> 1) If ROTT was the very first Morrissey album that you were to listen to,
> do you think you would become a long-time, devoted fan for life, based on
> this album alone? Or, would it require the back catalogue as well, to
> cement the deal?
The answer is no. But "Ringleader Of The Tormentors" could never, in this or any universe, be a debut album, so the premise of the question can only lead to a negative answer. Back catalogue would be essential to cement the deal.
> 2) You are trying to make a new fan out of your coworker. Would you have
> him or her lose their virginity to ROTT or would you chose another album?
> If so which one? Why?
After #1, it follows that I would have my co-worker start with "Bona Drag" or, if The Smiths were allowed, "Hatful Of Hollow". Unless I despised my co-worker, in which case I would pass along my mother's Eagles Greatest Hits tape.
> 3) Does ROTT rank in your top five Moz/Smiths albums? How about YATQ?
No. Neither. And it's not surprising, given the albums they're up against.
> 4) Are you growing more fond of ROTT or less, as the days pass?
As with "You Are The Quarry", I pretty much liked it as much as I ever will after two or three listenings. But there are other reasons for that besides the simple quality of the music. Your question implicitly touches on interesting questions of time in relation to an artist's work. Time clearly has a strong influence on how Morrissey is listened to, and probably every other artist, although I'm not quite sure how. Perhaps the back catalogue is paramount in our appreciation of his records, if only because he inspires the kind of fanatacism that instantly tries to fit each new song and album into the total work. Morrissey himself was an encyclopedic fan of pop music. It follows his more avid fans would be the same. Listening to his new work, I instantly attempt to place it in relation to his past efforts. The best compliment I can give to "Ringleader Of The Tormentors" is that it compares favorably to his past: it flows naturally in the more vital currents of his art.