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Prickly Morrissey takes 'Refusal' to new heights | News

Fount — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:28:00 GMT

SPOTLIGHT
Listen Up: Prickly Morrissey takes 'Refusal' to new heights

Let Americans gas on about hope and change. Morrissey, pop's
most dedicated purveyor of mordant British wit, remains as
resolutely, flamboyantly cynical as ever.

Anyone approaching his latest effort, Years of Refusal (* * * out of four),
without a sense of irony would be tempted to put the former Smiths
frontman on suicide watch. Death and disgust are everywhere; love is at
best elusive or illusory, a well of torment and waste. Some songs on the
album, which benefits from the late Jerry Finn's dense, atmospheric
production, have the feel of exuberant dirges. Others, such as the
gently creepy You Were Good in Your Time, offer softer shades of
darkness.

To read the rest of the review, click here

"Years Of Refusal" CD Review in March 2009 issue | News

Fount — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:19:00 GMT

MORRISSEY YEARS OF REFUSAL
[ATTACK/LOST HIGHWAY]
3.5 Marks out of 5

After years in Los Angeles, th emaster of melan-
choly is finally channeling the Southern California
vibes - in a punky sort of way. With anthemic
guitars and chunky bass lines, Mozzer sounds
like an English version of Social Distortion - only
with better lyrics and that operatic voice.

Entertainment Weekly Album Review | News

kristenmm5 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:22:00 GMT

"Life is nothing much to lost," Morrissey croons early on his ninth solo album, instantly reassuring legions of pompadoured obsessives that His Excellency, the Mope, still hasn't turned his perpetual frown upside down. But shrinking violets should stick to the lyric sheet: Years of Refusal is the former Smiths frontman's hardest-rocking album since 1992's Your Arsenal. It's a surprisingly muscular set of punked-up Britpop, spiked with the singer's still-dropping scorn: "You don't like me, but you love me/Either way you're wrong." B+ - Andy Greenwald

Download This Song: Listen to the song "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" here

Treble's ALBUM OF THE WEEK | News

kristenmm5 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:21:00 GMT

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Morrissey

'Years of Refusal' - 2009

Attack! - Lost Highway

It's hard to believe now that there was a time when I wasn't looking forward to each and every Morrissey album release. Somewhere between Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted, I just lost interest. I still ended up getting them, I just wasn't nearly as energized by his music that I was by other, more guitar driven bands of the time, like Jawbox and Quicksand. Nor was I personally connecting with his dourness as I had been in his days with the Smiths and his first solo records. I remember having a trilateral discussion with my brother and a friend who posed the question, "Who has a better voice, Bernard Sumner or Morrissey?" To this day, I can't even tell you why I even pondered the question. As much as I love New Order, and even Electronic, there are times when, especially in a live setting, Bernard Sumner's voice gives me fits. Morrissey's gifts have always been his vocal prowess and lyrical ability. The question should have been a no-brainer, but what haunts me to this day is that I have no recollection of how I answered. Beside Morrissey himself, the one thing that these two memories have in common is that they were both solved, once and for all, by You Are the Quarry, the Mozzer's magnificent comeback to the spotlight after seven years on the periphery.

