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You Are the Quarry is an album by Morrissey, the former lead singer of the Smiths. The album was released on May 17, 2004 internationally, and a day later in the United States.
The release is a significant event in Morrissey's career for several reasons. Throughout the late 90s, Morrissey was treated with contempt by the British music press and subsequently became a pariah with respect to the Britpop movement, turning to prog rock in lieu of his usual indie pop. With You Are the Quarry, Morrissey returns to the musical mainstream. Because it was his first studio album in seven years, the critics and the public were more willing to give him a chance and offer a tabula rasa. As such, the first single "Irish Blood, English Heart" became his highest charting single in the UK at #3 and received significant airplay in the US, going to #36 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album charted at #2 in the UK and became Morrissey's highest charting album in the US, reaching #11.
The album is in many ways unique in comparison to Morrissey's previous work. Musically, Jerry Finn's production gives the album a very mainstream, commercial feel, but it also makes the songs very appealing and polished. This is especially evident in the percussion, which is prominent and melodic. Guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte craft songs that fit somewhere between modern indie rock and AOR.
Lyrically, Morrissey touches on many themes, varying from politics to relationships to Morrissey's place in society. His seriousness and lyrical maturity vary from song to song. Yet, he displays some of his most reflective lyrics since 1994's Vauxhall and I on songs like "I Have Forgiven Jesus", "Come Back to Camden", and "You Know I Couldn't Last".
The eclectic combination of diverse lyrics and mainstream rock music make You Are the Quarry perhaps the only Morrissey album similar to his debut, Viva Hate.
This is the most successful album of Morrissey's career, solo or with The Smiths. It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
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 some collected video, including Morrissey's live performances on American TV show, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.
Trivia: This is the first Morrissey album whose cover does not enclose the title in quotation marks.
Track listing
Original Release:
- "America Is Not the World" (4:03)
- "Irish Blood, English Heart" (2:37)
- "I Have Forgiven Jesus" (3:41)
- "Come Back to Camden" (4:14)
- "I'm Not Sorry" (4:41)
- "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores" (3:51)
- "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?" (3:25)
- "First of the Gang to Die" (3:38)
- "Let Me Kiss You" (3:30)
- "All the Lazy Dykes" (3:31)
- "I Like You" (4:11)
- "You Know I Couldn't Last" (5:51)
Deluxe Edition 2nd Disc:
- "Don't Make Fun of Daddy’s Voice"
- "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You’re Small"
- "Teenage Dad on His Estate"
- "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
- "Friday Mourning"
- "The Never-Played Symphonies"
- "My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye"
- "I Am Two People"
- "Mexico"
Videos:
- "Irish Blood, English Heart"
- "First of the Gang to Die" (Live Music Video)
- "First of the Gang to Die" - 22 July 2004 from the Late Late Show
- "I Have Forgiven Jesus" - 22 July 2004 from the Late Late Show
- "Let Me Kiss You" - 22 July 2004 from the Late Late Show
Singles
- "Irish Blood, English Heart"
- B-sides: "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small", "Munich Air Disaster 1958", "The Never-Played Symphonies"
- Released May 10, 2004 internationally
- Released May 4, 2004 in the United States
- United States: The single's world premier occurred on the KROQ Kevin and Bean show on 22 March, 2004. The song received consistent airplay throughout April and May on such alternative rock stations as WFNX (Boston), WWCD (Columbus), CIMX (Detroit), KMBY (Monterey / Salinas), XTRA (San Diego), and of course KROQ (Los Angeles). The single's airplay increased over the next few months and upon its release it spent two weeks at #4 on Billboard's Singles Sales chart. It also reached #36 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
- United Kingdom: The song was first played by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 1 on March 29, 2004. However, Radio 1 did not playlist the single. Only XFM, which playlisted it, provided much exposure for the single in the UK. Despite the lack of exposure on mainstream stations, "Irish Blood, English Heart" debuted at #3 on the UK charts, making it Morrissey's highest charting single with or without the Smiths.
- "First of the Gang to Die"
- B-sides: "My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye", "Teenage Dad on His Estate", "Mexico"
- Released July 12, 2004 internationally
- Released July 13, 2004 in the United States
- United Kingdom: The single was A-Listed by BBC Radio 2 and received much more exposure than "Irish Blood...", propelling it onto the top forty airplay chart. It entered the official singles chart at #6, making it the third-highest charting song and most successful follow-up single of Morrissey's career. The single stayed in the chart for seven weeks, longer than any other Morrissey single.
- United States: The single failed to quickly achieve widespread airplay success like "Irish Blood, English Heart". However, it debuted at #12 on the Billboard Singles Sales chart on July 31, causing "Irish Blood, English Heart" to re-enter the chart for a week. By September, it had been added to the playlists of a few stations that supported the last single, including WNNX (Atlanta), WWCD, KROQ, WHTG (Monmouth / Ocean), KMBY, WROX (Norfolk), XTRA, and KITS (San Francisco). However, despite at one point being nearly in the 50 most played alternative rock songs in the United States, "First of the Gang to Die" was never played in enough markets to break into the Billboard Top 40 Modern Rock Tracks chart.
- "Let Me Kiss You"
- B-sides: "Friday Mourning", "I Am Two People", "Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice"
- Released October 11, 2004
- United Kingdom: The single reached #8 in the UK, though it slid down the chart quickly. Nancy Sinatra also released a cover version of the song on the same day in the UK, though it charted just outside the top 40. She released the song on July 13 in the US.
- United States: There are currently no confirmed official plans for a US release of the single.
- "I Have Forgiven Jesus"
- B-sides: "The Slum Mums", "The Public Image", " No One Can Hold a Candle to You"
- Released 13 December, 2004
