Morrissey: Live At Earls Court : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

It's been nearly twenty years since the Smiths broke up, but the band's passionate, sensitive fans have never quite gotten over it. On this live set from 2004, Morrissey -- who is slowly turning into a British New Wave version of Frank Sinatra -- heals some of the heartache by revisiting his old group's anthems in excellent, swaggering renditions. Between the shuddering opening riff of "How Soon Is Now?" and the final cymbal crash of "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," Moz takes on "Shoplifters of the World Unite" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" to rapturous applause. But Live at Earls Court isn't just an exercise in nostalgia. The best songs from last year's return-to-form You Are the Quarry -- the ironic "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and the fiery "Irish Blood, English Heart" -- hold their own against the Smiths' classics.