That particular album, and its successor, Ringleader of the Tormentors, helped us all realize that Morrissey was not gone, by any means, and that he was still a magnificent artist that could not be pigeonholed by era. Those of us, who have considered ourselves fans of Steven Patrick, have lived and breathed with the emotive crooner for at least a quarter century, but we've never lived and breathed as aggressively as with his latest, Years of Refusal. On this album, which seemed interminably delayed due to the sad loss of producer Jerry Finn and the lack of an American label (Lost Highway to the rescue! I'm sure that one caused a few head scratches), Morrissey has seemingly found his most potent backing band of collaborators yet. Matt Walker (Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage) and Solomon Walker (no evidence as to any relation) provide some of the most electrifying rhythm lines in the singer's long career, while the dual guitar assault of Jesse Tobias (who nerds like myself will recognize as one of the co-writers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode, "Once More with Feeling") and Boz Boorer is explosive at the very least. Guitarists continue to be the secret weapons behind Morrissey's dramatic swagger. From his early days with Billy Duffy, to his legendary collaboration with Johnny Marr, and beyond, guitarists have been the Mozzer's musical BFF's. (Jeff Beck even makes a guest appearance on the track, "Black Cloud.") Years of Refusal is no different, with Tobias, Boorer, and Alain Whyte co-writing all of the songs on the album. Each bring their own particular flavor to the mix, with Whyte providing more of the classic Morrissey sound, Boorer more of a proto-punk / rockabilly feel, like a less stoic Richard Hawley, and Tobias a hard-edged pop sensibility. Ultimately, the sum of these parts turns out to be greater than any one individual contribution. Plus, without looking at the liner notes, you'd be hard pressed to guess who penned each song. This is evident with the opening crunch of lead track "Something is Squeezing My Skull," a hard charging number that finds Morrissey matching the music in energy and fire. In fact, I can think of few other times when his voice rises at the end of a line as it does during the first chorus. His repeated, rapid-fire delivery of "don't gimmie anymore" is still further evidence of a continued intensity since his 2004 comeback.

But again, the highlight of any Morrissey record is his phenomenal voice. Particular highlights that showcase his still powerhouse vocal prowess include "Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed," "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" and the Morricone flavored "When Last I Spoke to Carol." The latter's Spanish horns and whistling are a welcome addition to the repertoire, amazingly fitting in perfectly with the band's style. Another surprise on Years of Refusal is the dramatic "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore." Yes, its lyrics are purely classic Morrissey, but the music sounds mined from the extraordinarily grandiose heyday of U2, with the Moz doing his best Bono, stretching his vocals farther than ever before. The song is breathtaking, and sure to be a fan favorite for years to come.

Toward the end of the album, Morrissey becomes seemingly self-deprecating (what a shocker), with the song, "You Were Good In Your Time." The irony here is that Morrissey is far from `washed up.' To answer most readers' questions at this point, yes, Years of Refusal is Morrissey's best record since insert your own personal favorite Morrissey album here. Eventually, Morrissey will vanish from the stage, but if this latest album is any indication, he sure hasn't lost steam yet, in fact, he's only improved. With lyrics such as "you're gonna miss me when I'm gone" (off earlier single, "All You Need is Me" and "you will never see the one you love again" (off "One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell"), one might worry that our hero is planning on exiting stage left. But, since most of Morrissey's songs read like suicide notes, one can summarily dismiss any hidden or even overt subtext. That aside, we can lay back and enjoy what is arguably one of the Mozzer's best albums to date. On the back cover (I'm not even touching that front cover), under the producer credit and recording location, the words "Play Very Loud" are printed. You best believe it.

Similar Albums:

Richard Hawley- Lady's Bridge

Morrissey- Vauxhall & I

Jarvis Cocker- Jarvis

Buzzine Album Review | News

kristenmm5 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:21:00 GMT

THE MOZ REMAINS THE SAME - 'Years of Refusal' by Morrissey

Kelly Wiles - Featured Writer

“Disappointment came to me and booted me and bruised and hurt me,” Morrissey sings, “But that’s how people grow up.”

No, he does not sing these lyrics on 1986’s The Queen is Dead or 1990’s Bona Drag; he sings them on “Something Is Squeezing My Skull,” track one of 2009’s Years of Refusal. The beauty of present-day Morrissey is that his worldview has not changed since he was a teenager back in ’70s Manchester. Over the course of his twenty-plus years in the music business, Morrissey’s song — his clever and gloomy song — has remained the same.

