bland.

Who fucking cares, man. Morrissey's sixth album released almost twenty years after his prime. Just a complete waste of time. "You Are The Quarry"? Doesn't even mean anything. I'm simply not the quarry.

Good stories. A bit high on the whine factor. Mostly done in minor keys

В сердечко

- Zweitbestes Morrissey Solo Album - Ein ganz wunderbares Indie-Rock/Pop Album - Wiedermal gewohnt bissige und sarkastische Lyrics (An ein zwei Stellen auch ein bisschen platt z.B. "America Is Not The World"), egal ob sozialpolitisch oder persönlich. - Großartige Hits mit "Irish Heart, English Blood", "The First Of The Gang To Die" oder "Let Me Kiss You" (welches das geilste Instrumental auf dem Album hat) - Ich hab ja schonmal meine Faszination (abgesehen von dem politischen Irrweg der letzten Jahre Stichwort Brexit) für die Person Morrissey zum Ausdruck gebracht, daher hier nicht mehr all zu viel davon. Aber bei mir schwingt doch immer etwas besonderes mit, wenn ich Morrisseys Stimme höre, weil das was er macht, doch irgendwo immer ein bisschen anders ist, als "normale" Popmusik. Ich nenne es jetzt einfach mal "Outsider-Pop". - Die Religionskritik in "I Have Forgiven Jesus" finde ich nach wie vor super. Ich liebe auch dieses bold Statement, dem Typen zu Vergeben, der von sonst von allen anderen um Vergebung gebeten wird. Er spielt in dem Song natürlich auch mit seiner Sexualität, die nach wie vor ungeklärt bleibt. - Insgesamt ein tolles Album, auch wenn ein paar Songs abfallen, dafür reißen es die anderen auf jeden Fall raus. Viva Hate ist und bleibt aber das bessere/beste Album. Rating: 4,25/5

- gefiel mir deutlich besser, als Vauxhall and I - gerade zum Ende hin hat es für mich nochmal ganz gut aufgetrumpft

This album reads like an unapologetic continuation of the Smiths' sound, and I honestly really like it (or most of it, anyway). Morrissey's grandiose British bellow is on full display here. It adds this quirkiness and energy to the music that few others can match. The drumming is also pretty strong here. The lyrics are goofy, and it's hard to tell whether that's intentional. It makes for a more entertaining listening experience, if nothing else. If you're giving a review to someone on the basis of them being a bad person - or, in Morrissey's case, blatantly opinionated - then you'd darn better give 1-star reviews to all the pre-2000s rock artists on this list. (Which is the majority of the list.) Because those people invariably suck at least as much as Morrissey, and some of them have done horrible things that Morrissey couldn't hold a candle to. My rating is partially to make up for the abundance of low reviews with silly reasoning behind them. Sure, maybe the guy's insufferable, but the music doesn't have to be. 4/5 Key tracks: Irish Blood English Heart, I Like You, First of the Gang to Die

I tried. I really did. I tried not to let my thoughts on Morrissey as a person overly impact my thoughts on the work. 'Coz while that sort of thing is unavoidable, I don't wanna fall into rating the person and not the music. I mean, if I can give a Kanye West album a 4 despite hating him as much as I do, then anything's possible. But we all have our limits — especially if the music itself can't make up for the awful human being at the center of it. Just look at Koffi Olomide, for instance. The samba music he made was so boring and "commercial for a Caribbean cruise line" grade, I felt no guilt ripping into him for being a convicted sexual predator. Similar goes for Kid Rock, the poser and grifter he is. And what's funny about all that is that I actually like a fair bit of the music on here. Like, I gave the last Morrissey album my group got a 3 'coz it was all, like, chill, atmospheric New Wave, and I liked it, but in the months since then, I'unno how much I'm clamoring to hear it again. Versus this album, which is full of energy and a nice bit of pop. If anyone else was singing anything else over this, I'd be close to giving this a 4 or, heck, a 5. I like it just that much. But I'll repeat: "if anyone else was singing anything else." I made the mistake of actually following along with the lyrics this time, and... Oh my fuckin' goodness, I can't stand this fuckin' man. Shut your fuckin' mouth, you pretentious ass. I can't even really begin to describe it, but I've just never had lyrics get under my skin as badly as this. Jus', this pompous fuckin' dick wants to lecture **me** about how America sucks? Buddy, in 2024, I know that already — and like I'd want **you** to tell me anyway. That, and the shit like "Wahhh-wahhh, I'm so alone" and "Ohhhh, no one can understand how **I** feel" and "Everyone **else** is just **so boring**" and "the press wuz mean 2 me :(." I don't need this shitheel's whining or pseudo-intellectual musings about the state of the world. Seriously, he's lucky I like the actual instrumentals as much as I do, 'coz that's literally the only reason why this thing's getting a 2 and not a 1. Muh'fucker this he's so fuckin' cool, posing on the album cover with a tommygun. He's a fuckwit is what he is, and he doesn't deserve instrumentals like these. If "First Of The Gang To Die", the only song I liked here, could've been sung by anyone else...! I don't even know if I want the one last Morrissey album on this list to show up soon so I can give it over with or later so I don't hafta deal with him again for a while. Either way, besides any Smiths album my group gets, I'll be happy to never have to deal with him again. Goodness me, I can't even...

Once again, I would just like to say FUCK MORRISSEY, ALL MY HOMIES HATE MORRISSEY. And with that aside, it's just alright, but I do have First Of The Gang To die as a guilty pleasure. 3.5 bumped down to 3.

I’m at a 3.5 that will get bumped up to a very begrudging 4. I simply don’t have a link to Morrissey’s stuff in a more personal sense to feel like the art is inseparable from the artist here like it is for other problematic performers (looking at you, Mr. West) – I know the guy’s kind of a shithead (I’m being very generous with “kind of”), and I’ve got to reckon with that, but I think I can live with it, for one reason or another. I’ll say this; because I know he is who he is, I paid a whole lot of attention to the lyrics on this album, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I think I like Morrissey when he’s not fucking complaining. The best tracks on this album are the ones that avoid overt bitching about society or ones that avoid when he goes “woe is me” and gets all self-referential and whiny. When he's fucking complaining, I despise the man, but at least he complains to some good instrumentals. There are 6 tracks I really liked on a first pass; “Irish Blood, English Heart”, “I Have Forgiven Jesus”, “Come Back to Camden”, “First of the Gang to Die”, “Let Me Kiss You”, & “All the Lazy Dykes”. That last one is probably the most controversial pick up there (especially with that title), but I think it’s a genuinely progressive track for the time, even with the chance that it’s just Morrissey trying to court controversy of some kind. He still performs it, so he has to believe in its message to some degree. The other 6 tracks are at least technically sound, and none of them are necessarily bad, they’re just either not super engaging or lyrically rather annoying. There are times where I thought another singer or band (namely Oasis, who he really tries to ape at certain points on this album) would’ve killed it on some of the more average tracks. It’s never in the soundscape, even if most of the tracks rarely feel like they’re from 2004. They all sound good, but instrumentally, this really feels like it’s jumping around from the late 80s to the late 90s to me, in a way that’s noticeable, but passable. Ultimately, I did like the album, and I like it enough to bump it up to a 4, begrudgingly. It trims the awkwardness of Viva Hate down, has much more concise songwriting and energy in the tracks, and when he’s not bitching and moaning, this album really works for me. Of course, he moans and bitches a lot, but at least he’s moaning and bitching in a better way than he did on Viva Hate. I could (and probably will) come to regret the 4, but for now, it just feels kinda right. At the very least, I think it’s no less than 3 (or a 2 if you REALLY fucking hate this guy, which is fair).

