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Morrissey is one of those enduring British acts from the early 80s, a bit like The Cure and Depeche Mode, who has lasted a lot longer than his initial records suggested likely. As the fresh-faced lead singer of The Smiths, he seemed bound for fifteen minutes of fame after which he’d be joining the rest of mid-80s youth in the dole queue. But much to the disgust of his critics, he’s still here. And as Ringleader of the Tormentors demonstrates, he has not forgotten how to knock out a good tune or two.
Morrissey detractors always bemoan his whiney voice and gloomy lyrics. If you take a moment to listen though, there’s actually a lot of dry wit in there. After the powerful opening track “I Will See You In Far-Off Places,” a tune reminiscent of The Smith’s “How Soon Is Now” (the song massacred for the opening credits of nonsense, witchey TV show Charmed), we get “Dear God Please Help Me.” This song contains one of Morrissey’s wittiest lyrics, as he croons about sexual self-restraint with the words ‘there are explosive kegs between my legs’. “The Youngest Was The Most Loved” follows a couple of tracks later, and contains the line “there is no such thing in life as normal.” I’ll second that, Morrissey.
The middle of the album sags a bit; let down mostly by “The Father Who Must Be Killed.” But the brooding “Life Is A Pigsty” freshens things up with a heavy bass line, sustained organ sound, light piano melody and crash-bang-wallop ending. “I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now” is very much in the same vein as tunes from Vauxhall And I, his mid-90s masterpiece.
I don’t think this album will win him any new fans, as people who’ve dismissed him as a wimpy, misery-guts will never get the joke. But to those of us in the know, this record reaffirms just what a talent Morrissey was, is, and always will be.
To listen to tracks from Ringleader of the Tormentors, check them out for free at Napster.
