.
http://www.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/d09baea8ba0922760dffe1f41cf7acb9cd8bb724.jpg Live At Earls Court

Morrissey

Live At Earls Court

Rolling Stone: star rating
Community: star rating
5 3 0
April 7, 2005

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.

prev
Album Review Main Next

ADD A COMMENT

Community Guidelines »
loading comments

loading comments...

COMMENTS

Sort by:
    Read More

    Music Reviews

    more Reviews »
    Daily Newsletter

    Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

    Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
    marketing partners.

    X

    We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

    Song Stories

    “(We're Not) The Jet Set”

    George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

    George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

    More Song Stories entries »