Morrisey over represented in the 1001, but at least one album deserves a spot. Not sure if this is the one though. And he is a shit bloke, so loses a star.

Me getting this before any of the Smiths records is a good thing because now I can get my complicated thoughts about them out of the way: I PREFER MOZ SOLO. I'm disappointed it wasn't Vauxhall and I, though that is also on the list, but generally speaking I adore Moz's voice. He's the part of the group that really made the Smiths work for me and I'd gladly hear him glide over waiting room Britpop for the rest of his career. Something about Morrissey's smug Brit posturing becomes really endearing over time and I'm not sure if there's a proper comparison I can make. Matty Healy is a similar brand of douche and I love his music but you rarely understand why he is the way he is from listening to a 1975 song. With Moz what you hear is what you get, and for some odd reason I like that quality. He did seem to lack a filter when naming track 10 but that's neither here nor there; even at its most theatric and unapproachable, this thing works for me.

Surprisingly entertaining.

2 - Wow. The lyrics, just...wow. It's like it was written by a 16 year old gcse student trying to be deep, or maybe he was trying to impress and 16 year old gcse student

Nah, we've probably already got too many Smiths albums on here. Just no need for this. 2/5

морриси сольно какой то не такой, как в смитах. просто и с кайфом.

I really hate that Morrissey made a couple good solo albums. Makes my "Morrissey died after The Smiths and was replaced like McCartney" joke less accurate. Fuck him for being a xenophobic asshole, but dude can write some lyrics!

3.5

I think this is the album that makes me give up on this list This is truly horrible

Didn’t think I would enjoy this as much as I did.

For all sorts of reasons, Viva Hate is the only Morrissey album anyone really need pay attention to. Perhaps Bona Drag too, but that’s a bit of a toss up. There isn’t anything bad, per se, about this. But there isn’t anything good either. The aural equivalent of Lorem ipsum, I suppose - but with nothing more substantial ever replacing it. To be clear: the music is ok, the lyrics are pedestrian. We expect much more of SPM. (An aside. After one of his more intemperate outbursts, someone pointed out that if you allow yourself to disappointed by Morrissey, that’s entirely on you. Harsh but probably correct.)

Ah, the inevitable problem of the British Indie Fan's issue with listening to Morrissey. Is he a daft racist? YES. Is he hanging on by the skin of his teeth because of past glories? YES. Does this album deserve to be in this list because it was his "comeback" album? NO. Listen to The Smiths or Viva Hate; Your Arsenal or Vauxhall & I if you want solo Morrissey. Don't give him anymore time. Pointless addition. Best Tracks: Irish Blood English Heart; The World is Full of Crashing Bores; The First of the Gand to Die

Morrissey still being Morrissey after all the years, still is a bop. he is still a piece of shit, but he can make good music.

It's impossible to evaluate a solo career without reference to their prior band, and when your prior band was the best of 80s your new stuff can only ever pale in comparison. Musically, this is boring adult indie contemporary, missing the jangle genius and thumping bass of the Smiths we're left with bloated orchestration and slow sub-Oasis strumming. So attention goes to the vocals (fine) and lyrics, which are a mix of self-pity (but without the heightened youthful witty melodrama that made this arch and fun I'm the 80s) and banal nationalism. One of the biggest loser trajectories in music history

Like, I GET IT. LIFE SUCKS. Stop it.

could not sit through

Morrissey sounds like an insufferable human being, to such a ridiculous extent that I sort of respect him in a way that transcends understanding. I think this album is superior to any The Smiths outing, so I can definitely say he's at least a good artist with confidence.

The music is pleasant to hear. The lyrics have accessibility and individually each song isn’t bad on its own, but as an album run it blurred together for me. I used to find the cynicism entangled with romanticism charming but then I heard more than 3 songs he ever wrote and that wore off. If he wasn’t so convinced that his is the pinnacle of existential dread, then maybe he could rely on subtlety or variety more, but almost every song has at least one line about how he’s smarter or lonelier or deeper than everyone else. Even his love song is about how his lover thinks the same as him. Even when he values another’s opinion it’s because it’s the same as his. Morrissey could read his own diary in a double-blind experiment and still be convinced that no one has ever felt the way he does. And then he’d write 3 songs about it. Idk how to rate it but I give it a 2.

This album was quite unenjoyable. Really didn't like anything about it, and it sounded like Morrissey was just trying to make me sad the whole time. I'll give it a swift pass next time it comes on.

Cringeworthy. Cannot take it seriously. Walmart Michael Buble. The lyrics of the songs were all spiteful/passive aggressive break up style songs. This guy probably gets broken up with a lot. The composition was all just soulless background music. To top it all off, his voice is annoying as well. 1 star.

Of the Morrissey albums and songs I've listened to, this one has been the most bearable. I think the transition from popular music styles between the 80s, 90s, and 2000s is the main reason that I find this album better than the others. Still can't really give the album more than a three, but it is an improvement over Vauxhall and I. America Is Not The World definitely hits harder twenty years after release and seeing two female presidential candidates fail to be elected when running against a clearly weaker convicted rapist and felon. At least we've had a Black president since then?

Fuck you Morrissey. We've got Obama. If I was in Morrissey's gang, I would also want to be the first one to die. This album would be found on r/im14andthisisdeep.

Morrissey im afraid they could never make me like you

Not my favorite but I still love it!

I enjoyed this. The opening track, \"America Is Not The World\" is very apt for today, the 6th of November 2024. I Have Forgiven Jesus is great! I love the mood of the album in general. 4 stars for that.

Noper

I like a lot of The Smiths/Morrissey but this was surprisingly enjoyable, because of amazing production from Jerry Finn of Blink-182. Really updated Morrissey's sound for the 00s and gave the songs a great boost.

-wow hard to believe this was a 2004 album. It stays very true to 80s synthpop and that’s not a bad thing, even if it feels a little forced. Most of these songs are pretty good if not a bit cheesy, I guess I’d rate it somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars? -Favorites are America Is Not The World, Let Me Kiss You, and All The Lazy Dykes

The fuck

I’m in a slight bit of confusion as to what I should do with morrissey, it’s after the smiths but before got up farrage’s arse. It’s undoubtable that morrissey’s solo album is lacking in the same flair and pizzazz that his music has when he was with the rest of the smiths. Sort of felt a bit one more, but I did chuckle at points

Mozzy

I would like a lot of these songs a lot more if I didn’t understand English. I’m glad this is on the list because I definitely needed to hear that first track before I die. It is something else, and not in a good way!

