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 Snapshot of a triumphant comeback Feb 21, 2010
It still seems strange that an artist of Morrissey's stature should have languished in the wilderness for seven years without a record label, but his triumphant return in 2004 with the album You Are The Quarry (Jewel Case) and a whole slew of songs on singles, live DVDs and TV appearances galore put him right back into our black shrivelled hearts. The comeback culminated in a week-long victory tour of the United Kingdom just before Christmas 2004, of which this seventy-five minute set is the live souvenir.
A note in the booklet reads, "Everything on this CD was recorded live. Nothing was added or replaced in the studio". It was recorded on 18 December 2004 at Earls Court in London (although the rest of the tour was recorded and some of the banter with the audience is said to have come from other dates, and it has been claimed that some of the vocals were "repaired" with vocals dropped in from the other concerts), in front of a typically appreciative 17,183 people. Unfortunately, the picture of Morrissey on the cover was taken not at Earls Court but in Las Vegas the previous April. The album was produced by Peter Asher, continuing Morrissey's interest in sixties culture as Peter Asher was one half of Peter and Gordon and brother of Jane Asher, both having Beatle connections.
Although seven of the songs came from You Are The Quarry, Morrissey was clearly keen to reclaim his past and peppered the set with Smiths-era hits, opening challengingly with a muscular performance of How Soon Is Now?, originally a B-side, and including Bigmouth Strikes Again, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Shoplifters Of The World Unite and a climactic Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me). He also featured a couple of his pre-wilderness solo singles (November Spawned A Monster, The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get) and dropped in an unrecorded cover of Patti Smith's seventies poem/song Redondo Beach. To round out the set were some more new songs that had appeared during the year on singles, the paternal Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice, Munich Air Disaster 1958 (which began with the same verse from a New York Dolls oldie that he had been using to launch Every Day Is Like Sunday earlier on the tour) and the sombre Friday Mourning. Two of the songs from the album were extracted as a double-A side single (Redondo Beach/There Is A Light That Never Goes Out).
Morrissey's voice had changed from Smiths days but was in fine fettle nonetheless and of course he wasn't onstage alone. Benefiting from a year spent touring, the band featured the mighty Boz Boorer, Jesse Tobias, Mikey V Farrell (actually adding a dramatic trumpet to a couple of tunes), Gary Day and Deano Butterworth. There is no lack of confidence or panache in the playing and there is a lot of atmosphere in this snapshot of where Morrissey was in 2004, though the studio versions of these songs probably remain definitive.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Great live CD! Great bargain! 18 songs! Jun 13, 2006
This is a great live CD with 18 full-size songs. A nice blend of Smiths, "You are the quarry", and various other songs.
I am not familiar with the Patti Smith version of the song, but I found Morrissey's re-imagined version to be one of the best tracks on the CD.
This is also a CD that sounds real well when you play it on "RANDOM" on your cd/mp3 player :-)
It may not be perfect, but it's hard to really complain about this live CD! A must for Morrissey/Smiths fans!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Enjoyable for all fans, rookies and veterans alike! Apr 29, 2006
I really appreciate that morrissey decided to release the live album and live DVD (of two different shows!) from the 2004 tour that supported his fantastic "You Are The Quarry" album. The songs from "Quarry" sound even better live, and it is nice that he is starting to play more of his songs from the Smiths era. If you decide not to buy this full album, you must pick up the single from this concert "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"/"Redondo Beach". "Redondo Beach" is a Patti Smith cover, and to disagree with one of the previous reviews, I enjoy it very much (perhaps because I love to hear Morrissey sing anything, especially if it is outside of his normal routine. Another highlight is the first verse of "Subway Train" by the New York Dolls. The New York Dolls are a Morrissey favorite, and he even wrote a book about them years before he started singing in bands. Here "Subway Train" leads into "Munich Air Disaster 1958, a fantastic b-side from the "Irish Blood, English Heart" single. On the "Who Put The 'M' in Manchester" live DVD he uses it to introduce "Everyday Is Like Sunday," which he did frequently on the 2004 tour. It works well in both cases. Sorry if I focused on the details instead of the whole, but this live disc is great. If you are used to listening to inferior fan-recorded concerts, do yourself a favor, support the best band in the world, and buy this album and the "Manchester" DVD.
A great live performance! Apr 28, 2006
I actually bought this CD and forgot about it for a bit because I was listening to his studio music. I only caught a few glimpses here and there. Then after a dry spell I looked and saw this CD in my collection and put her in.
I was pretty amazed at just how well Morrissey's voice sounds on this album. First off if Moz is going to finally add "Smiths" tracks to his tour then a "Smiths" reunion is not necessary.
A great selection of tracks on this album. I do love "Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice" for some reason. Great vocal on "Shoplifters of the world" but a stellar performance on "You Know I Couldn't Last" which I think is the best track on the album. He does throw in the much over played "How Soon Is Now" and "Bigmouth" but he should have at least added "A Rush And a Push" which was electrifying on his "Manchester" DVD. Overall the CD is great and produced well. Morrissey's voice to me sounds better live now (on this cd) than ever before when he just tried to play around with the songs live instead of performing them. If you watch the VHS "Live In Dallas" you'll see what I mean. He has matured and so has the band. I like to hear a good live show that doesn't veer off too much with the original and that isn't sloppy. Defiantly not sloppy here. This disc is a must for any fan.
I wonder how many times he slurs his "R's" on this disc?
LIVE AT EARL'S COURT : MOZ MOZ MOZ Apr 09, 2006
Morrissey has always been known to be a great showman and he put on a wonderful live show that, at times, has overshadowed his recorded output. Live At Earl's Court is a much more slicker and polished affair than the ragged performance on the last live album, Beethoven Was Deaf. that raw atmosphere is missed here, but this 2005 Moz still reigns supreme with his brand of melodramatic modern rock. choice tracks from You Are The Quarry are spilling over with enthusiasm and The Smiths cuts sound absolutely jaw-dropping. especially "There Is A Light" which beams and shines with a newfound purpose and meaning that still sounds just as potent and passionate as it did when it was first released. Moz sounds much wiser and more mature and his voice has never sounded better. the only bad points for this performance is that Morrissey's witty stage banter has been edited out. which is too bad, because that's always part of the fun of his performances that i've always enjoyed. but the music is on point and strong...so i can't complain too much. oh yes, one more point to mention....this cd is wonderful, but for the full experience, everyone needs to get their hands on the "Who Put The 'M' In Manchester" dvd. that is the real Morrissey live show!
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