Jase on Morrissey

My Early Burglary Years

Morrissey has done it again. Here's another Bona Drag or World of Morrissey type compilation of b-sides, singles, and album tracks. It's a nice little collection, especially for "Sunny", "Girl Least Likely To", and "Sister I'm a Poet". There are lots of other tracks that could have been included here, though, instead of some that were. (Do we really need "Reader Meet Author" and "The Boy Racer" again?) Of course it's the live version of "Jack the Ripper" here, instead of the nearly-impossible-to-find studio version from the "Certain People I Know" single. There's also a different live version of "Cosmic Dancer" here, but I like the original from the "Pregnant for the Last Time" single. Oh well. I guess we just have to take what we can get.

Maladjusted

Morrissey returns to a "Smiths sound" album with Maladjusted. "Alma Matters" is classic Morrissey: melodious vocals, nice guitar layers, and incomprehensible lyrics. "Trouble Loves Me" and "He Cried" are also good songs. "Satan Rejected My Soul" is the album's catchiest song. The songwriting on this album is not as strong as it has been in the past. "Sorrow Will Come in the End" is an annoying spoken-word track (why didn't he just sing it?), and some of the other tracks are somewhat forgettable. Most Morrissey fans will appreciate Maladjusted's softer edge in comparison to 1995's Southpaw Grammar.

I've made myself a nice little disc with my CD recorder of Maladjusted and the six b-sides from the singles. The album seems better with these extra tracks.

"Alma Matters" is a great Morrissey song, and this single is a good package. "I Can Have Both" is better than several songs on Maladjusted.

"Roy's Keen"

"Roy's Keen " is a silly song, but it sounds pretty good. I really like the b-side "Lost". This is a pretty good package.

Suedehead - The Best of Morrissey

This U.K.-only compilation is a great compilation of most of Moz's singles to date, including rare ones like "Pregnant for the Last Time" and "Interlude". The b-side "That's Entertainment" is also featured, as it was supposed to be re-released as a single to coincide with the release of the album. I understand that if you actually have one of these singles that you should hold onto it, as copies are pretty rare. Morrissey's singles aren't necessarily his best songs, but this is a nice compilation nonetheless.

Southpaw Grammar

Morrissey's back to the hard edge with Southpaw Grammar. He also goes for long track lengths; "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" runs over 11 minutes. I know a lot of Morrissey fans that did not like this album - especially my brother. The thing that saves this album is that the songwriting is very good. This album is a little bit more difficult to listen to than other Morrissey offerings, but the songs were well written. I think "Southpaw" is too long, but "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" doesn't seem to drag despite its length. "The Operation" has an annoying two-minute drum solo at the beginning. Other than that, I don't think this album is too bad.

I do have to say that I was somewhat annoyed when I bought the album, though. The album only has eight tracks on it. It runs about 45 minutes - like a typical album - but I felt ripped off that I was only getting eight songs for my money. Since then I have pretty much forgotten about it.

World of Morrissey

I guess in Morrissey's world fans are frustrated because their favorite artists release compilation albums with some b-sides, but not all of them. World of Morrissey is a good compilation; the songs flow well together. I can't help wondering why we got this odd collection of some singles, some b-sides, and some album tracks. I would have preferred a compilation akin to the Smiths' Louder Than Bombs.

There are three new songs on this album: "Whatever Happens, I Love You" (my favorite), "Have-a-Go Merchant", and "Boxers". The album also features Morrissey's two best songs, "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" and "My Love Life". I would have preferred the studio versions of "Sister I'm a Poet" and "Jack the Ripper" since I already have Beethoven is Deaf, but these live versions are good. "Moon River" (from Breakfast at Tiffany's) is too long. This is a good compilation for the casual Morrissey listener, but, as a fan, I feel a bit let down.

"Boxers"

This single contains the three new songs for the World of Morrissey album. The songs are very good, with "Boxers" bound to be a Morrissey classic. My favorite here is "Whatever Happens, I Love You", a heavy tune with Boz Boorer's wailing saxophone.

Vauxhall & I

Morrissey keeps Alain Whyte and Martin "Boz" Boorer from the Your Arsenal album, but with producer Steve Lillywhite puts out the much softer Vauxhall & I. This album is mixed very differently than Morrissey's other albums. The guitars seem subdued - almost distant. It's a nice little change that works well with the album's subtle, yet infectious, tunes. "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" is Morrissey's most successful U.S. single so far. "Now My Heart is Full" and "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself" are also good songs.

I read Herman Melville's Billy Budd, and Morrissey's song "Billy Budd" doesn't resemble it at all. In fact, Morrissey doesn't even refer to the events of the book, so I wonder why he named the subject of the song "Billy Budd". This song could be called "Hand in Glove (1994 Version)".

Beethoven Was Deaf

This non-U.S. album was recorded live in Paris, December 22, 1992. Morrissey and his band play most of the songs from Your Arsenal and a few others on this very good live album. The songs on Your Arsenal lend themselves to a live performance - the live recordings here sound more cohesive than on the studio album. Nice inclusions are "Jack the Ripper" (sounding very different from the studio version) and "Sister I'm a Poet". I read somewhere that the songs were not performed in the order they are presented on the album and that some songs, like "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" were cut.