It's Morrissey.

Not my thing. It's probably not bad but it'll be a grind to finish. I don't hate it but I don't like it. First of the gang to die is decent.

Fine. Great voice. Not sure why I'd listen to this over the smiths tbh

papo reto? odeio o morrissey, tanto a pessoa quanto os trabalhos solo dele btw essa capa de álbum é uma das coisas mais ridículas que eu já vi e eu já vi muita coisa ridícula

xiiii tem que escutar escondido esse hein velho babaca filha da puta do caralho vai tomar no cu. vai se fude. first of the gang to die é um clássico. é um dos albuns mais presunçosos dele, mas eu até que gosto

We both unexpectedly really enjoyed this. It's basically '80s Smiths vocals and verses with late-'90s pop-punk choruses.

People judge the person instead the musician, this noticed here and in Kanye’s reviews as well. I embarked on this journey keeping in mind that I don’t care about Morrissey or Kanye the persons, but the musicians. That said, I enjoyed this album. It has two great hits and a couple of decent lyrics. I believe it deserves the three stars.

Another fine example of their being far too just Morrissey on this list. The Smiths albums and maybe one solo album would have been plenty thank you.

Some humorous lyrics and good mid tempo beats. Most of it wasn't my thing but there were some good tracks too. Highlights: Irish Blood, English Heart

This is basically Morrissey, who was part of one of the most inventive bands of rock history, copying the generic sound of early 00s rock. So its Morrissey without the things that makes him special. It's still a well-crafted record, but I wouldn't spend too much time on this if I were to explore Morrissey and The Smiths.

I divorced my opinions on the man from his music on this album.

I don't understand why Morrissey is a thing. This is okay, sounds very much like the Brit rock that it is, but nothing special.

much better with Marr and The Smiths

Wow well this was very self righteous wasn't it. Around the time he turned bad. I quite enjoyed it but did find the lyrics a bit distracting and laid on thick. Did like the music though

Hmmm, can't think of much to say except 'it's more Morrissey'

I found this one kinda hard to rate, nowadays I would rate it as my second favourite morrisey album below Vauxhall and I but for some stupid reason I gave that a 3 and your arsenal a 4 (and really Vauxhall should be a 5 and your arsenal a 4) Anyway that’s besides the point a bit as it had some of my absolute favourite morrisey songs on here such as Irish blood English heart, first in the gang to die and I like you but then there’s some forgettable fodder like all the lazy dykes. I think it’s a 4/5 it’s got some really high high’s just a bit of filler to cut.

Classy

Previously rated: Your Arsenal (3/5) Vauxhall And I (2/5) ************************ Basic music accompanied by entertaining lyrics, which are sometimes comically bad. For instance, in America Is Not the World, he won't listen to anything America says until we have a black, female, or gay President, lol! So, I'll have to assume after Obama, he's totally cool with us now? The other lyrics range from bitching about how other people treat him to self-loathing wallowing. And then you have All the Lazy Dykes, which I have no idea what that was about. Was he criticizing lesbians or saying more women should try it out? Who knows? I think the best track was First of the Gang to Die, but I don't remember why.

Haven’t heard this yet but fuck Morrissey.

There's some real musicianship here, but I feel the condescension in every one of his songs. Lyrically, I feel like Morrissey is slapping my face with a wet rubber chicken.

No…more…Morrissey….

I enjoyed You Are the Quarry. Multiple great tracks, including 3 in a row at the beginning of the album. I also like "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores" and "First of the Gang to Die." At times it's kind of darkly humorous ("It brought you the hamburger / Well, America, you know where / You can shove your hamburger") which is enhanced by Morrissey's vocal delivery. There's a weird time-displaced quality to the album too; it doesn't feel like an album from 2004.

Fuck dis guy

It's a shame Morrissey is a nob because this was a pretty decent listen.

I've just checked and there's four (yes FOUR) Morrissey solo albums on this list. I'm not entirely certain there's a justification for 3 The Smiths albums, but without Marr, Morrissey is just a droning arse.

This isn't my least favorite Morrissey album by any means, but it sounds a lot like most of his albums, which is to say that it's filled with whiny, self-indulgent, on-the-nose lyrics. Still, his voice sounds good and some of the music is interesting, so there's that, I guess 3/5

Never heard of him before. Okay album, but not very memorable.

He's a good singer and the music is fine but a bit boring. I enjoyed it more on my first listen when I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. Overall this is listenable but not something I want to come back to.

Megabra pop. Fantastisk röst. Alltid älskat Morrissey.

Det här är rätt svårsmält musik för mig. Nästan bara plågsamt. Är inte ens särskilt förtjust i hitsen. Nej, det här vet jag sen tidigare att jag inte gillar. Det verkligen bara nåt som inte klickar, för jag vet att folk älskar detta och/eller tycker det är bra (Kajsa tex), och det kan jag INTE respektera!

Alltid varit svag för Morrissey även om han tyvärr är rätt dum i huvudet. Flera riktigt bra låtar på denna.

Full of clever lyrics but none that spoke to me.

In retrospect, this complicated and complex bit of 2000s maximalism ended up being Morrissey's last stand as an artist worth listening to - in both senses of the phrase. The songs here are brimming with life, but it wouldn't belong before his career, and his personality, underwent a rapid putrefaction that persists to this day.

Derivative, tone-deaf, generally ignorant, and despite that somehow impossibly pretentious at the same time. The political and social opinions on this album were bad at the time and Morrissey's opinions age worse than milk in the sun as it is. When he's not giving out political and social opinions that nobody asked for on this album, the rest is typical self-loathing and pessimistically looking down on others, somehow bookended by a sense of self-importance that Morrissey always conveys. The music around the lyrics is sometimes fine I guess. However, there's a bit more than "inspiration" in some of it and lifted melodies as well. I do not understand, for the life of me, why people build this guy up. He sucks and this album sucks.

A lot of these songs seem closer to parody than actual music. Unambiguous lyrics can be effective, but this feels like getting punched in the face by a pretentious, egotistical simpleton who prefers the company of his own reflection. (Woe is him, no one could possibly understand.) Somehow the boring, incohesive melodies make the lyrics sound even worse. Sorry, dude, Jesus does not need your forgiveness. The stars are for the other guys in the band.

Morrissey tends to drone on a bit for me....

The first sentence is "Your head is too big." Every song on this album is good, but it's just Morrissey at his wankiest. Give the man a microphone and he'll sing about how sad he is, or how bad England is, or how much he hates the Queen, or how much he hates god, or how much he hates himself. It feels like every single song follows the format of "This thing happened to me, and this is how I feel about it. Me. Morrissey. Tortured artist." I've had "Irish Blood, English Heart" on my Spotify for years, this is a really good album, but god you just want to grab him by his pretentious, insufferable little shoulders and shake him.

