Regarded as his heaviest but strongest body of work, Morrissey’s 1992 solo record Your Arsenal makes a comeback this year and will no doubt prompt a wave of nostalgia to wash over the angsty teenagers of yesteryear.
Unlike previous reissues of the heartthrob’s solo work, however, Your Arsenal amazingly retains its original charm and quirks. The artwork hasn’t been updated with an older, grumpier, and more vegetarian Morrissey, nor has he thrown in any *super bonus material* in the form of “rare demos” or “never-heard live tracks”. Instead, the album from the British artist – and former frontman of The Smiths – is as it was when first released: plain and simple.
With the exception of the closing track ‘Tomorrow’, the US mix of which is included on the record, Your Arsenal is the original album remastered tactfully, bringing out the rhythm section and basslines a little more than the initial version. Overall, it’s unmistakably the same LP that brought the Grammy-nominated musician to repute in the US.
It’s a special feeling to rediscover this collection, one reminiscent of a time when you could relate to the tracks as if they were your own.
The lyrics are equal parts confronting and tender, with Morrissey exploring the darker side of society and increasingly political themes (‘Glamorous Glue’, ‘The National Front Disco’) as well as some more gentle pop ditties towards the end in ‘Seasick, Yet Still Docked’.
He’s regarded as a lyrical icon, an innovator in his field, and 20 years after his peak it’s easy to ridicule his ‘National Treasure’ status as an influential Brit; but revisiting this record in full, re-released so sensitively, brings Morrissey back to life and listeners back to their youths.
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