Search - Morrissey :: Your Arsenal

Rocks surprisingly hard

jon sieruga | Redlands, CA USA | 08/28/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although it fades a bit in the final stretch, "Your Arsenal" rocks pretty hard, with Moz in complete rock star mode. He's moody, coy, pouty, sexual, asexual and ethereal(especially on the haunting "We'll Let You Know")and I found this to be one of his very best efforts. Encompassing all of his strengths and few of his musical weaknesses, the CD is tight, compact and extremely well-produced.
Also check out the live album "Beethoven Was Deaf", which includes much of the material found here in a live, rocking format."

No Title Needed....Just Listen To It!

KP | Tampa,Fl | 02/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fantastic album. Despite the fact that Morrissey recorded this almost 13 years ago, the music still sound fresh and the lyrics still brilliant. It just makes the bilge they pass off today as good music seem like complete PC crap! When you have it like ol' Moz does, you don't need to try so hard. Go and show that to your stylists BLINK 182 and the rest of you fake nihilist wanker bands."

Essential

Henry Platte | Boston, MA | 04/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be my favorite Morrissey-solo album. It's just more consistent than anything else; the mood, especially, and the quality (even Vauxhall had a few weak songs). Some albums just seem to be collections of the songs that the artist happened to record at that time, arranged in a way that makes some sense, but Arsenal feels as though it was really concieved of as a complete work of art. From track one to track ten, the swagger and edge is consistent, from happier tracks (You're The One...) to the expected melancholy ones (We'll Let You Know). Seasick, Yet Still Docked might be a bit over the top ("Wish I knew the way / to reach the one I love / there is no way"), but its blunt, tired frankness sets it apart from similar songs in the Morrissey catalogue, and the stereotypical Smiths fan should lap it up. Aside from that, though - this is certainly Morrissey's other side, here, hinted at even in his Smiths days with songs like 'London;' a fiercer, more robust presonality, fascinated with the more gritty aspects of his nation. The humor, of course, remains intact, with songs like 'We Hate It...,' and his political side is displayed in 'Glamorous Glue' (not, as some have bizzarely suggested, in 'National Front...'). The closing track, Tomorrow, seems to me to be the epitome of the album, mixing the traditional sentiments ("Would you tell me that you love me / Oh, I know you don't mean it") with this reinventive loud, unwilting style."