This album makes me feel unenviably like Morrissey’s therapist. Oddly enough, there was something catchy about it.

I like this guy's vibe. Very melodramatic. Like the heavy use of minor notes and dissonance

The lyrics feel like they are the result of asking an AI to write Morrissey lyrics

If we can seperate the artist from the music for a minute, this is a very competent pop/rock album. While there are no real standouts, every song is at least "fine", and the album flows nicely and is an easy listen. I, for one, enjoyed it. 3.5/5

I was listening to morrissey when the power came back...10/10

Morrissey doesn't do subtlety

Morrissey has an ear for catchy song writing but lyrically this is just too on the nose

Surprisingly good!

I feel like morrissey albums are capped at average..

Now, so I was in a cab on a Sunday night going from Waterloo to Hackney, and suddenly the cab driver turned around and his opening conversation or gambit was to say this genuine sentence. He said, "These days you get arrested and thrown in jail if you say you're English, don't you?" LAUGHTER Look, we've all done it. You're probably like me. Sometimes a cab driver or someone might say something like that and you go, "Yeah." You know, just for a quiet life. Or if they go, "My face is made out of electricity and ham," and you go, "Yes, it's awful when that happens. "My friend had that. An electric ham face." Or if they go, "All mice are gay and they're from space, aren't they?" You go, "Yeah, the bloody gay space mice. I can't stand them. They make me physically sick." You're just, you know, for a quiet life. But on this occasion I thought, "I wonder what he means?" I said to him, "What did you say?" And he said, "Oh, these days, "if you say you're English you get arrested and thrown in jail." I said, "When did this come in?" And he said, "No," he said, "if you say you're English these days, mate. "You get arrested and thrown in jail." I said, "Are you...? "What, if you say, just if you say you're English you get arrested and thrown in jail?" He goes, "Yeah. These days," he said, "if you say you're English you get arrested and you'll be, you'll be just thrown in jail." I said "In, in, jail." He goes, "Yeah, these days. These days, mate, if you say you're English, right, these days, you'll get arrested and you'll be thrown in jail." "I said, "You'll be thrown...? Actually thrown in jail, just if you, if you say you're English." He goes, "Yeah, these days. Say you're English these days, you'll get, you'll be thrown in, arrested, and then you'll be thrown in jail." I said, "You'd be actually be thrown in jail?" He goes, "Yeah." I said, "Just for saying you're English?" He goes, "Yeah," he said, "say you're English these days. You get arrested and you'll be, you'd be thrown in jail." I said, "Thrown in, you'll be thrown in jail if you just say, just for saying you're Eng...?" He goes, Yes, you will." "These days," he said, "if you say you're English "you'll be arrested and you'll be thrown..." I said, "Absolutely, are you saying, what are you saying? "If you say you're English these days, you'll be arrested and thrown in jail?" He goes, "Yes, these days, if you say you're English, you just say that, and you'll be arrested and you'll be thrown in jail." I said, "Thrown in, you'll be thrown in a jail? "Just if you, and arrested, just if you say..." He goes, "Yeah, you'll be arrested, then thrown in jail just for saying you're English." I said, "Just for saying you're English you'll be arrested?" He goes, "Yeah." I said, "Are you cer..." I said, "Are you sure? "Will you be arrested and thrown in jail these days if you say you're English?" And he said, "No." LAUGHTER Right. I'd worn him down, "But..." he said, "but.." he said, "if on an official form where it says 'nationality' you cross out British and you write in 'White English' they will send that form back." Now, that's not strict... It's not the same as being arrested, is it? But it is a very thin line, to be fair. It is. Earlier this year I was applying for a new passport and on my passport photo, before I sent it in, on my face, in pen, I wrote, "There ain't no black in the Union Jack." Stupid load of fuss. I was banged up. Anyway, Morrissey. This was a reasonably enjoyable album at the time but First of the Gang was overplayed. Irish Blood English Heart was a decent tune, now it's bitterly ironic. And still a decent tune. It's not a great album 20 years later regardless of the man himself. Needless inclusion, and warranted book removal.

Pretty solid album and usually a fan of his music, though he kinda (really) sucks as a person. 6/10.

Fun, but also largely forgettable.

FuUuUcKkK Morrissey

Oh great, more morrissey, just what we needed.

How many more Morrissey albums could there be? This one's on the lower end for me, but "America Is Not The World" was really funny, so much indignation and disgust, you can hear it in the way he says "burger." Funny that Obama was elected two years later, and ultimately Morrissey became the racist. Album is okay at best, but we've had enough Morrissey that this wasn't necessary. Favorite tracks: America is Not the World, I'm Not Sorry. Album art: I quite like this one, one of his better covers for sure. Morrissey posing with a tommy gun. This actually looks a bit like the picture you'd see on the front of a packaged Halloween costume for "disinterested mobster." 2.5/5

My first 1. Two songs I must highlight: First of the Gang to Die & Irish Blood, English Heart. I have listened 5 albums from him until I have listened this album. I can not choose which is worse...You are the quarry or Vauxhall and I. Strong competition.

Never quite got Morrisey. Clever lyrics but too morose.

He sings nicely. I don't have the background knowledge as to why this guy is so despised. 3*

A fine album with typically literate songs with some fine arrangements and melodies. Nothing new or revolutionary here but a satisfying listen 3.5 stars

Sure, I guess. Not anything I would come back to, but it's fine.

Self-righteous, pompous, trite, unapologetic (literally) and fairly bland. Come listen to Morrissey spend 47 minutes and 20 seconds berate you about how he's so much better than you are or ever will be. Most of the songs are repetitive and drab with very few exceptions. "Irish Blood, English Heart" slaps tho.

Love this mopey bastards

Pretty good.

I love everything by him. Such a sweet voice.

Bleh

I was unaware that this ring of hell exists. Early 2000's Morrissey? No thank you.

It is true that Morrissey is a fairly repugnant man It is true that his post-Smiths stuff is often heavy handed and musically dull It is also true that First Of The Gang is a cracker of a song Call it a low 3 on balance

🎧In which Morrissey laments his deficit of British pride, forgives Jesus, and tells America where it can shove its hamburger. There’s nobody like this guy, this ignorant, out of touch, obnoxiously in-your-face vegan guy. Shitty man, surprisingly decent album.

Ok, Morrissey is an arsehole. And some of the lyrics on this are so risible they made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion; I'm not sure the humor was intentional. But you know what? I enjoyed the album, quite a lot. Going to separate the art from the artist and give this a four.

