Me and my friend "Gozzer" believe that is much better than the "Riingleader of the Tormentors"!Thank God or anyone who resemble like god, probably Moz...

to get it... i will -for first time- not download an album what i'm crazy about to own it

downloaded yesterday and have so far listened about 3 times to it . I think it is really good but not brilliant. It starts really well and i think if we didn't already know the already played/released songs it would feel stronger , though i do like them all still. My highlights are "skull" , "carol" "mama" and "birthday" descending down from their through "black cloud" and "paris" to my least favourite filler - "sorry" . The production is very bright and clear and the music on the whole is good , with a lot of drums and trumpets ( a mariachi band on tour maybe). As posted elsewhere it is let down by the lazy lyrics and repeated themes ( the heart , the passing of time etc) though they are delivered very forcefully and his voice is very strong. So i am enjoying it but not overwhelmed as such .

On first listen I was ready to throw it in the bin and give up on Moz for good. I am now on my fifth listen and I must say it's an excellent album and far better than ringleader.

Skull and Carol are amazing and would love to see either as the next single. I can see why people like birthday but it would not work as a single in its current form.

The lyrics are far better than some people make out and i had a lol moment in Carol when i heard "I've hammered a smile across this pasty face of mine since the day I was born in 1975" (you would have to hear it in the context of the song though).

I heard paris live and didn't take to it, the production of the single is brilliant and the song is a worthy third single. All you need is me is still one of my favourite Moz singles, i just love it, i just wish the lyric was "council" instead of "welfare" house.

Excellent album, in the top four of his career for me 9/10

first off why did i buy the stupid greatest hits if the two new songs are included on this album - waste of time
Lastly, you are the quarry had a lot of great songs on it (Irish blood, Camden, Bores, first of the gang, you know i couldn't last)
The rest were fillers
Ringleader had some great songs (Pigsty, Dear God, you have killed, work of art)
The rest were fillers
None of the songs on this album touch any of those songs - I hate to say it but it is an album of fillers that is simply not that good

I haven't heard it and will not hear it until it is in my hands, fresh out of the store. Downloading it now just seems like cheating on Morrissey. Something I'd never do.

The waiting and anticipation is half the fun...or so I thought. I'm quite sure I won't be disappointed!

from "paris", "All u need is me", "mama lay"
and the 2 others i have heard
it would seem 'quarry'was the last of the good stuff
"pigsty",ganglord,"u have "killed me" aside -ok
i have to throw in "good looking man about town"
But it has been all down hill ever since that dumb
"dont make fun of daddys voice"

I'm old fashion in a way. I won't listen to the album until I have the cd in my hands. It's a lot more fun that way and gives me something more to look forward to. I'll hear the first single when I buy the single and the album when I buy the cd. Any other way is boring to me. It's a lot more fun this way.

thetexasbloke

anypone know who wrote the music for the specific songs on this album?

I have a copy of the new album, God forgive me but it’s not my style to act illegally, somebody else did it for me! Well, actually to be honest only a couple of times in the past I did some small crimes. I remember I broke into a Gold shop with a Bulldozer just to take some expensive watches for me and my friends, kind of Robin hood, and the other time, okay it’s not worth of mentioning it, an old man asked me to help him to cross the bridge but half way I was so bored because he was very slow and I decided to throw him on the river as the waters were not shallow and nobody would notice him until the dawn were the peasants would find him and me would be safe in my attic, kind of spoiled boy scout, some specialists would say… I have to confess that the new cd has not a “Life is a pigsty” or a “Work of art” yes it has some equals like “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore” or “You Were Good In Your Time” . The surprise in this album are the “When I Last Spoke To Carol” and “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” where Jesse Tobias and the Mariachi play a totally Mexican or Robin Williamish “Me and my monkey” style of music! But the good thing is that there are no mediocre songs such as “Boy racer”, “Dagenham Dave” or “The youngest were the most loved” where they make me like I want to vomit…Girls forgive my rudeness, I usually behave like an aristocrat! All in all a very good album, but don’t expect a “Quarry”…

Where is this available

it is not better than ringleader, but it's better than YATQ, still a little weak.

After about the third/fourth listen it suddenly clicks! Much more enjoyable than ROTT and YATQ in my opinion. Just turn it up very, very loud and have a beer or something. It rocks! I think it's kinda sweet that, at the age of 50, Moz has just said: "Fuck it, I wanna sound like the killers!" Go Moz!

skull is squeezing my skull his voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard when he hits that screeching note on the word 'skull'

dont-insertinterpretationhere-more

the rest of the album is listenable though havent gotten the final impression yet

A way a Moz apologist can say they like a disappointing Morrissey release.

