thevoid99's Full Review: You Are the Quarry by Kelis/Morrissey
Ever since fronting the British jangle-pop band the Smiths in the early 80s, Morrissey has been regarded as one of Britain’s finest vocalists. When the Smiths broke up in 1988, Morrissey went for a solo career with some success and acclaimed that nearly matched the impact the Smiths made in the 1980s in the U.K. In the U.S., Morrissey had a degree of success with his solo work though some in the underground found his work with the Smiths to be far more influential. By the mid-90s, Morrissey was already becoming an icon for alternative rock but in 1997, alt-rock sunk back into the underground. His 1997 release “Maladjusted” was a huge commercial failure and critics were writing him off as a relic of alternative rock. Things worsened in 1999 with a merger of record labels with Universal where Morrissey got dropped from Geffen.
Since then, Morrissey lay low for the time being when in recent years, the influences of the Smiths and his solo work were all over a crop of new bands. In 2002 and 2003, Morrissey began to tour all over again while making frequent appearances on the Craig Kilborn show in the U.S. With longtime collaborators Boz Boorer and Alan Whyte, Morrissey decided it was time for him to return. On his own terms, Morrissey signed with Sanctuary Records only if they revived an old reggae label he loved as in 2004, he returned with his first album in seven years entitled “You are the Quarry”.
Produced by Jerry Finn, “You are the Quarry” pretty much has everything you would expect in an album from Morrissey. Dramatic vocal ranges, idiosyncratic lyrics, melodic musical textures, angst, romance, and despair. In “You are the Quarry”, Morrissey isn’t trying to break any ground but what he does do though is prove that after all of these years, he’s still relevant. “You are the Quarry” is a more mature album that you would expect an artist of his stature should make. It’s majestic, rich, and romantic, as Morrissey’s smooth, dramatic baritone hasn’t aged but only sound better through age. While albums like “Viva Hate” and “Your Arsenal” were his finest work, “You are the Quarry” definitely ranks up there as Morrissey has returned to the music world with power and class.
The album begins with majestic slow burn of “America Is Not The World” with its crisp, synthetic production from Jerry Finn and Roger Manning’s keyboards. Then comes Morrissey’s smooth, baritone vocals with the washy guitars of Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte that is followed by a smooth rhythm from bassist Gary Day and drummer Dean Butterworth. Morrissey sings the song’s idiosyncratic lyrics filled with lyrics that seem to be anti-American but really, it’s an attack on its culture where Morrissey says, “American/You know where/You can shove your hamburger”. Then Morrissey sings about its people with some love as Manning brings in this angelic, wailing keyboard accompaniment as Morrissey sings, “And I love you, I love you, I love you”. The album’s first single “Irish Blood, English Heart” is an amazing rocker with a slow-building momentum that is spurned by Boorer’s guitar and Butterworth’s drums as it charges into full-gear with its crunch for the song’s chorus. The song emphasizes Morrissey’s root with his Irish background while still being an Englishman at heart with fearlessness and angst that hasn’t been heard since his days with the Smiths as Whyte brings in a wailing guitar solo with a shimmering keyboard riff from Manning.
“I Have Forgiven Jesus” is a mid-tempo track where Morrissey goes into lyrics of spirituality with his complexity behavior towards Jesus. With its washy, melodic mid-tempo textures, Morrissey brings richness as he sings the song’s lyrics filled with anger and forgiveness as Morrissey brings a humanity and realism that his audience could relate to as it shines with his masterful, vocal performance. “Come Back To Camden” is a hypnotic ballad driven by Manning’s shimmering synthesizers and an accompanying, melancholic piano with Morrissey singing his nostalgic lyrics of the town Camden. Filled with Morrissey’s melancholic lyrics and vocals awash with a dreamy, melodic texture of guitars, drums, and synthesizers, this song shows Morrissey’s maturity as a singer and songwriter as he brings his dramatic flair to newer heights. Particularly the song’s lyrics of “Where taxi-drivers never stop talking under slate-grey Victorian sky/Here you’ll find/My heart and I”.