Really disappointing from the ex Smiths leader.

it's a shame about who morrissey is as a person because this unfortunately kind of slapped.

four stars because this album was hilarious. i don't know if that was the intent, but morrissey has bestowed upon us plebeians an excellent comedy album from on high. and how could it be anything else, considering the sheer earnestness with which he bemoans anyone and everyone he can focus his tommy gun sights on? from the opening track, "america is not the world," you already know what kind of album this is going to be. he then goes on to complain about anyone who isn't literally exactly him, including the labour party (?) and lesbians (???) sorry we're all such crashing bores, morrissey, and we are forever grateful that you deigned to write these songs for our boorish ears to listen to and our feeble minds to attempt to comprehend! we also have here some of the most morrissey song titles to ever exist. "i have forgiven jesus," "i'm not sorry," "the world is full of crashing bores," and "how can anybody possibly know how i feel?" really put things into perspective. astronomers, forget the heliocentric model of our solar system - we've gone full morrissentric now. despite the myriad issues with this album, some of these tracks admittedly slap. irish blood, english heart and the first of the gang to die go particularly hard. favorites: those two and i have forgiven jesus

Bit whiny in places but that's a bit like complaining that the sun is hot. The music was way better than I expected.

Holy... I thought I didn't like Morrissey before, but he just doubled down on every annoying aspect of his persona. It's like a parody of himself with absolutely no self-awareness. I just can't. I'm literally writing this review halfway through because I'm so annoyed.

🤢🤮

15/9/24 Surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed this album.

it's alright, interesting listen. 7/10

8.5/10

Some good songs but very repetitive

This music isn't fun anymore. The usual self indulgent woe is me lyrics which don't age well. Everyone's fault but mine sort of thing. Musically some of Morrissey's better work. But the lyrics are off-putting.

Haughty, aloof, elitist, amazing. I love that he really leans into that persona. He has a great sense for what sounds compelling, and uses his voice just right to get your attention. He states things plainly but makes it sound poetic. In his words, he is not a “crashing bore”.

Ok. Political

It’s ok Morrissey, America hates you too! Good album though

Has Morrissey blackmailed the list owner or something? Fourth Morrissey album not and I'm not even half way through. That's twice as many Smiths albums as I've gotten so far. Wtf. Anyway, another mediocre Morrissey album, proving Johnny Marr was the not-so-secret to his success. He just comes across more like a bell end the older he got. 2.5*, nothing really catchy on here

This is an overall good album. A lot of the songs are quite catchy and approachable. A number of tracks do tend to descend into generic Morrissey warblings, but thankfully it's not too many. First of the Gang to Die is a tune! 3.5 rounded up.

I liked it

It's all right for the most part, with one track ("First of the Gang to Die") standing above the rest. Better than I thought it would be.

Är ju så bra :(

Dull

E kje så fan av musikken, men han skal få plusspoeng for at han e seg sjøl lik

Wow this dude sounds so familiar, oh The Smiths. 3/5

Morrissey became famous as the lead singer of the Smiths, and his distinct, deep voice was the central, defining element of the band's sound. The band was also known for angst-ridden, melodramatic lyrics, and Morrissey continued in this vein through his solo career. You are the Quarry is his seventh solo album. It was released seven years his previous, and was more successful than his previous few releases. As such, it was regarding as something of a comeback. Morrisey makes pop songs that wander toward music theater; his heavy-handed melodrama is overbearing. He has one of the stronger male voices in pop music, but with songs like "How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel," with lines like "I've had my face dragged in fifty miles of shit, and I do not like it," Morrissey is hard to take seriously.

No I'm not

I do love/own this album. But not sure it's one I'd put as his best (Vauxhall and I - IMHO). 'America is not the world' already has outdated lyrics (America has had a black president now and looks likely to get it's first female black president, hopefully) although the sentiment is still the same, also a shame he turned out to be a proper douche. The world is full of crashing bores 'and I must be one' is sadly now correct. Politics aside, it's a solid album. 4 stars.

Really like this new-to-me album!

Things I hate about this album: - The album cover. Did they just give him random props? Why a tommy gun? - The first song, I was shocked reading along to the lyrics. Just a weird attempt at what was probably supposed to be an anti-Iraq war song. - Also it's kinda ironic Morrissey calling out the US not having a black president at the time, and now he's a total racist - All the song titles... peak of Morrissey's pretentiousness - Now that I remember the album title, I hate that too - If I stop listening to the lyrics, the actual music is fine, but nothing groundbreaking. ("I Like You" is decent) - That I'm only halfway through this album... It got a little better in the second half, but I did start paying less attention.

I love The Smiths especially because I love me some whiny melodramatic Morrissey lyricism. But this album is unfortunate. It just doesn’t pack quite the wallop of his early work. It okay. Don’t be cry.

Meh

As an American, not aware of any of this guy's controversies, I thought it was a pretty great album, so I'll judge it for that.

Morrissey at his worst.

Nah

There was a redeeming value to Smiths era Morrissey. 2004's You Are The Quarry shows what an insufferable prick the man is. Still a decent album as most geniuses put out good material with little effort, very few tell you how great they are while they're doing it. 3/5

A very nice album by the (not so nice) Morrissey. I really like Irish Blood, English Heart (music & lyrics).

Just went down a lunchtime rabbithole reading about Mexican Americans love of Morrissey. Album was better than expected. First of the gang was the standout

Good stuff. I remember hearing Irish Blood… when it first came out and really enjoying it as it was quite different lyrically and stylistically from the rest of 2003/4 but never investigated further, wish I had. It’s a lot more accessible than I’d have thought too, I can imagine he’s been approached by people to cover stuff here and because hes Morrissey just telling them to do one or just not replying.

Для 2004 года необычно, крутой голос и звук

This is the worst Morrissey album on here so far.

This was fine but I think I expected more from Morrissey. His voice and esp the lyrics kind of rubbed me the wrong way on this listen.

I've tried. I've really tried. But this is shite. Whinging and pedestrian - I've already tied the bedsheets together and I'm just about to kick the stool away from under me.

Morrissey reads the Opinion section of the paper to music.

I think I’ve said this for most Smiths and Morrissey albums, but I really don’t want to like his music because of what an absolute bellend he is. However, for the most part, I have found his music to be annoyingly good. This album didn’t grab my attention quite as much as some others (aside from First Of The Gang To Die which is such a damn good song), but there frustratingly still isn’t a bad song here. I hated his voice when I first heard him, but I’m also annoyed to say that this has grown on me. I still find some of his lyrics to be a bit too “woe is me, everybody look at how sad I am” but overall, this is a good album.

I was looking forward to today's album, hoping it would be a turnaround in my already annoying day. then I got this album. one thing I can say for sure: no one can claim the universe doesn't have a sense of humor. as for the album itself: I still am not fully convinced (or rather don't want to believe) it's not satire. it sounds as if someone wanted to create a Morrissey parody album and did an exceptional job at it. the "social commentary" is so obvious and cringe, and the music is derivative. this is an album equivalent of that one dude at a party that goes on a long-ass rant about politics acting like his unparalleled insights and superior intellect are a gift to the world but it's clear to everyone else that he has no idea what he's talking about. what a joke

Sleepy. Metacritic reports an average review score of 72/100 based on 31 critical reviews (stat from Wikipedia). That answers my question "oh, what warrants a fourth Morrissey album on this list?" No good reason found. The music was fine. Morrisey didn't have anything to say here that I was interested in.