God forbid some of the people around here criticize the guy for sub-standard releases (including ROTT).

You know I have a point.

Moz seems to have a lot of new fans, which is Great!

This makes a break from the Moz vs. Smiths "old age" brigade.

I personally think the new album is great!

I'm enjoying it but not overwhelmed to be honest. I might come to think more of it in time but to be totally honest I thought more of Quarry and ROTT within the same time frames. Will be great live I expect.

"Birthday" is worth the price of admission. It reminds me of the first time I listen to "Now My Heart Is Full". I remember getting a copy of Vauxhall before it was out. Back then you got it on a tape. I can't stand "Carol". It has no place on the record and the sound is so different. He should have made this a b-side. Maybe you can request it with the marachee band next time you are at your local mexican resturant. "Paris" sounds even better than the live version which was great. Why is everyone so down on "Sorry"? It sounds like everything else on the record. "Skull" is great and should be the next single. The low point is "You Were Good In Your Time". We could do without 2 minutes of just noise at the end of the song.

I had great expectations for this album after YATQ and ROTT but to me this album is no better than Maladjusted (which isn't saying much). The two best tracks have already been released so perhaps if I hadn't heard them before I might feel a little better about it. Seems like a pretty uninspired effort to be honest.

For those who have hesitations about hearing the album pre-release- let's be honest here- the only release that we haven't seen (and bought) from Morrissey lately is a tacky badge... Chances are that if you're on this website you'd buy the album anyway so you might as well get a bit of a head-start (on your disappointment).

heard 5 songs of it

and 2 I got already purchased vis last Greatest
Hits [or what was is called]

and the ones he played live on his last tour

The only song I kinda like on this album is "Carol", because it reminds me of those two old spanish guys.

"Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena
Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria y cosa buena
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena
Heeeeey Macarena
Aaahaa!"

The rest of the album is nothing more than filler. Of the worst kind.

I feel bad for those who are disappointed. I myself am not. I wonder how it would have been received if there had been no singles released (in any format) and we were asked to digest this all at once as 12 equal parts. I think it is the result is far more cohesive than the last two efforts.
Firstly - I don't think Morrissey has 'lost it' lyrically. I think lyrics are intentionally paired down and goofy (like Automatic for the people). The pearls rise to the surface (e.g. "life is nothing much to lose" or "the heart has a heart it's of it's own")
Second - I don't hear any filler here, all seem very original and inspired to me, recorded with immediacy w/ out being overworked.
Lastly- people who say there is no such thing as growers are very sad indeed. I think there is a magic that takes place in the recording process that makes a song more akin to a seed planted in the ground- than a finished piece of furniture on a show room floor.
Further - Jerry Finn is the main collaborator here (and this time I'm in love with him); like Mick Ronson on Your Arsenal he won't be bothering you any more (RIP- thanks Jerry)

For those people who haven't learned in their lives to wait on the queque but always find a quicker way to deviate and reach on the front... I think lyrically the song “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore” is one of his best songs and as beautiful as "Come back to Camden". If you play the song on 2:00 minutes Morrissey sings like on the last seconds of "We let you know" on 2:38 it reminds of the style that he sings the phrase "Can't get you out of my mind" on "Trouble loves me" then on 4:00 it's ohh... Can't find the proper words to describe it... I think finally the leak of the songs would be the best advertisement for the album because it's really good work!

I don't want to download it illegally. So I've heard Paris for the first time. For whatever reason I haven't listened to the live versions. I must say I love the song. It's beautiful and restrained in a way. I love the line "In the absence of your ...." God he sounds amazing.

I really like "...Carol". I love the mariachi vibe as much as I did when Leonard Cohen did it in the seventies...

If you think Morrissey's output isn't as good as it used to be, try being a Leonard Cohen fan...after 1983 it ALL sucked. You could only listen to it if you like Casio's demo songs with someone quietly graveling over it with doo-wop singers... and the critics kept saying it was fantastic like the whole music world were his Yes Men...I LOVE everything up to Recent Songs (1979) though.

Compared to the fall of many solo artists, Morrissey's doing great!

-Micropenis

Morrissey LOVES criminals right? Downloaders of the world unite!

Don't blame the sweet hooligans who can't wait to listen...

MicroPenis

Overall, it is a pretty decent album. Probably one of Morrissey's weaker overall albums considering that I have deep affection for almost all of his other albums...But still, it's not weaker by much, and I would definitely put this far above ROTT, and close to Quarry. I do like that Finn put the guitars more in the fore-front this time as opposed to Quarry.

