The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best?

[bagface]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

quarry may be the worst objectively and is pretty dated but that was my moz gateway and i will always have an enormous soft spot for it. i also think that fotgtd is hands down the best song from these four albums. i think rott and yor are both very fine albums with a few throwaway tracks each but tend to be pretty underrated on here. i'm still processing world peace and am pretty mixed. earth is the loneliest planet sounds kind of awful to me and definitely has the cheesy production vibes that dragged quarry down. i think it is probably the worst album lyrically but perhaps the most interesting musically. tough for me to choose between quarry and rott but i think i've got to go with rott.

 

[Jamie]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

Jamie, are there some things on the new album which could have benefited with Alain's influence? I like the new direction the band has taken but I couldn't help but thinking what Alain could have contributed to the new material, if given the chance. I think he could have offered some really good gems

If you compare the timeline of when Morrissey supposedly dismissed Alain, he was beginning to post some interesting demos to his Myspace (that sounds ancient even typing it) which would have made for interesting and sonically different Morrissey tracks: Manhattan, Sideways, Trouble Is Ahead. I have not heard it myself, but others have said Alain's demo for When Last I Spoke To Carol was very similar to the finished product. That song is now obviously a signpost to the Latin/flamenco feel that pervades on WPINOYB. I've noted other ways his presence lingers elsewhere: Istanbul pays lip service to I Will See You In Far-Off Places and Ganglord. Portions of I'm Not A Man skew heavily towards It's Not Your Birthday Anymore and the primal screams are pure Southpaw without being sung through pick-ups. I also hear Alain's trademark phased guitar here and there, usually by Boz, and Jesse's soloing at the end of Kiss Me A Lot has a more melodic bent that is closer to Alain's style than his. With the musical melange here, it would have been interesting to hear Alain's background vocals interspersed. They were a strength he brought to the musical mix.

One of the great shames of his departure lies in how the band seem to be getting kudos now that he was due for years. But he left a ton of great material that will remain in the Morrissey firmament, ripe for rediscovery by old fans and ready to entice new ones.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I think every solo album has been radically different. Instead of going album by album, I'd like to get the views of others. I don't subscribe to this prevailing notion that YATQ was just a sequel to Maladjusted because what songs on Maladjusted sounded Quarry-esque and and which songs on YATQ sounded like they would fit on Maladjusted?
Every album has been different, Moz does not make the same album again again (i.e. Southpaw Grammar sounded like nothing Vauxhall, and no it did not sound like Your Arsenal b/c Southpaw G. was a true rock album, balls-to-the-walls in some songs like The Operation). Mozzer has claimed to dismiss pushing musical boundaries post-Smiths, waiving his hand and dismissing the notion as if Marr was doing that, but clearly he has and does push the envelope. Point is, this is apples and oranges.

- With Apologies

 

[Anonymous]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

^^^^^
While this album may feel like uncharted territory, and ROTT had that Italian edge, and Quarry was the comeback, YOR broke no new musical ground. So, what was he doing there? Just a slightly better Maladjusted Part 2?

 

[fredkocherpepsi]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I tried to resist for at least five entire minutes, but yes, I succumbed to the lure of a leaked download (deluxe edition). I already have it pre-ordered in three editions with a fourth to hopefully be added, so I'm trying not to feel too guilty! If you want to hear it now through legitimate channels, there are several sites legally streaming it now—check the main page.

I also miss Tower Records terribly! The last Moz album I remember buying there is Your Arsenal. Here I am at the one in Greenwich Village in 1992…

View attachment 32157

That is awesome! In 1992, I was 11 lol

 

[fredkocherpepsi]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

^^^^^
While this album may feel like uncharted territory, and ROTT had that Italian edge, and Quarry was the comeback, YOR broke no new musical ground. So, what was he doing there? Just a slightly better Maladjusted Part 2?

I don’t think YOR broke no new music ground. I think it sounds different than anything he’d done at that point. He never had a song as aggressive as “Something Is Squeezing My Skull” etc.

 

[bhops]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I don’t think YOR broke no new music ground. I think it sounds different than anything he’d done at that point. He never had a song as aggressive as “Something Is Squeezing My Skull” etc.

'You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side' 'Glamorous Glue'?