Might have been a 3 but holy shit are these lyrics sophomoric.

Was okay, but nothing really stood out.

This is by far the best Morrissey album I've ever heard. 2 stars

Although he’s a huge prick, I really enjoy it 😅

Again, F this man.

Morrissey without Marr is singularly pretentious. Despite my distaste for the man, the album is competent. The *music* is competent. The arrangements are good. The lyrical content is mopey, dramatic, pretentious bullshit that dribbles from the mouth of the person at the party I'm definitely trying to avoid. Morrissey is constantly writing the soundtrack for the redpill incel movement.

Fred Flintstone worked at the quarry. I always wished I had a job where a bird punched my timecard with it's teeth. Oh well. I never really got into Morrissey or the Smiths, not an album I'll revisit but I'm glad I listened to it.

Started off okay actually... Melodies are okay, but the lyrics are wierd... Don't know if I dislike Morrissey or U2 more... But they get the same grade 1/5

Not my style.

Pleasent albeit a bit bland music at least to begin with. It picked up and became more interesting to me in the second half of the album Standouts The First Of The Gang To Die Let Me Kiss You All The Lazy Dykes 3/5

He just sounds like a dickhead. With that being said, its catchy music.

Not really my style of music. Same type of expression throughout album.

Fuckin Morrissey. I like a lot of the musical elements here, but the lyrics are pretentious and the guy himself is a tool. If this album were by someone else I’d think it’s great. But it wasn’t 😩

There's definitely worse on this list, the music's ok, the vocals are much better than his performance with the Smiths, but still not my thing.

I played it once or twice before, but not more. I recognized some of the songs. Probably my favorite solo album of his. It's good, but not spectacular. Favorite song: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel

This guy thinks he can forgive Jesus

Not bad, but depressing but that’s Mozza. Not the same without Marr

Irish Blood, English Heart First of the Gang to Die 4-5

Holy shit. I was not expecting anything crazy in a 2004 solo album by Morissey. Little did I know, the reviews are all slop because people don’t like the guy personally. This album is a banger. This comes off the heels of 6 year hiatus after his career was basically said and done. It’s basically Smiths with a modern sound. I think the more modern production helps break up the same ish sounds you hear through the Smiths albums, and gives just enough of a poppyfreshness to truly feel like a rejuvenating moment in his career.

Are there really only 3 good songs in here. First off yeah whatever morrissey sucks. I like the smiths and one solo morrissey song. I think this is not that great it just feels so forgetable and the subject matter is meh. I like you, First of the gang to die and I have forgiven jesus the rest just feels filler meh. Maybe next time.

I recently had to confess to my friend – who is a huge fan of The Smiths – that, despite my general superiority complex around the band given how frequency I mock people who are stereotypical fans of The Smiths, I actually really, really like them as a band. This made her gasp, smack me, and then yell at me at the lesbian bar for refusing to go see Morrissey with her earlier that year, despite the fact that she had just broken up with her boyfriend at the time, who was supposed to go with her. No no no, I insisted, I like The Smiths; Morrissey is still both pretty gross (albeit complicated) and deeply obnoxious (and doesn’t complicate that truth ever; in fact, he makes it apparent the minute he opens his mouth). Johnny Marr and Co., though, those boys are all right with me, but only those boys. I did leave out one crucial detail. I had never listened to a Morrissey solo album. Now having listened to You Are The Quarry, while I do still find him to be both pretty gross and deeply obnoxious, and would still say this album is sometimes too much of one, the other, or a third worse sin – the sin of being saccharine as hell – I now think I have to find a way to tell my friend that maybe, just maybe, I actually like Morrissey. At least as a musician, and at least on this album, which is pretty damn good.

Super mellow, I liked every song - great vibes.

Very moody and melancholy. Not really for me.

I love Morrissey and The Smiths. They were and remain staples of my adolescence. The music that connected me to my emo self before emo was the label. But, I do not like this album. Very few songs have the hook of his other work.

The Smiths. Just wanted to get that out of the way cause it's on my mind. How can it not be. So onto the album at hand...as good an album that a solo Morrissey has produced. Well produced. His usual lyrical flair aimed familiar targets. Overall a great listen - the best moments rising to the level of the aforementioned but now unnamed band...

2.5 stars. Lyrically not a fan, no subtlety. Musically it's fine, if boring. Pretty singing voice. Instrumentally kinda generic sounding alt/pop rock

I really want to hate Morissey's music, but dangit this is a solid record. 'America Is Not The World' is a great opener and 'First of the Gang to Die' is a banger.

Some 700 albums in and I start to think this might be the last Morrissey album for me? I hope so. I might be repeating myself in this review: - He is obviously not a bad singer. - There are some GREAT tracks on this record (“Irish Blood, English Heart” and “I Have Forgiven Jesus” being two). The rest I don’t really care for. - His discography really isn’t diverse enough to grant him this many spots on the list. What is You Are The Quarry doing that his earlier albums didn’t showcase?

It always surprises me how much I actually enjoy Morrissey when I actually listen to it,

3.5/5. Seriously, this better be the last Morrissey album that comes up.

Signature Morrissey voice that I've now discovered and really enjoy.

Turns out America has had a Black president, so does that mean you will stop whining now?

When this album first came out, I was a big fan of it. The singles that came off it were a pleasant surprise on the radio and the full album had some great songs while some of the lesser songs on the album didn't bother me that much. And this was a deserved return for Morrissey in the spotlight. Over time this view has changed a bit. Where older albums like "Vauxhall and I" and newer ones like "I Am Not a Dog on a Chain" are still feeling fresh, I never reach for this album anymore. And re-listening to it over the last day I think it was indeed one of the last times this album would've played on my stereo, with the exception of one or two songs.

Never heard from him and it seems in from general consensus that he is of questionable character. In that light , I've only heard of a few Smiths albums and they were ok . Trying to separate the art from the artist was hard here since the art itself contains his staunch beliefs. But it wasn't a bad record.

Fav: First Of The Gang To Die Least Fav: I’m Not Sorry

Always been a fan of 'First of the Gang to Die', but never listened to much Smiths or Morrissey. However, found a couple of other gems in this album. Very impressed.

Ok Morrissey we get it America sucks and you hate it, sure. Irish Blood, English Heart is not my thing. I Have Forgiven Jesus is pretty good.

3.56 rym la cosa che rende tollerabile gli Smiths è Johnny Marr e so che non c'è in questo disco stai zitto diomadonna 1/5

Very anti-imperial and very timely to 2004. Morrissey really flipping off the crown and parliament! It’s a little lyrically literal and also very dooms day… but I guess that’s Morrissey? It didn’t make a huge impression on me if I’m being totally honest, but I understand why it’s important.

I hated this and now I hate Morrissey. Regretting the college year+ I spent liking the smiths

Oh god do I really have to listen to morrissey, one of the most insufferable people around? This may be a good album but the whole time I’m listening I cant remove the morrissey from the equation. 5/10

It’s an enjoyable album.

The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores.... Morrissey is one of them.

