Morrissey - Years of Refusal

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 22 / 2 / 2009

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Review

A lot has been said about Morrissey's latest solo album, which had drawn very mixed reviews, and while it is not bad it is far from great. It follows on from last year's feeble 'Greatest Hits' collection which nobody wanted, and reissues that album's two new singles, 'That's How People Grow Up'and 'All You Need is Me',which is very lazy. 'Something is Squeezing My Skull Open' is thrashy and like a fast 'We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful'. It is very catchy but finds Morrissey on familiar lyrical territory. 'Mama Lay Your Head on the Riverbed', which Morrissey previewed for the first time at his set at last year's London's Wireless Festival, is a love song for his mum. It starts and ends with military style drumming, and, a slow burner, has some odd-sounding jazzy solos going on in it middle. With its lyrics Morrissey, however, once more doesn't do anything that he hasn't done before. 'Black Cloud' has a lovely 50s rockabilly twang to it.'I'm Throwing My Arms around Paris', the classy and poppy first single from the album, sounds odd placed here.'All You Need is Me' which follows it is chunky and gritty, and shows what he can still do when he tries hard. 'When I Last Spoke to Carol' has a lovely twang to it in the style of Lee Hazlewood. A lot of people have been asking who Carol is and it also has a Mexican feel to it. 'That's How People Grow Up' has a beefed-up sound and is about love not coming knocking on your door. 'One Day Goodbye Will Be Forever' is Morrissey as a poet on his highest form and has him backed by fast-paced instrumentation. 'It's Not Your Birthday Anymore' is Morrissey in commanding form, sounding like he is singing as an adult to calm a child and is beautifully performed. 'You Were Good in Your Time' is Morrissey as a 70's-style crooner in Las Vegas, which he does very well. 'The End of This' has lots of 50s-style special effects which sound very odd. 'Sorry Doesn't Help' is a mid-paced rocker while closer,'I'm Ok by Myself' has full-on guitar and drums. This is a decent album which, while far from one of Morrisey's best records, after a few plays does grow on you. ‘Wrestle With Russell’ is a DVD that comes with a limited version of ‘Years of Refusal’. If you want to cough up the additional £8 for a copy, it consists of a decent interview between Morrissey and Russell Brand recorded in Hollywood. Morrissey refuses to be interviewed on a leather chair or to answer any normal rock questions such as what the album is about. Both feed off each other very well, and it makes for fascinating viewing. Even though it is only 22 minutes long, it is one of the best interviews that he has done. In addition to this the limited edition also has two live versions of the two previous singles, ‘That’s How People Grow Up’ and ‘All You Need is Me’, which is just plain lazy. It also features a clip of Morrissey performing ‘All You Need is Me’ live on ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ and the official video for that track too.

Track Listing:-

1 Something Is Squeezing My Skull
2 Mama Lay Softly On the Riverbed
3 Black Cloud
4 I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
5 All You Need Is Me
6 When Last I Spoke to Carol
7 That's How People Grow Up
8 One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
9 It's Not Your Birthday Anymore
10 You Were Good in Your Time
11 Sorry Doesn't Help
12 I'm OK By Myself

Band Links:-

http://www.true-to-you.net/
http://www.morrissey-solo.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrissey
https://www.facebook.com/Morrissey
https://twitter.com/morrisseysolo

Label Links:-

http://decca.com/
https://www.facebook.com/deccarecords
https://twitter.com/deccarecords
https://www.youtube.com/user/deccamusi
https://instagram.com/deccarecords/