“I’m Not Sorry’ is a more upbeat, mid-tempo based track with Butterworth’s rhythmic percussion and Boorer’s acoustic-driven accompaniment. Morrissey brings in his smooth baritone as he discovers ageism to the point of just being wise and seeing the world differently. With its smooth, bass-throbbing rhythms, the song also features a flute accompaniment as Morrissey proves to be a realist in his offbeat, elegant way. “The World Is Full of Crashing Bores” is slower but burning track with Whyte and Boorer’s melodic guitar textures and Morrissey’s idiosyncratic flair. In his storytelling presentation, Morrissey sings about a boy bored by the world and Morrissey brings a sympathy to his subject while being a realist in his lyrics while musically, the song is crisp and smooth without going to full gloss with a lot of thanks to Jerry Finn’s masterful production.
“How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?” is a more mid-tempo track with wailing, droning guitar textures and a bopping rhythm with Morrissey returning to his angst-driven lyrics of a man who still has some pent-up, youthful rebellion. While it’s not a balls-to-the-wall rocker, it’s got the attitude with its angry lyrics and Morrissey’s restrained vocals as he’s just playing a role in third-person proving that he’s still a masterful performer while Whyte and Boorer bring in some crunching riffs through their melodic guitar textures. “First Of The Gang To Die” is a more upbeat track with wailing guitars and rhythms with Morrissey singing about Los Angeles about a boy named Hector, who was the first to die for his gang. Here, Morrissey brings a strange tragedy to the song’s more upbeat tone with lyrics of innocence loss and failed potential.
“Let Me Kiss You” is a hypnotic, dreamy track with Morrissey’s angelic vocals and a throbbing rhythm accompanied by rich, dreamy guitars and Manning’s synthesizers. Morrissey returns to his stature as a romantic while displaying a sense of heartbreak as the music features a lovely melodic guitar solo from Whyte. Here, Morrissey just grabs and brings that desire be loved as he proves to be a wise man of love. “All The Lazy Dykes” is another hypnotic track with a slower but darker tone with its melodic guitars and ominous rhythms as Morrissey sings his idiosyncratic lyrics filled with dark lyrics of despair. Here, Morrissey is bringing in characters about lesbians with an emotional palate that is strong in its despairing lyrics set in with its eerie, melodic format.
“I Like You” is the album’s most upbeat track with its pulsating beats from Butterworth and the melodic guitars of Boorer and Whyte. Morrissey brings in his lovely, baritone vocals as he sings wonderful lyrics of “Why do you think I let you get away with the things you say to me? Could it be I like you? It’s so shameful of me/I like you”. Here, Morrissey brings that sense of romanticism and flair that is so seductive along with its dreamy, pulsating musical presentation. The album closer “You Know I Couldn’t Last” starts off as a slow, crunching rocker with blazing riffs from Boorer and Whyte while playing as a melancholic ballad with dreamy textures and a melodic piano. Here, Morrissey returns to his world of teenagers but towards the icon in him, as he knows that his time isn’t long but here, he communicates with his fans, including younger ones. With its dramatic music format, Morrissey proves that he is still relevant while being glad that people still care for him.
“You are the Quarry” isn’t just one of Morrissey’s best albums of his career with or without the Smiths but its probably the best solo recording by any artist in 2004. Whereas some artists try to be relevant with new trends, Morrissey is in that place that just knows to be him without conforming to trends. Here with his instincts, his band, Jerry Finn, and his masterful approach to performing and songwriting, Morrissey remains an artist who is vital and gets better with age. Older fans will definitely enjoy this album while newer fans will definitely find something fresh from a veteran like him. In the end, “You are the Quarry” is a majestic comeback for one of alternative rock’s beloved icons.
You Are the Quarry, the first new solo material from Morrissey in seven years; it is an album of original songs using keyboards interwoven with crunch...More at Buy.com
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