Originally released in 1992,Parlophone Records will release the Definitive Master of Morrissey’s seminal third album, YOUR ARSENAL on February 25.
YOUR ARSENAL is very much a traditional two-sided album, with five songs per side. Recorded after six months on the road with his new touring band, side one has a live urgency: the swagger of a gang with killer, muscular riffs and chops, enthralled to the grit of rock ’n’ roll and, with legendary and hugely influential Spiders From Mars guitarist and arranger Mick Ronson at the helm in the producer’s chair, glam rock. Ronson helped craft an album that was, all at once, sonically tough and tender.
Contrasting with the tougher songs of side one, the second side features classic, clever pop moments (“We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” and “You’re The One For Me, Fatty”) and more gentle, reflective and heartfelt touches (“Seasick, Yet Still Docked” – with Ronson on guitar; “I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday” – later covered by Bowie; and “Tomorrow”) on an album that caresses as much as it confronts the listener.
YOUR ARSENAL – The Definitive Master is a new remaster of the album. It replaces the original version of “Tomorrow” with the superior US Mix. It will be available on CD, heavyweight, gatefold vinyl (with a rare Kevin Cummins photo of Morrissey and his band taken in Koln, 1991) and digital download. The CD will include a bonus DVD, featuring a previously unreleased live concert recorded at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on October 31, 1991, with the future ‘Your Arsenal’ band.
With his first album since 2009’s Years of Refusal, Steven Patrick Morrissey will release a new album this year. Morrissey will begin recording his new album in France on February and will be produced by Joe Chiccarelli, who has worked with U2, Elton John and The Strokes.
The album under the deal with Capitol Records will be released in the second half of 2014 and Tour dates are also expected to be announced soon.