Morrissey is one of the most distinctive personalities in Music. Whether he is being lauded as a laureate of generations, attacked for his views on immigration or being asked if he really is asexual the former Smiths front man refuses to go quietly into a third decade of recording.
As bands reform everywhere, forgetting their former hatred for one another to cash in on former glories, Morrissey has stayed true to the bitterness into which the Smiths descended despite rumoured offers of over £100 Million for one festival appearance. Such resolute stubborness seems to have typified his career and, as this review seems to suggest, his anger at the world and it's desire to finish him is far from quelled.
Is this the lasting impression that we need of Morrissey? I didn't grow up when The Smiths were in their pomp, I don't nessecarily relate to the feelings evoked by Morrisey's lyrics but they were one of the first "greats" that I truly discovered in the brilliant period when as a music fan you realise that modern popular music isn't all that exists. It was easy to fall in love with The Smiths. Morrissey's poetic lyrics and Marr's intricate melodies all combined to prove that "Indie" could be something great, beautiful and poetic. They stood as a testament to the enduring power of wit, cynicism and a few guitars. I would prefer that this is what Morrissey was remembered for, rather than a handful of average albums.
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