Ringleader of the Tormentors

Morrissey's the perennial outsider. What his original band the Smiths gave him was a home, a sympathetic context for his existential woes. His solo work has been an exhaustive search for a worthy new platform and he's worked with numerous producers in search of the resonant chord. This time it's legendary Bowie-T. Rex producer Tony Visconti with an additional assist from legendary movie scorer Ennio Morricone, and while the resultant album is less than legendary, it's still perversely fascinating. There may be moments of orchestral intrigue and rock bombast, but the real draw is Morrissey's seemingly endless way with approaching the same old social dead-ends. "Dear God, Please Help Me," "You Have Killed Me," "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" and "Life is A Pigsty," the titles alone indicate Morrissey has lost none of his panache or humor with life's darkest corners. He may never meet another sympathetic foil as singular and endearing as guitarist Johnny Marr, but Moz is having a blast getting lost in thickets of strings, pianos and whatever else his producers can do to doll him up for a night observing the town — from afar.