Your Arsenal

What is Morrissey doing?! This is certainly not the "Morrissey sound"! This album seems like heavy rock-n-roll; he can't do that! I've heard so many Morrissey fans complain about this album because they think that Morrissey is betraying his sound. I think that's stupid. A solo artist doesn't have a "sound". That's what makes a solo artist's recordings so fun to listen to; they can sound different from album to album. So what if the music on this album is harder than on his past albums? He can do what he wants. Most people overlook the songwriting on this album. Alain Whyte proves himself to be a very capable songwriter on this album. These songs do sound better live (see Beethoven Was Deaf), but this is a good album. My favorite here is "Seaside, Yet Still Docked", with Morrissey's signature self-depreciation.

Kill Uncle

I bought Kill Uncle as soon as it came out. My friend Shawn (who had not purchased the album) asked me if the single was better than "There is a Light That Never Goes Out". "What?" I asked confused. Shawn said that he had read an interview with Morrissey where Moz says that his new single was better than my favorite Smiths song. "'Our Frank' is the first single," I said, "but it isn't better than 'There is a Light That Never Goes Out'." Shawn borrowed the album from me, and when he returned it to me he agreed with my assessment.

Kill Uncle starts off OK, but the second half of the album kind of misfires. "Our Frank" is the only strong single material. My favorite here is "King Leer".

"Sing Your Life"

"Sing Your Life" isn't a great song, but the b-sides on this disc are pretty good. Morrissey has changed the words to the classic "That's Entertainment", and "The Loop" inroduced us to the rockabilly of Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer.

Bona Drag

It's kind of funny to think that Morrissey's second album is a compilation. But here we have all those singles released after Viva Hate and some b-sides. I think "Everyday is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead" should have been left off since they're on Viva Hate. Instead, more b-sides, such as "Sister I'm a Poet", "Girl Least Likely To", and "I Know Very Well How I Got My Name", should have been included. This is a good compilation of early Morrissey tracks.

"November Spawned a Monster"

I once saw "November Spawned a Monster" described as "too weird for most". It is an odd song (with an odd video). The gem here is "Girl Least Likely To", co-written by former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke.

"He Knows I'd Love to See Him" was co-written by Kevin Armstrong, who also plays guitar on all three tracks. Kevin Armstrong has since played guitar for Peter Murphy.

"Ouija Board, Ouija Board"

"Ouija Board" is a funny little song with a funny video. The highlight, of course, is Moz spelling his name out on the board during the song. "Yes, I Am Blind" is one of my least favorite Morrissey songs, but the cover of the Herman's Hermits song "East West" is pretty good.

Since the first two tracks of this single are available on Bona Drag, the real attraction here is the live version of the Smiths song "Sweet and Tender Hooligan". The latter is OK, but nothing to get excited about.

Viva Hate

Morrissey's first release following the breakup of the Smiths is his best. The songs, with music by producer Stephen Street, is interestingly different, yet somehow close, to the "Smiths sound". My favorite tracks here are "Alsatian Cousin" and "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me". The songs here follow one another nicely.

My favorite Morrissey line comes from "Late Night, Maudlin Street":

Where the world's ugliest boy
Became what you see
Here I am - the ugliest man

Morrissey wrote a song titled "Please Help the Cause Against Loneliness" for this album, but it wasn't included. Sandie Shaw recorded the song in 1988. 10,000 Maniacs covered "Everyday is Like Sunday" in 1992.

Here's a little bootleg I made up to make up for the shortfall of My Early Burglary Years. I've put all of those random b-sides that don't show up on any album, including the six from the Maladjusted singles. The disc name is a tongue-in-cheek combination of "Lost" and "Pregnant for the Last Time" in reference to the difficulty in finding these songs.

This bootleg is the companion to Talent Borrows Genius Steals. I was lucky to be one of the last to pick up this compilation of rare Morrissey (tracks 2-8, 16-18, 21) and Smiths (tracks 11-15, 19-20, 22) tracks. (Tracks 8-9 are covers by Sandie Shaw.) I was less enthusiastic about this disc than I was about its predecessor, since I already had most of the tracks. It is, however, a good collection of Moz songs. The best tracks here are the U.K.-only single "Sunny", and the b-sides "Skin Storm", "Girl Least Likely To", and "Sister I'm a Poet". This compilation has mostly been rendered obsolete by the release of My Early Burglary Years.

Hulmerist (video)

I bought this video when it came out, which was several months before Bona Drag came out. At the time it provided the only compilation of Morrissey's many singles. The videos are pretty good, especially the one for "The Last of the Famous International Playboys". The "Sister I'm a Poet" video is a live version from the concert that supported the Viva Hate album. In between the videos are scenes of the crowd outside the concert hall. These scenes are often long and boring (but waiting for a concert is often long and boring, so maybe that was the point).

I finally figured out what the title meant the other day. I guess "Hulme" is a city (or some other geographical location) in England and is pronounced "hume". The video's title is, therefore, a play on words, since it would be pronounced "humorist".