When he was twenty, Morrissey and his literate lyrics were steeped in a world-weary wisdom that belonged to someone older — someone who had been kicked around for a bunch of decades. Back then, he was ahead of his time. Now he is older, a bunch of decades have passed, and looking out from the cover of Years of Refusal, with patches of gray along his temples and someone’s baby clutched in an arm, he finally seems to have reached the age of enlightenment that he’s been singing about all these years…which actually must be a bit of a cruel joke for him. Morrissey’s point, all along, has been that there is no such thing as enlightenment, that the only enlightened part of existence comes in the form of a soul-mate, and once they leave you, you’re screwed and back to the lonely and juvenile confusion of square one.

If you were expecting progress in the existing-in-this-terrible-world department, then don’t hold your breath; Morrissey’s quest for enlightenment on his latest release is just as unclear as it has always been. However, there is one thing that Years of Refusal makes abundantly clear: those searing and feisty vocals have always been at their best when backed by equally searing and feisty instrumentals. From the opening track — the driving drums and guitar attack of “Something is Squeezing my Skull” — it’s obvious that Years of Refusal is going to be an album full of Morrissey surrendering to the kind of musical accompaniment that make his prophetic lyrics pop and shock the way they should.

Aside from the slight mariachi infusion during “When Last I Spoke To Carol,” Years of Refusaldoes not find Morrissey veering much from the straightforward alternative pop/rock that he’s always done. He does not cover new musical ground, and Years of Refusal is a reminder as to why that is a good thing. Morrissey does not need to waste his time making clever attempts at new musical ground. His lyrics and ideas have always been clever enough to do it for him.

Years of Refusal is classic Moz, and thus a song-by-song analysis of the album is pointless. For those who don’t know what classic Moz means, here’s a definition: when that lonesome, ageless tenor wails things like “When I die I want to go to hell,” or “Surely the hand contains a knife,” you’ll feel torn between chuckling to yourself and curling up and crying like you want to die, but either way, you’ll keep listening.

Morrissey is launching the US leg of his world tour at the end of February and is headlining this year’s Coachella.

Bullz-Eye Album Review | News

kristenmm5 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:21:00 GMT

Recommended if You Like: The Smiths, Suede, and classic Morrissey

Label: Attack/Lost Highway

Reviewed by Will Harris wharris@bullz-eye.com

When Morrissey released his 2004 album, You Are the Quarry, critics were quick to call it a comeback, and it was a description about which few fans had any interest in arguing. It may have seemed like a case of seriously strange bedfellows to pair Mozzer with producer Jerry Finn, a man known best for as a knob-twiddler for punk-poppers like Blink-182, Green Day, and Sum 41, but the end result was not only a remarkable return to form but, indeed, the best thing Morrissey had released since 1992’s Your Arsenal. Unfortunately, rather than maintaining the status quo, Moz switched up and teamed with the legendary Tony Visconti for 2006’sRingleader of the Tormentors, and…well, frankly, despite occasional moments of brilliance, it was mostly a big ol’ bore.

Whether Morrissey himself would agree with such an assessment of Ringleader is uncertain, but all that’s known for certain is that his latest album, Years of Refusal, finds him paired with Mr. Finn once again. Sadly, it’s for the last time, as the producer succumbed to the effects of a massive cerebral hemorrhage not long after completing his work on the project, but at least it can be said that he went out on a strong note.

Years of Refusal is the album that should have followed You Are the Quarry. After messing about with songs that rocked more than they popped and trying to get epic but only ending up bloated, Finn has succeeded in getting Morrissey back on track and steered him into a collection consisting almost entirely of perfect-world hit singles. First up: "Something Is Squeezing My Skull," co-written by longtime band member Alan Whyte – who, ironically, doesn’t actually perform on the album – and featuring both a soaring chorus and a finale where drummer Matt Walker sounds like he’s giving it his best Animal impression. (Seriously, it’s a total "beat drums" moment.) Whyte is also the co-writer of "When I Last Spoke to Carol," which sounds like someone – either he or Morrissey – had been listening to quite a lot of Lee Hazlewood immediately prior to composition. Dig those mariachi horns! The brass returns to kick ass later in the album on "One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell," which features one of those lyrics that is inimitably Morrissey:

"And the smiling children tell you that you smell
Well, just look at me, a savage beast, I’ve got nothing to sell
And when I die I want to go to hell"

It’s fair to say that the strongest portion of Years of Refusal is the first two-thirds of the record, where every song comes in at under the four-minute mark and it’s all very catchy and easily-digestible alt-rock. "I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris" is very much a classic Morrissey single, sounding like it could’ve come from the midst of his solo era on Sire, Jeff Beck contributes guest guitar to the slightly unsettling but very awesome "Black Cloud," and the lyrics of "All You Need Is Me" play like a less-threatening sequel to "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get." ("You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone," Morrissey assures us.) Selecting the longest four tracks to close the record is a masterstroke of sequencing, since most anyone will have been sufficiently impressed by the songs which have preceded them to accept a couple of five-minute numbers, though "You Were Good In Your Time" spends too long being too languid for its own good.

Still, if there’s one thing that Years of Refusal proves, it’s that Finn had the ability to get Morrissey to imbue his songs with good-humored swagger without wrapping them in ego. This shouldn’t be taken to suggest that Moz hasn’t continued to experience personal growth on his own. After all, once upon a time, it would’ve been unimaginable for the man to close an album with a song entitled "I’m OK By Myself." (It’s also particularly notable on this track just how strong his voice remains even 25 years on from the first Smiths album.) With this sentiment out there for all to hear, let us hope that Morrissey can take the tricks he learned under Finn’s tutelage and continue to follow the same path a bit better whenever he finds his way back to the studio again.

All Music Album Review | News

kristenmm5 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:20:00 GMT

'Years of Refusal' [CD/DVD]

Morrissey

Review

By: Stephen Thomas Erlewine

All the heavy lifting of his comeback finished, Morrissey settles into a robust middle age on Years of Refusal, an evocation of his thick Your Arsenal sound that doesn't feel like a conscious re-creation -- rather, this just is who Moz is, an old brawler who refuses to hang up his gloves or settle a grudge. The sound remains the same but the songs don't quite: although this is also produced by Jerry Finn, this isn't the deliberate revival of You Are the Quarry, all sharp edges and metallic sheen, the better to rope in the young emo kids who came of age after Maladjusted, nor is it the gentle prog pretensions of the Tony Visconti-produced Ringleader of the Tormentors. Years of Refusal is comfortable in its settled nature, in its roaring guitars and swaying melodies, sometimes ratcheting up the aggression -- especially so on the tight, compacted opener, "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" -- but often just riding along, assured in its might and wit, never feeling the need to change for change's sake. Such conservatism has long been part of Morrissey's makeup -- when everybody pined for a synthesized future in the Thatcher/Reagan years, he sought refuge in the past -- and now that he has people paying attention again, he's fine with not changing the sound and writing songs about his happy middle-aged miserablism, a miserablism that increasingly feels like a device to fuel Morrissey's satire. Morrissey has never been reluctant to turn his wit upon himself but he relishes sending up his moping persona and advancing age here, resulting in some excellent quips and asides, along with some nicely honed ballads like "You Were Good in Your Time." Along with "That's How People Grow Up," where the perennially broken-hearted Moz acknowledges that there are worse things in life than never being someone's sweetie, this song is the best example of how Morrissey is feeling his years -- contrary to the implications within the album's title, he's not fretting about his age but throwing his arms around it, giving Years of Refusal a nicely comfortable feel that's welcome after the slightly strident overtones of its predecessors. Nothing here is surprising, of course, but Years of Refusal is a full-bodied, full-blooded album that also happens to be fully realized -- even if it is on a rather modest scale. [A CD/DVD edition was also released.]

Tracks

Title

Composer

Time

Something Is Squeezing My Skull

Morrissey, Whyte