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- By date
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Entertainment WeeklyA set of irresistible tracks both danceable and desolate. [28 May 2004, p.124]
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FilterMight well be his most brilliant yet. [#10, p.86]
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As a singer, Morrissey has never sounded better than this.
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The most entertaining and lushly melodic work of Morrissey's solo career.
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But, and here's the catch, at times the arrangements just don't cut it.
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While 'You Are The Quarry' is a very good album it's not the earth shattering masterpiece many had hoped for, nay, expected.
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The Moz croon is more succulent than ever, and the music productively splits the difference between Your Arsenal's thrusting butchness and Vauxhall & I's voluptuous enervation.
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It's not so much a return to form as it is a simple return, Morrissey picking up where he left off with Maladjusted, improving on that likeable album with a stronger set of songs and more muscular music.
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‘You Are The Quarry’ sees Morrissey back in the ring, lean, limber and fighting fit.
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MojoThose who have grown up with him will find much to love here. [May 2004, p.90]
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Despite his gray hairs, Moz's approach to You Are the Quarry is youthful and energetic -- perhaps even punk.
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A fantastic record for Morrissey fans.
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BlenderHis best album since Vauxhall & I. [#27, p.140]
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Los Angeles TimesA little heavy on the lugubrious ballads, but it's all Morrissey all the time. [16 May 2004, p.E40]
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The music doesn't impress much, serving as more a backdrop for Morrissey's lovely chops.
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Despite the intervening years, Quarry sounds cut from exactly the same cloth as the last couple of Morrissey albums, which is to say that at best, it represents a bit of a holding pattern and at worst, it continues the slow artistic decline begun with 1995's lackluster Southpaw Grammar.
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At times, the misery borders on cliché, but luckily, "Quarry" sports some of Morrissey's most direct vignettes in years.
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Under The RadarIf you wade through some horrid lyrics and mediocre songcraft, you will find You Are The Quarry stands solidly as a long overdue return to a formative sound. [#7]
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He submits a dozen songs to crystalline modern engineering and arrangements that place selective bits of mandolin, flute, harp and synthesizer in guitar-and-rhythm grooves, moving forward without losing his identity.
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Even a half good Morrissey album is streets ahead of the competition.
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Clicks in all the places his failures did not.
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Morrissey's songs rattle and hum with swagger and sour pride.
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And flaws there are, with many of the tracks sinking into a midtempo morass with decidedly underdeveloped melodies and daft instrumentation.
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For a handful of decent Morrissey songs – and, it must be said, some of his best ever vocal performances – we should be grateful. Ultimately though, for all these tantalising reminders of greatness, "You Are The Quarry" still feels like a man unnecessarily trapped by the limitations of his band and the extent of his loathing.
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UncutFlares dazzlingly on initial contact, but dims a little. [Jun 2004, p.92]
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Only when Morrissey's wickedly funny side emerges does Quarry find moments worthy of sharing shelf space with his finest.
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At this level of lyric artistry, these warmed-over arena rock backdrops are a waste.
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Of course, anyone expecting a new Smiths album from this was always going to be disappointed. However, anyone expecting a good album from it is going to be disappointed as well.
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But just when he seems more relevant than ever, Morrissey has somehow contrived to make an album that sounds incredibly dated.
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Quarry doesn’t have great songs, just not-so-clever quips.
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Q MagazineThose looking for the kind of soaring poetry that defined The Smiths will surely be depressed by lyrics that are often boringly solipsistic and prosaically worded. [Jun 2004, p.106]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 81 out of 91
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Mixed: 8 out of 91
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Negative: 2 out of 91
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EndaMMar 14, 2007Absolutely excellent. I often return to this record and have SUCH a soft spot for it even now.
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Feb 6, 2023Fantastic Album full of poetic lyrics and fabulous vocals as usual. One of his best albums. Very hard to find a bad song on this.
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Aug 22, 2021