Couple of epic singles and some unremarkable album tracks

Annoyingly competent

Non un granché

I try to seperate the art from the artist, so I went into this one with an open mind But jesus christ it was bad The music itself wasnt too bad on some songs, so I did think of giving it another star just for that. But no, his whiny drivel was too much. The lyrics were so bad I can't look past it "Hey you big fat pig" on the opening track was enough to cement my hatred in this album. Cringiest lyrics ever. And you know he thought he was so clever and edgy writing that 1 ⭐️

Morrissey is a twat but Irish Blood and First of the Gang are surely some of his best solo tracks, they are good. A lot of the rest is quite moany but I guess that's his brand, his lyrics are never generic at least and he always has an ear for a melody

Pseudo-political whining over mid pop-rock. Do we really need to hear 4 damn solo albums from this guy before we die?

Pas un mauvais album, mais à ce point je me demande à quel point il a besoin d'avoir autant d'albums ici. Pas mal les mêmes commentaires que pur les autres. 6/10

Morrissey is unique, there are those that adore him and those that loathe him. I am somewhere in-between. This is a decent album but not as good as his debut solo album .

Yes, Morrissey is a smug nasty piece of work, but most of the time it works to his music’s advantage. It fits the slinky arrangements quite well.

You can tell just how unpopular America and the Iraq War were in 2004 because even Morrissey was getting praise for landing hits on us.

Ok, this is more like what I was expecting from a Morrissey record, not sure what the difference is but this one is far more interesting. Faves: America Is Not The World, The First Of The Gang To Die

My fourth and, god willing, final, solo Morrissey album from the list. This didn't actively annoy me in the same way some of his other stuff has, but lawd, the lack of self awareness in some of these songs is pretty cringe. Fave tracks - eh, "First of the Gang to Die" maybe?

Its okay 3.0

Some really good songs, but mostly not very interesting.

Some lyrics are questionable to say the least. Prefer him with the Smiths. Standout: First of the Gang to Die

This must a lesser known album, heretofore unbeknownst to me, and with good reason.

I love and laugh at Morrissey’s lyrics and self pity. But I miss Johnny Marr’s jangling guitar and melodies on this one. Morrissey solo is just not on par with The Smiths, which to me is perfection

this album is painfully bad. there are two good songs but the rest are a genuine chore to get through.. this is one of those albums that absolutely would not have made the list if it was made by someone less famous

Stabilt.

I never really got on the mortuary/smiths band wagon. But it’s not terrible. Nice after work drive home album.

Hørte ikke hele men var ganske deprimerende

I'm not a fan of musicals generally. This feels like a musical. I'm not a fan of this.

I like Morrisey as a singer not a person. But why this album is one to listen too, who knows? Especially given his first two have Stephen Street.

Borderline four / five. Just about every song is a catchy jam.

God I hate Morrissey. Setting aside his more than odious rightwing views, this was unbearable. His lyrics read like a teenager in the first flush of puberty discovering word and emotions for the first time, his vocals are dreary and grating and the music lacks the fun and energy of the smiths.

Insipid

sad n horny

Gah enough of him!! Too much on here. 78 whiny minutes.

3.5

New found appreciation for Morrissey after hearing this record

Another good Morrissey album.

Better than I anticipated...had been a huge fan of Moz's solo work. Very political. 3/5

This was boring to listen to. Like the same mindless droning on every song. And lyrically he just complained about a bunch of other countries, and world politics, while also complaining about how terrible he's personally been treated. Overall, I won't be recommending it to anyone

How Can Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel // The First Of The Gang To Die //

I don't like Morrisey. As well as not liking him, I'm not a fan of his lyrics or his vocal approach. That said, everything else on this album is decent. The songs are well constructed, his voice is good and charasmatic, and the production is great. Will I choose to listen again though? Nope.

Absolute first class pop. Great song writing & performance. Been a long time since I last heard Morrissey. Loved it!

Fuck Morrissey

Morrissey. No me ha hecho mucho... Ni fu ni fa.

More bloody Morrissey, urgh!

Crashing Bores indeed Mr Morrisey. Heading into his angry old racist phase. Still some nice tunes though.

um okay my guy

a couple misses but the smiths/morrissey scratch an itch for me

The music is okay, lyrics are interesting. Overall not that good. Apparently he's mega racist and an "extreme vegan" which is unfortunate. Favourites: Irish blood English heart, come back to Camden, let me kiss you. 2/5

Okay whatever this was a 5 I don't even care about my terrible rating abilities anymore. Something about this album just did it for me, all the songs had those lyrical, dramatic, yearning melodies and I am a sucker for those. Plus I love The Smiths. Favourite songs were all of them. Just read that he is a racist oops sorry

Not a bad album at all, but that album cover is hilariously bad. Why does Morrissey have a gun, please don’t hurt me.

3/5. It's hard for me to get into Morissey because of his natural pretentiousness in his music but this well-polished and simple recording works well for him. Sure it definitely is more accessible and poppier but it works, it can be annoying when artists refuse to change their style for "art's sake." These are catchy and still introspective, even if some lyrics are a little too surface level. Best Song: Irish Blood, I Have Forgiven Jesus, First of the Gang to Die

Completely forgotten in 2024. I remember when everyone was falling over themselves to praise this though

Este é o terceiro álbum de Morrisey qyue ouço e possívelmente é o melhor. Não julgo que nenhuma seja gritantemente genial, contudo muitas delas têm um bom acompanhamento instrumnetal que não aborrece. Enquanto os outros álbuns tinham 1 música muito mais forte que as restantes este é o oposto, não tem assim nenhuma música muito superior que as outras mas tem várias que são capazes de manter o nível. Outra coisa que apreciei no álbum foi que nenhuma música era muito semelhante a anterior fazendo com que a expriência não se torna cansativa. E devido a algumas visões que tenho apriciei as temáticas abordadas em algumas das cantigas. Nota: 7/10 03/06/2024

Irish Blood, English Heart and First of the Gang to Die are good songs. The rest? No.

Você é tão pretencioso.

not bad, smooth and easy listening which was nice and calming to listen to throughout

OK, this is my second Morrissey album (well, technically the first was The Smiths), and dare I say much better than the first I had listened too. There's still an arrogance Morrissey has that I can't quite get behind, but musically the album is good.

I've never listened to this album, or anything by Morrissey after the early '90s for that matter, so I think this was just the sort of thing you'd want to have heard from him in 2004. It's pure Morrissey, so I roll my eyes once in a while, smile once in a while. It was pretty good.

Yup...um...sounded like Morrissey, and for me that is not the greatest thing. I mean, whatever...

This is exactly what I expect from Morrissey and I enjoyed it exactly as much as I expected.

While I am questioning whether a third Morrissey album is needed on this list and I was annoyed by several songs on this for their preachy droning, I ended up liking a lot of this. It’s more enjoyable on the upbeat numbers for sure. But I think we got the idea so it is ok to stop with the Morrissey.

Hmmm...not awful but also wanted him to stop.

