Ringleader of the Tormentors

by

Morrissey

Edit

it must not be easy being morrissey. few people will ever wield the mozfather's potent influnce and no matter the occassional slip ups, morrissey's secured his place on the mt. rushmore of 'indie/alternative'rock. this is a mixed blessing, of course. he can release records that sell well, sell-out live shows night after night, and keep his name in the news (most recently boycotting canada to protest the seal hunt). but it makes one wonder if morrissey's popularity and iconic stature somehow quash his enormous songwriting ability. some fans will unfortunately (and unfairly) compare it to any number of smiths' albums, and more will probably compare it to any number of moz solo offerings. some will find it bland. some will find it exhilirating. for me, the album is somewhere in the middle of either extreme.

coming on the heals of 'you are the quarry, morrissey'(the career rejuvenator so many critics correctly called it), 'ringleaders of the tormentors' is a slight departure from the new milennial morrissey. 'ringleaders' is much ballsier record than its predecessor, and the album's better for it. the problem with 'you are the quarry' was the similarity of so many of the songs. despite some noteworthy singles, much of the album sounded painfully similar in tone and style and were unfortunately instantly forgettable.

'ringleaders,' however, starts out with the muscular 'i will see you in far-off places.' it's a song that probably would've fit nicely on 'your arsenal.' the nuanced middle-eastern inspired guitar is a nice touch. mozzer sounds much more confident and lets his trademark vocals work within the song instead of trying to upstage it. 'you have killed me,' the first single, is a distinctly morrissey song with a distinctly morrissey melody. it's a nice song, but the not the knock-out punch you'd hope to hear from a lead single. 'the future's all well' is a suprisingly upbeat song that lets us know mozzer may not be the mope too many assume he is. 'i'll never be anybody's hero now' may be an all-too-clever poke at his own celebrity and stardom. 'to me you are a work of art' and 'the youngest was the most loved' are other highlights, the latter with the line, 'there is no such thing in life as normal. 'morrissey's band has always been a bit underrated and underappreciated. on 'ringleaders' they sound more like a part of the band instead of backing players shoving the ego into the spotlight.

in the end what makes 'ringleaders' work as well is done is the variety of the songs. after all, any good album is about the songs and 'ringleaders' sees some of morrissey's best melodies and music since 'vauxhall.' highly recommened.