2 random thoughts about YOR:

1. You can hear a hint of the chorus of the Foo Fighters "There Goes my Hero" in the chorus of "It's Not your birthday anymore". If you don't believe me, listen closely, there is a passing resemblence.

2. I really really think that "You Were Good in Your Time" should have ended the album. Move it to the end, and the album ends perfectly with all the eerie sounds. Instead, the last 2 tracks sound tacked on after the fact.

I loathe most of the album ,i dislike the sluggish rocksound, and most of his lyrics seems dull and uninspired. Though his voice sounds good inbetween the embarrissing wailings and i like it especially in the softer passages of Paris and Birthday. In the future if Morrisseys inspiration reappears it would be great to hear that voice in a album consisting just of Morricone strings or something , a minimal and intimate music-constellation, atleast something far away from the guitar chugging of Jessy Tobias and Boz Bore.

One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell is one of the best songs he ever wrote. For now, the best.

Enjoyed it well enough when I first heard it, but didn't think the songs were particularly strong. But I have to say - it's grown on me. The punchy production recalls 'Southpaw' (I've always liked the way that LP sounds), and there are some great lyrics which expand on recent songs (most particularly 'All You Need Is Me'). The performances are really solid and - important, this - provide a sound musical bed for Morrissey's vocals, which I must say are very strong and benefit hugely from the performances/production. (Morrissey really lost someone of importance when Jerry Finn died.)

Dramatic but not (too) overwrought (a major flaw of 'Ringleader' at points), lean, concise, defiant (natch), and some good arrangements too. Sure, one could draw criticisms (the cheesy horns on 'Carol'; the uninspired and/or derivitive quality of a few of the tracks, a few of the melodies) but what's the point? 'Years of Refusal' throws down the gauntlet to critics and fans alike. And as for Jesse Tobias, well, can there now be any doubt about his (positive) influence on Morrissey's songwriting and the sound of the songs? The answer is: NO! OK, so the LP's no great progression musically. But that's part of Morrissey's strength. Very few musical performers are as consistent as Morrissey. This is something we should value, especially in this age of rapid turnover of an endless series of hopeless, uninspired flash-in-the pan groups/singers.

Embrace the album, embrace Morrissey. Submit, submit, submit. You know you want too. Otherwise, why are you here?

There's no one else quite like Morrissey. Still. You're gonna miss him when he's gone.

Terence Stomp

Overall, it is a pretty decent album. Probably one of Morrissey's weaker overall albums considering that I have deep affection for almost all of his other albums, and considering that the lyrics are not as unique as he once offered...But still, the album is not weaker by much, and I would definitely put this far above ROTT, and close to Quarry. I do like that Finn put the guitars more in the fore-front this time as opposed to Quarry.

2 random thoughts about YOR:

1. You can hear a hint of the chorus of the Foo Fighters "There Goes my Hero" in the chorus of "It's Not your birthday anymore". If you don't believe me, listen closely, there is a passing resemblence.

2. I really really think that "You Were Good in Your Time" should have ended the album. Move it to the end, and the album ends perfectly with all the eerie sounds. Instead, the last 2 tracks sound tacked on after the fact.

Morrissey needs to buy some new songwiters.

...I didn't liked it the first times, but now I really love it. It is a very consistant album, with a lot of hooks and great songs (I love "I'm OK my myself"). In the long run, it can become my second best favourite (you can't beat Vauxhaul).

I will be buying it on vinyl.

and i have to say that i am extremely impressed by it.To me it his most consistent album since Vauxhall. Both Ringleader and Quarry had real highs but also lows such as 'In the streets i ran' and 'How can Anybody etc'. This album has no such moments and has some beautiful tracks like 'Birthday', 'You were good in your time', 'Mama' and 'Carol' .It also has some upbeat belters like 'Skull' and i don't understand the critism of 'Sorry' and 'I'm Ok', both are good tracks with catchy hooks and important( to Moz) lyrical messages to pass.
  The inclusion of ' All you need' and ' Grow up'has been criticised since both were released some time ago but no-one slated 'The Queen is Dead' despite 'The boy with the Thorn' having been released some 10 months previously.
  My only slight criticism of the album is that several of the tracks seem familiar due to there prior playing live and recording on You tube etc.
  I suspect too that similar to 'You are the Quarry' where several b sides should have been on the finished album , especially 'The Never Played Symphonies'( that was a crime!) we will in time find some 'should have been ons' on these b sides.
  Still i give this album a 9/10 for what its worth (not very much)

Hullo

Not that there is any reason why anyone would be interested but here are my thoughts on "Years of Refusal".

