Morrissey A-Z: "Sorry Doesn't Help"

Can remember my disappointment when hearing YOR for the first time.
And this was one of those songs along with 3-4 others that made it disappointing for me...

This isn’t a bad song , I just don’t like it ..
It goes nowhere, does nothing, and it’s bland.
 
I relate to the first half of Baz’ post. Strongly. But to me, the album grew, and for quite a few years now, I kind of love it. And this is one of those songs that I’ve really grown to appreciate. Back in 2009, I was so sick of this kind of meat-and-potatoes type of chug rock, but now, after years of Latin flavored world music and going-nowhere-compositions by the likes of Gustavo Manzur, I miss it. And when you’re feeling betrayed or jilted, this song is a great remedy.
 
Typical brute Tobias guitars that are supposed to create atmosphere and drama. Later, a kind of glam piano that might remind you of Mott the Hopple. But there were too many such gruff rockers between 2006 and 2014. Definitely not good enough to be remembered or to be really loved (by me). But Morrissey must have been very convinced of such pieces at that time.
 
love it,remember him doing this in dundee and i was so close to the low stage and his voice was fantastic that night.why is refusal always classed as chug rock,mama,good in your time,birthday anymore,carol,black cloud,paris none of these are chug rock and thats half the album.
8 lives /10 let lives.
 
Years or Refusal is a difficult album for me, I would hazard a bet that it is the studio album I listen to the least (OK… it may tie with Ringleader of the Tormentors). In my mind the album has a few great songs, but is defined by a good half a dozen or so songs that are just a little…. forgettable. Sorry Doesn’t Help is one of those numbers – the type of song I would be seriously annoyed to see performed live. It isn’t a bad song, but musically it seems to just re-tread along a worn old ground of meritless over sped chug, with lyrics not strong enough to drive any point home. I wonder how this Sorry Doesn't Help would sound stripped and slowed down into a gentler acoustic piece, without the melody being drowned out to the extent that it is here? Better, I expect.
 
Fair to middle
It was unlikely to ever escape beyond 2009.
Standards so high, some songs were bound to appear so low 🧐
 
I'm not the biggest Tobias fan, but I really quite like the last two songs on YOR, tho this one the least of the two. It's a bit roxy music, but i don't mind it. I like the line about lying about the lies you tell, very Moz.
 
Years of Refusal should have ended with You Were Good in Your Time, since the last two songs add nothing to the album. Dull chug rock, with typically bitter and unimaginative lyrics.
 
Years of Refusal should have ended with You Were Good in Your Time, since the last two songs add nothing to the album. Dull chug rock, with typically bitter and unimaginative lyrics.
Even though I like the last two songs on the album, you are absolutely right about YWGIYT. Would have been a glorious closer.
 
Really? I've always disliked YWGIYT, it's a nothing song.
 
Another song that’s grown on me, Moz further elaborates on the previously tired rock sound he favoured in the 2000s, adding Sparks-ian keys and some of his best melodies on the album. His vocal performance lives up to the excellent standard of that album, ducking, diving and then soaring through the scaling chord changes. Thrilling, with a classic dose of spite sprinkled on the top, settling scores as we enter the ultimate declaration of “I’m OK By Myself.” Great stuff from one of his best albums.
8/10
 
A desperately mediocre rocker that wasn't helped by its place in the running order. You Were Good in Your Time feels like a natural closer, and this should never have followed it.

Possibly Jesse's least impressive composition and Morrissey's mention of a QC shows that he was still obsessed...

In the poll on the Hoffman board this ranked 223rd from 264 solo songs.
 
Years of Refusal should have ended with You Were Good in Your Time, since the last two songs add nothing to the album. Dull chug rock, with typically bitter and unimaginative lyrics.
Yes, with an edited version of YWGAYT perhaps.
 
Really like this one, & the YOR album; Moz in great voice. I like the way it slowly winds up at the start before crashing in with Matt W on the drums, which then continue to dominate throughout. I like the beat, energy & general aggressiveness of this track tbh. Lyrics seem personal, as opposed to observational, & full of bitterness; makes me wonder if it relates to his father leaving home when Moz was in his teens ('And sorry will not bring my teen years back to me')?

"Sorries pour out of you
All wide-eyed simple smiles"


Banging great tune!
 
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Can remember my disappointment when hearing YOR for the first time.
And this was one of those songs along with 3-4 others that made it disappointing for me...

This isn’t a bad song , I just don’t like it ..
It goes nowhere, does nothing, and it’s bland.
After hearing, with some astonishment, that That’s how People Grow Up was going to be included on Refusal (forcing me to own twice, on a long player, a song I didn’t want once), I was braced for a poor album.

I know we get defensive but ‘goes nowhere, does nothing … bland’ is horrendous by Morrissey’s standards. And it’s all absolutely true for this song. And too many others on Refusal.

The best I can say is that it’s better than That’s How People Grow Up.
 
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I don’t really like this song and don’t usually make it this far into the album. It’s a rare occasion IMO of morrissey not elevating the track. His part just sounds lazy and half hearted in execution. It feels like they don’t know where they’re going and are just filling space
 
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