There’s much more to a good album than just the artist’s name. A good album in my book is made up of songs with good melodies and lyrics, good production (sound quality) and, of course, good vocal performances. Now I admit I’m not Morrissey’s greatest fan, but on this occasion I feel he’s produced his best solo album to-date - by a country mile. In one sense Morrissey rows my boat and that’s in the instrospection that dominates his solo and band work. Dark is good…

‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull’ is indeed dark but there’s thin shafts of light emerging from behind those dark clouds. The song opens in heavy rock style with pounding drums and diving guitar notes before M bursts forth with truckloads of energy. Lyrically the song is unambiguous; “I’m doing very well, it’s a miracle I even made it this far…”  and he continues to explain that he really doesn’t give a damn about what others think. Sonically and instrumentally it’s top-drawer. ‘Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed’ points to a catastrophic personal event with lyrics and instrumental arrangement that are hard-hitting, but  his vocal delivery just doesn’t match the song’s sad story.

‘Black Cloud’ is one of the album’s highlights with its wonderful acoustic guitar solos (especially during the song’s opening moments), while ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ majors on melody and lonliness. ‘All You Need Is Me’ is another highlight with its rocky backdrop and strong production which allows M’s voice to tower over proceedings. The vibrance and exuberance of Tex-Mex contributes largely to the success of
‘When I last Spoke To Carol’ but the big hitter comes in the form of the epic and memorable ‘It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore.’ The song starts at moderate pace with just the hint of background instrumentation and then follows M’s best vocal performance on the album. It reminds me of a Gene Pitney classic with all the major components of a great song well and truly in place. This is the single that could dominate the charts and I really can’t remember a better M song, although the next track, ‘You Were Good In Your Time’, comes close.

In truth, there isn’t one bad song here and a few pretty special ones. I also like the diversity of sounds from heavy rock to string-laden ballad. It’s a beautifully produced album that I can heartily recommend.

3.75/5