Morrissey: Ringleader of the Gay Tormentors?

Promotional material for Morrissey's new album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, implied that it would say a lot about Morrissey's sexuality. But in fact, Ringleader actually says no more than any previous Morrissey solo album. Careful reading reveals that the “positively shocking surprises” of the album are not that Morrissey reveals his sexual orientation, but simply that he has sex…or perhaps deals with sex...or has perhaps deigned that sex may now return as a topic for his tunes. In any case, we are informed that Morrissey is no longer, to quote the press release, a “strictly cerebral soul”.

As if teasing the gay question--Morrisey's PR boldly proclaims, “How refreshing it is to have Morrissey singing about you-know-what at last! Here we are in an industry named for a sexual metaphor (rock'n'roll), and yet we have to wait for Morrissey to get down to the real nitty gritty. Awash, as we are, with songs about doing it, it is hard to recall another song or singer who has dared to talk so baldly about sexual longing.”

But in reality, as on his previous albums, sexual innuendos on Ringleader are random and sparse. Popping up here and there, these classic little Morrissey-isms do make their (usually gay) poetically effective points. As he proclaims in “Dear God Please Help Me,”"There are explosive kegs between my legs" and " Now I'm spreading your legs, with mine in between."

About these above lines the press release heatedly gushes, “Have you ever heard anyone else sing about it (sex) so, um, graphically? Once heard, it is so thrillingly frank and open that you wonder why others ever bother beating about the bush”.

Elsewhere, on the CD's first single release, ‘You Have Killed Me' there is the line:"I entered nothing, and nothing entered me, ‘til you came, with the key."

Morrissey does openly share some sympathy, and even some political solidarity, with many American gays. He has been a longtime critic of both President Bush and U.S. foreign policy. He has publicly called Bush a terrorist and urged Americans to vote against him. In his song "America is Not the World," from 2004's You Are the Quarry album, he sang:

In America, The land of the free, they said,
And of opportunity, In a just and a truthful way.
But where the president is never black, female or gay,
and until that day,
you've got nothing to say to me, to help me believe

Is no wonder that (especially given our current administration's penchant for clandestine snoopings and dealings), Moz got himself investigated by the FBI.

Musically, the overall sound of Ringleaders is refreshingly “up”. This CD can boast of a really solid “meat and potatoes”, “in the pocket” feel--more so than much of his previous solo work.

Many of Morrissey's ballads of the last decade could be somewhat joyless, moping, funereal affairs. But there is a luscious, sensuous beauty, as well as a variety of interesting lyrical topics, in the numerous slow songs on Ringleader.

It's great to hear Morrissey back in the big rock game, feeling his front-man muscle amongst some impressively tight instrumental players. One of the first impressions I get from hearing Ringleader is how well it will play out on the live rock stage. It's basic heavy guitar-bass-drums core sound gains additional weight and punch from added Ennio Morricone orchestrations of symphonic string and horn sections; as well as nicely layered, fat analog synth sounds.

The CD was recorded in Rome by noted producer Tony Visconti. In the 60s and 70s Visconti produced albums for gay rock icons T-Rex and David Bowie