"Something is Squeezing my Skull" is fabulous. A really impressive and impassioned vocal from Morrissey. He is really pushing for something here. It sounds urgent and alive. It really is a corker!

"Mama Lay Softly on The Riverbed" I could live without...yet more talk of people in suits and authority. Musically it is a bit tired and swampy. It just doesn't sound like an Alain Whyte tune...it has all the drudgery one normally associates with a Boz Boorer b-side. That said...at around the two minute mark when things get really gritty I begin to enjoy it! An imperfect piece.

"Black Cloud" reminds me of "Your Arsenal" era Morrissey...something about the drums and the bass perhaps? Strangely, given what I said before, this sounds much more like an Alain Whyte number than a Boorer job...but it ain't! I like this...it's snappy and a bit menacing at the same time.

"I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" I hated on first listen but now I really like it. A beautiful vocal from Morrissey and a really interesting musical piece. It's short and slight...but so am I. Morrissey sounds slightly casual...possibly even disinterested but that lends the song a certain poignancy.

"All You Need is Me" is one of my favourite Morrissey singles...yah, boo, sucks to you! It's so funny. Like "Skull" it sounds very aggressive and urgent. I am no Tobias fan but this is his best effort...it's not clever, it's not big but it's a rip-snorter!

"When Last I Spoke to Carol" I like a lot. The Mexicanarama feel is really interesting. The Spanish guitar and trumpets are very evocative of...something? Maybe a night in a Mexican restaraunt! Oh, I love the whistling!

"That's How People Grow Up" is another record that I enjoy...a lot. I'm sorry to all those "real" Morrissey fans who hate it but I like it.

"One Day Goodbye Will be Farewell" is a bit "meh" for me. It isn't a great piece of music and it has another lyric from Morrissey about people being smelly! BUT...I do think that it sits well on the album and while it could be accused of being "filler" it isn't the worst example of that crime in Morrisseys catalogue!

"It's Not Your Birthday Anymore" is mournful and plaintive...two qualities I always enjoy in a song. Another super vocal from Morrissey and an interesting musical contribution from Alain. I like the lyric about not needing to be kind to someone because their birthday is over...I've certainly been guilty of that!

"You Were Good in Your Time" reminds me of "Used to be a Sweet Boy in a way. It's an odd little song that seems a bit out of place on the album. It is another terrific vocal from Morrissey and, again, has elements of "Your Arsenal" era Mozzer on it. Which is, obviously, a good thing.

"Sorry Doesn't Help" is my least favourite song on the album. It just seems a bit...lumpen. I am absolutely convinced that better songs than this will feature as b-sides in the future...same as it ever was I guess!

"I'm OK by Myself" is the Morrissey title that most accurately reflects my own status at this time...which I am grateful for. It's a really good closing track and brings the album to an end on a high note. It's a foot-stomper, a hand-clapper and a rocker! I likes it.

For me then this is a better album that "Ringleader" and, aside from one or two moments, "Quarry". It would sit perfectly alongside "Your Arsenal" which, I guess, may leave it open to accusations of a lack of progression from Morrissey...but Morrissey is...Morrissey and he doesn't "do" progress. He's a regressive!

Hallelujah.

Kimura

Boring boring boring...
It's all going downhill since that tragic Daddy's Voice song

and that's how people grow up is by far the worst morrissey song ever!!!!

and lyrically????? never thought i would say it regarding morrissey...but 'it says nothing to me about my life'...

nuff said i guess

but i do like Carol and Skulll and a little piece of Paris

the rest is utter crap.. :)

What amazes me is that I have no complaints about the music, it is quite interesting, the production, superb. The weakness is in the lyrics and his lazy delivery of them. The ideas are great but leave an impression that he's releasing an album of rough drafts. I suspect, as happened with Ringleader, that it will grow on me.

And I include myself in this similie. As opposed to metaphors whicb are very thin on the ground on Mozzer's new LP.

My personal thoughts after 10 listens are a great opening two tracks(as per usual)I quite like the last 3 tracks, 2 of which are quite amusing even if the music is slightly pedestrian and I also enjoy Carol and the Paris. But Black Cloud (that opening guiatr sequence...ugh) and Thats How People Grow Up are nearly as bad as Ambituous Outsiders. And everyone is raving about Birthday which in my opinion is overblown tosh

How can anyone say this LP is up there with Vauxhall, Arsenal or Hate??? Its just another 21st century Morrissey album.

Still I'll be there in Manchester singing along.

BB

I didn't buy Greatest Hits or last year's singles so I don't mind them being on here. I thought AYNIM was excellent.