 

[chrisarclark]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

Difficult to say which is the best, but WPINOYB is by far his worst album of the 21st century (and of his career).

 

[bagface]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

Difficult to say which is the best, but WPINOYB is by far his worst album of the 21st century (and of his career).

lyrically i'd say it is unequivocally his worst.

 

[jdbabz]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

Better than Quarry??? Really??? Are ye mad?

 

[Agharta]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

All four are extremely poor. The tunes are sluggish and the lyrics rubbish.

Hey, I just wrote a new Morrissey song!

 

[Anonymous]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

Difficult to say which is the best, but WPINOYB is by far his worst album of the 21st century (and of his career).

No, you're just mad because he won't play Canada. When you've listened to all the albums released in the 21st century, please report back. "Boycott Morrissey" but you're still here. "All you need is me."

 

[marred]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

If you compare the timeline of when Morrissey supposedly dismissed Alain, he was beginning to post some interesting demos to his Myspace (that sounds ancient even typing it) which would have made for interesting and sonically different Morrissey tracks: Manhattan, Sideways, Trouble Is Ahead. I have not heard it myself, but others have said Alain's demo for When Last I Spoke To Carol was very similar to the finished product. That song is now obviously a signpost to the Latin/flamenco feel that pervades on WPINOYB. I've noted other ways his presence lingers elsewhere: Istanbul pays lip service to I Will See You In Far-Off Places and Ganglord. Portions of I'm Not A Man skew heavily towards It's Not Your Birthday Anymore and the primal screams are pure Southpaw without being sung through pick-ups. I also hear Alain's trademark phased guitar here and there, usually by Boz, and Jesse's soloing at the end of Kiss Me A Lot has a more melodic bent that is closer to Alain's style than his. With the musical melange here, it would have been interesting to hear Alain's background vocals interspersed. They were a strength he brought to the musical mix.

One of the great shames of his departure lies in how the band seem to be getting kudos now that he was due for years. But he left a ton of great material that will remain in the Morrissey firmament, ripe for rediscovery by old fans and ready to entice new ones.

I remember hearing those instrumentals on myspace. They were very promising. Alain's beautiful backing vocals have been sorely missed since he was dismissed.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I remember hearing those instrumentals on myspace. They were very promising. Alain's beautiful backing vocals have been sorely missed since he was dismissed.

And I would just like to add that artists like Madonna, Chris Brown, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas among many others have their choice of composers; that they work with Alain says a lot about his skills. He won an ASCAP pop award in 2013 for his work as a songwriter on Chris Brown's hit single "Don't Wake Me Up". I was always of the opinion that after Marr, Street was best, but I think Alain is just as good as Street. I miss him and am so happy that he has a good career in L.A.

 

[fredkocherpepsi]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

'You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side' 'Glamorous Glue'?

Those have some chunky guitars, sure...but even tempo wise “Skull” is a lot more aggressive.

 

[chrisarclark]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

All four are extremely poor. The tunes are sluggish and the lyrics rubbish.

Hey, I just wrote a new Morrissey song!

Hahahahaha.

 

[marred]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

#1 World Peace Is None Of Your Business (Standard version)
#2 Years Of Refusal
#3 Ringleader Of The Tormentors
#4 You Are The Quarry


Ringleader would've been #2 if it it wasn't produced, engineered and mixed by Visconti.

 

[Charlie Cheswick]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I like Years Of Refusal the most out of them all. There's no accounting for taste. I've not heard the new one enough to make comparisons.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

I only count two duds on "World Peace" I counted four on ROTT and as many on YOR. I counted none on Quarry but assuming some subconscious bias and allowing for two, "World Peace..." and Quarry would be tied. Going further are the Quarry track stronger or the "World Peace" tracks? I'm still listening and taking in "World Peace" but the fact that I can't feel that out of the gate, suggests a tie. I can't believe I am saying this. Very different albums but possibly of equal quality. I love Quarry...and...lost my thought of train.

 

[George the 23rd]

Re: The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over. So, which of MORRISSEY's last 4 albums is his best

^I'm in a similar situation.

I knew from the first listen that World Peace was superior to the dull Ringleader and patchy Refusal. Quarry is a different matter altogether, some of its songs remind me of songs from World Peace (America=the title track, I Like You= Kiss Me A Lot) and I can't quite decide yet which is better. I'll get back to you.