Spike Magazine

Spike | 15 YEARS OF BOOKS, MUSIC, ART, IDEAS | www.spikemagazine.com
Review [published July 2004]
Morrissey: You Are The Quarry
Ben Granger
And so to the comeback of the year. Seven years without
a contract, self-exiled to LA, the avatar of the awkward
fled his homeland after a bitter divorce with the UK
music press, all the more sour because the ardour was
once so strong. The eternal chronicler of the downtrodden
seemed himself doomed to obscurity. Being a fan
was virtually the love that dare not speak its name.
But back in 2002, triumphant homecoming shows
coupled with renewed support from young bands like
The Libertines saw the climate change. If ever there
was a chance to return, this was it. Courting the media
like never before, he certainly knows there’s a lot riding
on this. No wonder the album cover shows our more
mature protagonist with a gun; this is the last chance
saloon. Would we be the quarry or would he?
The opener ‘America Is Not The World’ instantly
upends expectations. This most famous detester of all
things ‘dance’ is singing over a hip-hop/loungecore
backbeat. And he’s attacking the ignorance and prejudice
of Bush’s USA “where the President is never black,
female or gay / until that day/ you’ve got nothing to say
to me” (he’s since spelled that out recently for the slow
BUY Morrissey music online from and
kids at the back by calling for Dubbya’s death onstage.)
So much for the hoary old racism allegations, but does
that mean he rejects his new home? As ever in Mozland
nothing is quite so simple, after comparing Yanks to
voracious fat pigs he croons with typically breathtaking
arrogance “but haven’t you me with you now? / And I
love you”. Its love/hate with the US just as it was with
the UK. This track has been lambasted for the simplicity
of its lyrics. The critics forget, as often, that the northern
nihilist has always liked to take the piss, and this is a fine
example. They overlook too the sumptuousness of the
tune and vocals. This is a fine opener.
‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ comes next, a short and
powerful rocky number that crams in its two minutes
a restatement of his pride in both his Englishness and
Irishness, another scathing denunciation of those who
accused him racism, and an attack on the Labour Party,
the Conservative Party, Cromwell and the royal family.
Not bad for his first Top 5 single! He’s back alright.
The tempo slows right down for the next three songs.
‘I Have Forgiven Jesus’ sets the tone for half the album
in showing that his voice is easily the finest it’s
351
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