I'm 40 this year and have been a fan since 14 - so I guess Morrissey and I are well past the half-way mark in our one way relationship.

After ROTT's disappointment, I shall never complain again; life's too short.

New album and an Albert Hall gig. I won't be saying that in twenty years' time.

Savour these magical moments before they're gone.

In my humble opinion, his best Solo album to date. It is wonderful.. (seriously)

Mama, what drove you to it?

REALLY beginning to like this record! maybe my favorite since Southpaw.

I have been a Morrissey fan for 20 years...i have bought all the media and tried to get to all the concerts BUT have still downloaded YOR and, of course i will will buy the album but i couldnt wait to listen to it...it is worth it!

Give it 3 or 4 listens back to back and you realise where he is coming from, the guitar on Black Clod is fantastic....turn up 'You were good in your time' and wait for the last 30 seconds....fantastic. aaa+ !! Well done morrisey.

How can you spend your time bashing music - if you don't like it - move on. Considering that you did not pay for the preview of the songs - and it was your choice to listen - move on if it doesn't meet your grade.
I can not stop listening to this album - and everyday I seem to find a new song that sticks with me for the entire day. And yes - I would listen to anything Morrissey records - and I will buy a few copies of the CD to share with others.

ROTT went to number 1 in the UK album charts. Although then dropped down pretty quickly. There is a good chance that YOR will also hit the No1 spot. Hopefully it will!

have y'all seen the video for the '...paris' song? it's a great song but the video sucks -- what's up with all the make up on moz?

http://www.losthighwayrecords.com/artist/media/mediaplayer.aspx?mid=852&aid=260

I haven't heard the new album yet but I remain shocked as I have for a few years at how many people revere YATQ. I love Morrissey and most of his releases but that is such a poor one. I truly believe it is worse than every other release with the exception of Kill Uncle and Maladjusted (although the latter was saved by the title track, the likes of which do not appear anywhere on YATQ).
  What did people like so much about it? I thought ROTT was much better and hope this one will be even better.
If I had it my way Moz would continue in the direction he seemed to be headed back when he released Vauxhall. I thought he was only going to get better and better when that album came out, thought he might mellow it out a bit and that his lyrics would get better, songs more beautiful as he got older. He seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut now (I still like his songs better when he's stuck in a rut than most others at the top of their game) so hopefully he'll make it out.
Surely tons of people will respond in anger now, saying YATQ was brilliant.

I really wasn't planning to hear a "preview" of the new album until its official release, but impatience got the best of me.

Let me just briefly state how utterly enjoyable I found this album to be and take this opportunity to briefly point out what may be an interesting observation. I remembered that it was reported that this album was recorded a little differently than YATQ and perhaps other previous Morrissey albums, that is,according to Manning:

http://www.morrissey-solo.com/article.pl?sid=08/02/13/1550216/ [morrissey-solo.com]

Such a simple little idea; give the unannointed folk a chance to hear Morrissey and the band live like his devoted audience was accustomed to hearing him for all these years. The Beatles did this on their first album, for goddsakes, when they recorded what was basically their Cavern Club lunchtime setlist. Albums like "Rank" and "Beethoven was Deaf" and in some ways "Live at Earls Court" were fine, but here because it's in a controlled studio atmosphere, there is a chance to experiment and ultimately, I believe it brought out the best in the band's performance and more noticably, the best in Morrissey. Morrissey's voice and the music are soaring on this album..

One common criticism one could make on Morrissey's previous albums was that his voice sounded so "up front" and the music just there sometimes as background noise, as if someone left the TV on. From what I understand, this was how it was done for years; the band makes demos, Morrissey then hears them and writes lyrics, meantime the band goes to the recording studio and lays down the tracks, then when that's done, Morrissey goes in on his own with lyrics in hand and records his bit. The end product sounded exactly as it was done and what a disservice to all parties involved.

Yet, in all the songs on YOR, Morrissey is challenged to treat his "soft little voice" like an instrument; just like any other instrument you hear on this album and he has to work alongside the music; not just sing over it. The band could then readily adjust to him and not to suggest that anyone would have the moxie would tell Morrissey how to sing, but I believe that by being right there, Morrissey may have taken the opportunity to adjust his vocal delivery; hushed when it needs to be and perhaps "let it rip" based on where the song was heading. That little scat at the end of the final track "I'm OK by Myself" may have been in fact, impromptu and what a wonderful moment.

If I am correct and this is in fact the case, then I hope regardless of what producers are brought in on future projects, I hope Morrissey and the band continue to work this way and that the "Journalist who Lie" take notice.

OK, I could have been briefer in my assessment. So sue me.