Today’s offering is the third single lifted from the 2006 LP Ringleader of The Tormentors.
Morrissey was riding the crest of a critical wave on back of the album as well as gaining loads of kudos for a UK tour that had taken him to loads of smaller venues in towns that rarely attracted any decent live gigs (e.g. Greenock, Grimsby, Halifax, Whitehaven, Blackburn, Truro, Cheltenham, King’s Lynn). The goodwill extended to his fans who bought enough copies of the single to take it to #17 in the charts.
I was personally surprised that this was released as a single. I’m not arguing that it’s a dull or boring song, but it wasn’t one of the stand-out tracks on the LP by any stretch of the imagination. The opening 20 seconds or so remind of songs by T Rex and Oasis, and I suppose I can never really get those thoughts out of my head as it unravels itself over the next three and a bit minutes…but it is, on reflection, the sort of track that would sound reasonable enough when coming over the radio airwaves.
mp3 : Morrissey – In The Future When All’s Well
mp3 : Morrissey – I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now (live)
mp3 : Morrissey – To Me You Are A Work Of Art (live)
The two live tracks are Ringleader tracks that were recorded on Sunday 28th May 2006 at the London Palladium on what was the last night the UK tour (Morrissey, in a tribute to an old TV variety show had played three Sunday Nights at The London Palladium during May). They’re actually quite good versions of the tracks…..Morrissey is in very good voice while his backing band stick to faithful reproductions….
There was also one new track is one that I think deserved a place on the album itself rather than being thrown away on a b-side….but then again this outstanding tribute to the French fashion designer is probably the reason so many of us bought the actual single:-
mp3 : Morrissey – Christian Dior
Oh and I also love the sleeve on this one. I’m sure I had a jacket exactly like that when I was about 12 years of age….and I certainly would have had an ice cream like that when I was that age….
Christian Dior is definitely my favorite track that came out of the Ringleaders sessions. There’s something really timeless about it to these ears.