I think he's clearly past his prime, but I genuinely believe that he has a lot left in him. He's like Bob Dylan. He's never going to write lyrics that jump up and smack me in the face ever again, but he doesn't need to. He does something else now, something that he couldn't do when he was younger.
Dylan pays homage to his inspirations - namely 12-bar blues, delta music and early (30's-40's) vocal groups for his own enjoyment. He makes no apology for what he does and doesn't ask for support. Come along for the ride or don't. He's yet to bitch about his genius going unrecognized or send an angry e-mail about the fact that Beyond Here Lies Nothing didn't burn up the Top 40.
Morrissey doesn't 'do something else now, something he couldn't do when he was younger' because like a low-rent Northern asylum's resident PETA Pan he's sycophantically kissed (and subsequently disappeared up) his own arse sufficiently enough to stunt his emotional maturation and growth, remaining the eternal, aging, balding art student rather than the far more meaty (ho ho!) prospect of a middle-aged Morrissey coming to terms with his mortality, aging and loneliness - which might actually make for some interesting songs and albums.
Morrissey circles in an endless vortex of self-delusion of his own relevance in the current musical landscape. In the live arena he mixes tepid, weak new songs with weak, tepid versions of old songs while blasting all-comers for failing to recognise his potential for greatness - which has long since faded. There's no greater testament to his unapologetic trumpet-blowing ego-addled mindset than his recent listing of 'Years Of Refusal' as the album of which he is most proud - more so than any of the Smiths work, or his superior older solo work. It would be like hearing Miles Davis tell you 'You're Under Arrest' is far better than 'Kind Of Blue'. You don't know whether to smirk at him or weep for him.
His voice is not 'as good as ever'. That's such a ridiculous statement I can't be bothered to say any more on it than listen to a Smiths bootleg or a 2004-2006 era bootleg and compare it to anything you can find from the last two years.
What remains? His whinging, idiotic, sophomoric understanding of human rights and his pathetic chest-beating in favour of violent, illegal/terrorist activity funding PETA? This is a middle aged man who should know better. He may think his turgid, depressing attention-seeking attempts at controversy make him relevant but to anyone with common sense, they are one more reason to write him off as a sad, deeply delusional has-been.
Does he still have the potential for greatness? While surrounded by the current crop of mediocre, uninspiring workaday musicians, I'd say probably not. If 'Years Of Refusal' represents the kind of 'glories' he hopes to scale the lofty heights of in future, I'd say certainly not.
Morrissey needs to be challenged in order to produce great music. His band don't challenge him. His yes-men don't challenge him. The majority of his fans don't challenge him. And he's his own biggest fan.
