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Further Reading
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What? What? What?!!?? Morrissey has a brand new Greatest Hits CD out on February 11, 2008, according to his official website.
Does this not drench of sweet irony? Morrissey who once sang about the vulgarity of such things:
Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track (and a tacky badge)
It looks like, looking at the track listing, that most of the songs are pretty recent. There is one brand new song (the extra track) called "That's How People Grow Up", which actually sounds pretty good. Listen to that intro! Hazard to say that it might even deserve to be on a 'Greatest Hits' CD (it's that good).
So, to celebrate, I thought I would compile a list of Morrissey's compilation CDs. Please note this list does not include The Smiths releases and certainly not that Under the Influence. I bought that Under the Influence CD and to this day, it would not play because of some deranged DRM on the disc which prevented playback. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth, that I've long since avoided buying any CD from that Under the Influence company.
Anyway, just to let you know, I do own every Morrissey and The Smiths albums, but that's a LOT of music. Casual fans or maybe if you're just getting into Morrissey, you may want to try out a 'best of' and go from there.
BONA DRAG (1990)
Believe it or not, this wasn't a studio album. It was released after Viva Hate (1988), so obviously there weren't enough songs to warrant a collection as a "Greatest Hits". So instead the album collects some singles and b-sides in album called Bona Drag.
The title is actually a Polari slang for "good dress". Take a listen to "Piccadilly Palare" to understand where this was coming from.
Other interesting Polari that was mentioned in the song:
♥ "bona to vada" which means "good to see you"
♥ "eek" means face
♥ "riah" means hair (spells backwards)
Although this is an excellent album, it is not an essential buy. Although I would have to admit, "November Spawned a Monster", "Interesting Drug", "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", "Everyday Is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead" are strong staple songs in the Morrissey universe.
And speaking of universe...
WORLD OF MORRISSEY (1995)
Or as Matt Johnson, from The The, calls it, "World of Dorrissey".
I think most fans at the time absolutely hated this title. What the heck is a world of Morrissey? A world filled with wonders, I'm sure.
If you look at the track listing, there's no "Everyday is Like Sunday" or "Suedehead", so I wouldn't really consider this a greatest hits. Instead, it compiles some interesting songs in the mix, including a live version of "Jack the Ripper", the 9 minute "Moon River", and the creepy "Spring Heel Jim" from Vauxhall and I (1994).
The cover is a still taken from "The Boxers" video, which was released around the same time that Sweet and Tender Hooligan single was released (cover image taken from same boxer).
SUEDEHEAD: THE BEST OF MORRISSEY (1997)
This was a UK-only release, which meant that I had to get someone in the UK to buy it for me.
Again, nothing new is added here, but it is a pretty good starting point if you were to get into Morrissey as it does contain some of his better-known songs.
Since the CD was released after Vauxhall and I, it does contain the recent-hits: "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" (I hate this song!), "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful", and "You're the One for Me, Fatty".
Interestingly enough, it also contains the single-only release "Sunny" as well as "Interlude" a duet with Siouxsie Sioux.
MY EARLY BURGLARY YEARS (1998)
I think this title is pretty funny, especially if you think that people with lisps would say it inappropiately.
This collection is more or less a rarity and b-side compilation, so I would pass on this if you're not interested in rare songs such as: "At Amber", "Cosmic Dancer" (T-Rex cover), "Nobody Loves Us" and "Sister I'm a Poet".
Of course, if you collected the singles, you'd have all these songs already as either b-sides or a-sides. My favorite b-side is "Girl Least Likely To", which was originally released on the November Spawned a Monster single. I found out later that it was (shock) written by lawnmower part, Andy Rourke.
THE BEST OF MORRISSEY (2001)
This is the last best of, which I'll have to admit is a very good collection. It includes all the hits and it's the one that is available at most record stores.
It kind of upsets me that "Disappointed" is not placed at the end of the compilation. If you listen to the song, it's an obvious song to end the set with its lyrics: "This is the last song I will ever sing. No, no, I've changed my mind again. Goodnight, and thank you."
It has "Hairdresser on Fire" which was never a hit outside the fans. I love the line, "busy scissors" and I often use this to tell people I'm not available.
That wraps up the compilations, best of, most of, reissues, repackage.
PS, with this entry, I'm ensuring Morrissey as the king of most talked about.
PPS, I have a huge favor to ask anyone that reads this. Please register and vote for Louise Wener's book The Half Life of Stars. She promised to buy me a cake if she wins. Admittedly I haven't bought or read the book yet :(
01/18/2008 17:35:32 vu my♥posts 
www.morrisseymusic.com
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