You Are the Quarry is the seventh solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Morrissey. It was released on 17 May 2004 by record label Attack, and was his first album in seven years following 1997's Maladjusted. The album was a huge comeback for Morrissey; all four of its singles reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, and the album itself reached number 2. The album also reached number 11 on the Billboard 200, making it Morrissey's highest-charting album in the United States.

You Are the Quarry
Studio album by
Released17 May 2004
RecordedAutumn 2003
Studio
GenreAlternative rock, pop rock, indie rock
Length47:20
LabelSanctuary/Attack
ProducerJerry Finn
Morrissey chronology
Maladjusted
(1997)
You Are the Quarry
(2004)
Ringleader
of the Tormentors

(2006)
Singles from You Are the Quarry
  1. "Irish Blood, English Heart"
    Released: 10 May 2004
  2. "First of the Gang to Die"
    Released: 12 July 2004
  3. "Let Me Kiss You"
    Released: 11 October 2004
  4. "I Have Forgiven Jesus"
    Released: 13 December 2004

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Entertainment WeeklyA[3]
The Guardian     [4]
Los Angeles Times    [5]
Mojo     [6]
NME8/10[7]
Pitchfork8.9/10[8]
Q     [9]
Rolling Stone     [10]
Uncut     [11]

According to critic review aggregator Metacritic, the album received an average review score of 72/100, based on 31 critical reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[1]

Release

edit

The first single released to promote the album was "Irish Blood, English Heart", released on 10 May 2004. You Are the Quarry was released on 17 May 2004 by record label Attack. The album charted at number 2 in the UK.

Some versions of the packaging do not show the full frame on the cover, but only a crop of Morrissey's face, cropping out the machine gun.

Nancy Sinatra recorded a version of "Let Me Kiss You", which was released as a single which performed well on the UK Singles Chart, prior to Morrissey's own single release of the song.

In October 2004, Attack repackaged and reissued You Are the Quarry as a two-disc deluxe edition. The second disc collected the nine B-sides from the album's first three singles, as well as music videos and live TV performances from the record, including Morrissey's live performances on American TV show The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. The original album is available with the bonus DVD, featuring the "Irish Blood, English Heart" video, song lyrics and a photo gallery.

20th Anniversary Concerts

edit

Morrissey was set to perform the album in its entirety at two concerts in Southern California to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The concerts were scheduled for 26 January 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and 27 January 2024 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. The shows were ultimately cancelled when Morrissey was ordered to remain in Zurich Switzerland while suffering from physical exhaustion.[citation needed]

Track listing

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."America Is Not the World"Morrissey, Alain Whyte4:03
2."Irish Blood, English Heart"Morrissey, Whyte2:37
3."I Have Forgiven Jesus"Morrissey, Whyte3:41
4."Come Back to Camden"Morrissey, Boz Boorer4:14
5."I'm Not Sorry"Morrissey, Boorer4:41
6."The World Is Full of Crashing Bores"Morrissey, Boorer3:51
7."How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?"Morrissey, Whyte3:25
8."First of the Gang to Die"Morrissey, Whyte3:38
9."Let Me Kiss You"Morrissey, Whyte3:30
10."All the Lazy Dykes"Morrissey, Whyte3:31
11."I Like You"Morrissey, Boorer4:11
12."You Know I Couldn't Last"Morrissey, Whyte, Gary Day5:51
Deluxe Edition bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice"Morrissey, Whyte2:53
2."It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"Morrissey, Whyte3:32
3."Teenage Dad on His Estate"Morrissey, Whyte4:08
4."Munich Air Disaster 1958" ([nb 1])Morrissey, Whyte2:30
5."Friday Mourning"Morrissey, Whyte4:08
6."The Never-Played Symphonies"Morrissey, Whyte3:03
7."My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye"Morrissey, Whyte2:55
8."I Am Two People"Morrissey, Whyte3:55
9."Mexico"Morrissey, Boorer, Day4:06
Deluxe Edition bonus disc: video / live TV
  • "Irish Blood, English Heart" (promotional video)
  • "First of the Gang to Die" (from The Late Late Show, 22 July 2004)
  • "I Have Forgiven Jesus" (from The Late Late Show, 23 July 2004)
  • "Let Me Kiss You" (from The Late Late Show, 24 August 2004)

Personnel

edit

Charts

edit
Chart performance for You Are the Quarry
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 64
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 32
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 30
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 7
Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[22] 32
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[24] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 63
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 2
US Billboard 200[28] 11

Certifications and sales

edit
Certifications and sales for You Are the Quarry
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 300,000^
Summaries
Worldwide 1,000,000[30]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ referring to the Munich air disaster

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Reviews for You Are The Quarry by Morrissey". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "You Are the Quarry – Morrissey". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  3. ^ George-Warren, Holly (28 May 2004). "Morrissey: You Are the Quarry". Entertainment Weekly. p. 124.
  4. ^ Petridis, Alexis (14 May 2004). "Morrissey, You Are the Quarry". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ^ Cromelin, Richard (16 May 2004). "Morrissey's mood indigo still entrances". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Morrissey: You Are the Quarry". Mojo (126): 90. May 2004.
  7. ^ Beaumont, Mark (8 May 2004). "Morrissey : You Are The Quarry". NME. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  8. ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (19 May 2004). "Morrissey: You Are the Quarry". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  9. ^ Harris, John (June 2004). "Spite Club". Q (215): 106.
  10. ^ Hunter, James (13 May 2004). "You Are The Quarry". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Morrissey: You Are the Quarry". Uncut (85): 92. June 2004.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 194.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  18. ^ "Morrissey: You Are the Quarry" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Morrissey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Morrissey – You Are the Quarry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Morrissey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  29. ^ "British album certifications – Morrissey – You Are The Quarry". British Phonographic Industry.
  30. ^ "Billboard". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 12 February 2005. p. 67. ISSN 0006-2510.
edit