Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors

Morrissey might be the single most difficult performer in pop music today. From his enigmatic sexuality, to his sometimes indecipherable lyrics, he stands as a man who knows himself so well that he can go entire albums without ever saying a thing. Morrissey, as a member of The Smiths, helped to put Britpop on the map, and he served as a voice for an entire generation through his poetic and morose lyrics. After the breakup of the band, his solo album continued on the same track, but an interesting thing happened on the way to becoming a legend: Morrissey changed.

Morrissey, the man who has said that there are no lyricists in modern music today that he can appreciate, has turned himself from the metaphorical lad who brought us the perverse and unseemly stories of the Manchester youth into a middle aged man who spouts almost blunt declarations. "Ringleader" boasts the most direct assertions that Morrissey has ever made, though whether they are referring to himself remains to be seen. However, we can be sure that something is different in the man, as there is something most definately different about the music.

"Ringleader" builds on the platform of the excellent return of "You are the Quarry", taking musical adventurism a bit further than we've seen before. "I Will See You in Far Off Places" is an Eastern sounding dirge, while "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy" takes a step back to the harder rock sound that he tried out earlier in his solo career. The material is consistent, diverse, and underwhelming. Lead single "You Have Killed Me" is a wonderful slice of pop music, with a driving guitar underlying Morrissey's still impressive croon, with just a hint of orchestra giving the finish a punch. It's a much better introduction to the album for casual listeners than was "Irish Blood, English Heart" of "Quarry".

The momentum gathered from "You Have Killed Me" carried over to tracks like "Please God Help Me", a touching piano ballad, finding Morrissey walking the streets of Rome in search of meaning. The slow and lilting melody intertwines beautifully with the soft pianos, which is one of the few moments of brilliance to be found. Much of the album finds Morrissey taking good musical ideas and placing droning melodies on top, making the album feel much slower than it really is.

No discussion of a Morrissey album would be complete without a look at his words, and "Ringleader" is a bit of a departure for Moz. He sings bluntly, lines like, "I am spreading your legs, with mine in between", and "I entered nothing, and nothing entered me, until you came with the key". It could be that Morrissey knows that his audience will eat his words up whether he puts anything into them at all, or it might be that age has mellowed out the anger that used to propel the best of The Smith's songs. Morrissey the philosophic romanticizer appears to be gone, but to be fair, he was never the icon that he has been made to be. The delivery may be unique, but the message was not.

The bottom line with "Ringleader of the Tormentors" is that it's a good Morrissey album. There are standout tracks such as "You Have Killed Me" and "Dear God Please Help Me", a host of solid tracks ("To Me You Are a Work Of Art", "I'll Never be Anybody's Hero"), and a few that might have been better left behind ("The Youngest was the Most Loved"). All in all, it's not as strong an effort as Quarry was, but it's admirable, and it's still better than the majority of the scene. Plus, it's just good to still have Moz around.

Rating: 83/100