2024-05-21...

I didn't like this one as much as Your Arsenal. It also sucks that Morrissey sucks as a person, because I'd be more inclined to get more into him as a musician.

Despite the man who made it being a twat, the album was ok. Lets face it the man does what he does well but he did it better than the 80s. Also, what does he have against burgers? A burger has never hurt anyone but a racist… nevermind, 3 out 5 stars.

Yikes that was ahhh not a good time. Sshhhh shh shh shhh

Pretentious and boring. Ick.

I was pretty surprised to see this album was on the list. I've always enjoyed this album and think it is one of my favorite late-period Morrissey albums. Morrissey is more outwardly political on this album and doesn't work as hard to hide it. So the cover is very apt, as he is taking more of a machine gun to his targets rather than sniping them with the lyrics. Yeah, he's a shit person. I have always liked this album and it is hard for me to grade it, as I do not know if it is essential to be on this list. This seems to be another case of if a person likes Morrissey's previous work, then I would definitely suggest this album. As a standalone album, I can't say it would be essential.

The music is actually rather engaging. There's a richness of the music that really elevates everything, but Morrissey is so smug in his lyrics and songwriting that it ruins it all. Even the better songs on this album are hindered by his insufferability.

The lyrics on the first song are so dumb but also funny - I enjoy the music though. The lyrics all around are just like annoying even though his voice is good

Solid

Probably my favourite Morrissey album. Clear and resounding lyrics.

Barely got through 2 songs before having to turn this shite off. Where's the zero stars option?

At last a "review" that's pretty easy to write. As Morrissey became increasingly obnoxious as a person, his music (or rather, the one *other composers* wrote for him) ironically became more and more pedestrian, devoid of any real risk as it pandered to old fans of the late eighties / early nineties "rock" idiom, who never managed to move on from that point. Here is the mind-boggling paradox: if at least the Moz had chosen to sing on truly abrasive "stuff" by 2004--in keeping with his grating persona--he would have succeeded in making a cohesive point to both his fans and detractors. Alas, the production in this record is desperately bland and safe, and so are most of the chords and harmonies found in it. At this point, it doesn't really matter what the lyrics are about. Here, you basically get the oh-so-precious, yet oh-so-cynical stance he's used since the Smiths era, with many hamfisted lines sung in an overkill mode to boot. In his first solo outputs, you at least had a few pleasant surprises. Nothing is either surprising or pleasant in this album. It's just an utter borefest of unprecedented proportions, both lyrically and musically. Good that we have the hilarious reviews about this "bad" album in this section, though--including some written by reviewers a tad bit more benevolent to this record than I am. I'd dare say there's more artistry, genuine *wit*, and imagination in a single one of those funny reviews than in all of the songs in *You Are The Quarry* combined. But who am I to say? After all, I'm not the "quarry" Stephen is looking after. Fortunately so, I might even venture to add... 1/5 for the purposes of this list of so-called "essential albums". 6/10 for more general purposes (5 for overall competency + 1 for the artistic flair--or lack thereof). Number of albums left to review: 191 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 350 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 203 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 257 (including this one)

Too much Morrissey what's going on. There has to be more out there than all of his albums, right?!

You can build an entire career on whining, just think of The Cure. So on a 'comeback' album it's strangely comforting to see his complaint button is practically falling off from over-use. Americans, the British state, Jesus, London, other people in general, people who say they understand him, lesbians, people he's jettisoned...just as well as while the lyrics are exhausting his/colleagues melodic gifts are in fine fettle. The first half of this album is one the strongest of his solo career. Now, he's still a massive racist and bellend and nothing here in any way contradicts this.

Not his best work.

Okay okay okay. Literally banger after banger. This one got me through work

Ugh this fucking guy again! Honestly not bad, I’ve never heard of this guy, yet he has two albums on the list so far… maybe he just was never popular in Canada. I’m not sure.

It's OK. Not a big fan of his moaning and complaining

I hate how much I enjoy Morriessey's music for him being such a shit human. 3.5/5

Dreadful.

I just don’t get it. I commend Morrissey for putting his art out there but this album is too on the nose lyrically.

English is not my first language and I cannot always understand the lyrics of the songs. I just hope that they are not saying the same BS that he says in many of his interviews and that they are not racist, far-right stuff. My score is based solely on artistic merit (minus the lyrics) and the fact that I like him so much as an artist.

- A lot of these songs sound the same but they're still good - I like his voice tbh " She said she loved me, which means she must be insane" true - All the lazy what now - Honestly pretty good, I'll give it 4

- kinda operatic with his voice - probably deep but it wasn’t resonating with me

fire album, amazing lyricism, first solo morrissey i’ve heard and looking forward to more

My first time listening to Morrissey, and it was an interesting album that I thought had some good songs on it. There were a few where I also thought he's just saying things for a reaction but overall, not bad to listen to.

Great Album!

Didn't enjoy the lyrics to "America is Not the World" and "I Have Forgiven Jesus".

I didn’t listen to the whole album but I was impressed with the first songs I heard I thought the Jesus song was especially moving.

Fine background music, nothing groundbreaking

I enjoy his voice and sound, but he hasn't aged gracefully. From those angsty teen heartache songs from his hay day, now it just sounds vapid and whiny. I wanted to like this one. The wiki said there were 4 singles that charted on the album. I couldn't figure out which they were, none seemed chart worthy in my book.

Het is uit 2004, het klinkt alsof het in 1988 is gemaakt. Voor die tijd nog niet eens zo slecht, maar verder hoor ik er weinig bijzonders aan.

Omdat ik eerst altijd het bovenste kwart van de hoes zie, dacht ik even een soort Take That te krijgen. Ietsje scrollen en de hoes wordt heel anders. Vrij passend bij de muziek. Meneer pakt zijn overduidelijke aanvallen toch charmant in. Normaal gaan de teksten lekker langs mij heen. Wonderlijk dat Morrissey mij wel weet te bereiken met zijn boodschappen.

Ok, eerste gedachte: waarom moeten we in vredesnaam de zoveelste Morrissey te horen krijgen? Ik ben die man spuugzat inmiddels. En er hoort dus een maximum te zitten aan hoeveel platen er van dezelfde artiest in mogen staan. Maar dan hoor ik het album, en ik ken zowaar een aantal nummers. Morrissey gaat best aardig met de tijd mee, want het heeft best veel 00s klanken. Irish Blood is bijv een prima song. Zijn liefhebbers zullen vooral fan zijn van zijn kritische teksten. Maar dat boeit me nooit zo. Wat ik al eerder zei bij een ander album: hij drukt zijn mening door je strot, zoals bij een gans het eten door de strot wordt geduwd voor de foie gras. En daar heeft meneer Morrissey toch zo'n hekel aan? Dus eindigt ook dit album weer in een typisch Morrissey cijfer, een 3. Het heeft iets sympathieks, maar ook iets ongelooflijk vermoeiends. Je wil er een hekel aan hebben, maar het is bij tijd en wijle best aan te horen.