Before we begin, can I just point out for anyone expecting a totally unbiased review, I am an insanely obsessed fan and chances of  an impartial synopsis of Mozzers latest work are slim to non-existent…….well at least I’m honest.

However, even I who has followed this mans career from the tender age of 13, when I should have been down the local youth club listening to Brother Beyond rather than being shut away in my bedroom dissecting every sentence from Viva Hate, can recognise his flaws. I play them down of course, especially within the company of non  Moz believers who have tried at great lengths to be-little and demolish his achievements. But yes I coincide the man is only human like the rest of us.

1997’s Maladjusted, though irritatingly showcased some of his finest songs also exposed his worse, and with a heavy heart I programmed my cd player to never darken my stereo with ‘Roys Keen’ or ‘Ammunition’, whilst fiercely trying to defend a body of work clearly blighted by an artist sick to the back teeth of….well… still ‘being around’.

SEVEN years not only away from the music industry but from Old Blighty, strangely did him the world of good. It taught those who called for his execution a lesson in what they had missed and in the process convinced Morrissey is was worth sticking around after all. Hard to believe that as little as three years ago Morrissey couldn’t get a record deal, a year later he had achieved four top ten singles, an album that sold over a million world wide and he had set a precedence as one of the fastest selling touring artists ever.

So his big comeback album ‘You Are The Quarry’, released in May 2004 ruffled feathers and sent the old faithful into praise filled frenzy but was it a one off? Maybe even a swept away on the crest of a wave assessment of an artist people just wanted to indorse whatever the quality? Either way could he make that same impact again?

‘Ringleader Of The Tormentors’ will come as a surprise to many maybe even disappoint some and there are numerous reasons for this. The half joking self deprication is still there, the at odds with the world sentiments still clearly visible, but ultimately this album is a shocking awaking for Morrissey….

 In a ‘The hills are alive’ fashion he unashamedly shares this with us. Yes he not only eludes but pretty much spells out his sexuality in graphic detail, I will say no more but listen to, ‘Dear God Please Help Me’, scored by the legendary Ennio Morricone, it speaks volumes about his current sexual status and in explicit detail but it’s executed with such touching grace, more Mills and Boon than Readers Wives. The same can be said for album closer ‘At Last I am Born’. Flamenco-esque themed guitars and castanets accompany the vocal ‘I used to be a mess of guilt because of the flesh, but I’m not anymore because I am born’ and there’s no unanswered questions as to what that refers to.

 This new found contentment may not bode well for some who prefer to see him wrapped in plastic on a shelf in a darkened room. Politically he hasn’t turned down the heat either. The stomping album opener, full of crashing eastern promise delivers the line, “If your god bestows protection upon you, and The USA doesn’t bomb you, I believe I will see you in far off places”, It’s a strong message in lyric and sound to the debacle that is the Iraqi conflict and all the associated heartache America and England has introduced as a result. It works only too well to a refrain of thundering drums and a piercing brass section.

Perhaps the most striking and controversial production addition is a childs choir on the tracks ‘The Youngest Was The Most Loved’ and ‘The Father Who Must Be Killed. This will divide the Morrissey camp also but it works perfectly. Anyone who can get kids to sing “There is no such thing in life as normal” and “The father who must be killed” has my vote, it adds chilling drama ever more effective when set against a brash rock backdrop. These are some of Mozzers finest solo offerings.

 It’s the production that in part defines ‘Ringleader’ as a stronger release than it’s predecessor. This is courtesy of legendary former Bowie producer, Tony Visconti, who like Mick Ronson, the man behind the desk on Your Arsenal, has managed to catch the very essence of what Morrissey is about. This was the main problem with ‘You Are The Quarry’.  Jerry Finn knew very little of Morrissey’s background and seemed to throw everything at the wall in a vague attempt to see what would stick, souless click tracks that replaced meaty live drums and irrelevant synth effects that simply didn’t work. Visconti however takes traditional rock ethics and the knowledge of how to amalgamate them with string sections brilliantly, whilst not afraid to bring backing vocals to the fore harmonised with great effect. This is particularly present on the glittery stomping  possible future single ‘In The Future When All Is well’,  probably the most commercially accessible track here, displaying the classic Moz wit “living longer than I had intended, something must have gone right”.

But  it’s the track ‘Life Is A Pigsty’ that really took the wind from my sails. a Seven minute epic that totally steals the show, echoing the Smiths classic, Well I Wonder, with continuous falling rain effects, it gathers emotional momentum resulting in crashing kettle drums and the heart rendering lyric “Even now in the final hour of my life I’m falling in love again”. Remember how you felt after hearing ‘I know It’s Over’ and ‘Now My Heart Is Full’ and this will recapture it, astonishing. This leads into the incredible ballad, ‘I Will Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now’, featuring that class deprecation I mentioned earlier and a spiralling moz vocal melody that never fails to astound.

The new single, ‘You have killed me’, which is taking it’s sweet precious time for people to understand, does subtly work it’s way into the subconscious. Classic Morissey in that it hooks you without you even realising it. Whilst ‘On The Streets I Ran’ and ‘I Just Want To See The Boy Happy’, give us more in the way of punchy glam rock both lyrically amusing with the suggestions of being future singles. Whilst to me you are a work of art complete with seductive violin solos and Mozzers submission to a being who can kiss it all better only adds to the conclusion that he has finally managed to let go of a few demons.

‘Ringleader Of The Tormentors’ is Morrissey’s most consistent solo body of work to date. It runs rings around ‘You Are The Quarry’ and is up there with ‘Viva Hate’ and ‘Vauxhall and I’ but it is a case of you either get it or you don’t. Moz within the confines of a clearly inspiring Roman setting has developed something remarkable beautiful  honest and rich with creativity. And if you are a fan like myself, I hope to god you hear it the way I have.

10/10

James Heward