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Product Description
Q, November, 2010
"This reissue, remastered.. also adds six previously unreleased tracks, including the jauntily self-parodic demo of Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness, later donated to Morrissey heroine Sandie Shaw, and maudlin Viva Hate out-take Lifeguard On Duty... Twenty years on, it's all bona" ****
Record Collector, November, 2010
"Bona Drag was a self-imposed grab-bag of all the good stuff released between 1987-1990 and, as such, is a strong set. Top 10 hits abound, but it's less well-known tracks that, unsuprisignly, affect today... Morrissey really was a creative power house in the late 80s." ***
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Bona Drag was going to be Morrissey's second studio album as a solo artist, to be produced by Langer and Winstanley (of Maddness fame) and co written with that bloke out of Fair Ground Attraction. Somewhere along the line things went horribly wrong (perhaps it was the ghost of Kenneth Williams) and what little material existed from the Bona Drag sessions was split up over several singles. Fans had to wait another year for a proper album from the same team (the dismal Kill Uncle). Bona Drag was eventually released as a compilation album in 1990. And a very odd compilation it is too.
For the most part the tracks on Bona Drag are non album singles and b sides - nice enough if you don't have the singles themselves. But the inclusion of Suede Head and Every Day is like Sunday (the singles from Morrissey's first solo album Viva Hate) seems like a very strange choice. So Bona Drag is neither a greatest hits album or a b side collection, a very strange beast indeed.
As a collection of songs it holds up pretty well. There are some infuriating inclusions and exclusions (why they edited the wonderful Will Never Marry and dropped b sides like Michaels Bones, Girl Least Likely To or I know Very Well How I Got My Name but included the Viva Hate singles is beyond me - oh and Ouija Board is a pretty bad single). But Disappointed, Hair Dresser on Fire and Last of the Famous International Play Boys are all worth turning up loud.
So as it is Bona Drag is a curious snap shot of Morrissey's solo carrier circa 1990. I would recommend getting the 88-91 CD singles box set instead, it costs a lot more but you get all the b sides and all the original art work so your pleasure is multiplied.
BUT.... This reissue comes with bonus tracks.
At the time of writing Amazon don't have these listed so here they are:
"Happy Lovers At Last United" (Outtake from "Sunday" sessions)
"Lifeguard On Duty" (Outtake from Viva Hate sessions)
"Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" (demo) (Outtake from Viva Hate, previously covered by Sandie Shaw)
"Oh Phoney" (Outtake from Bona Drag sessions)
"The Bed Took Fire" (early version of "At Amber")
"Let The Right One Slip In" (alternate long mix)
As is increasingly common with Morrissey's work, the bootleggers beat the record company by a country mile and all of these have been knocking around the fan community for some time. With the exception of The Bed Took Fire (a rather dull alternate version) they are all beauties and an essential part of any serious fans collection (especially Oh Phoney and Please Help the Cause... why these missed getting released until now is another Moz mystery).
So then, if you know your Morrissey you should do the decent thing and buy this for the official versions of the bonus tracks (let's just hope they outstrip the boot legs for quality). If you are a recent convert exploring the Moz back catalogue then you might want to get a few live albums or a singles box set under your belt before you get your teeth into Bona Drag, but it'll still be here when you're ready.
If you are a die hard Morrissey fan of course you have already pre ordered it to complete your collection, and good for you fine sir.
For the most part the tracks on Bona Drag are non album singles and b sides - nice enough if you don't have the singles themselves. But the inclusion of Suede Head and Every Day is like Sunday (the singles from Morrissey's first solo album Viva Hate) seems like a very strange choice. So Bona Drag is neither a greatest hits album or a b side collection, a very strange beast indeed.
As a collection of songs it holds up pretty well. There are some infuriating inclusions and exclusions (why they edited the wonderful Will Never Marry and dropped b sides like Michaels Bones, Girl Least Likely To or I know Very Well How I Got My Name but included the Viva Hate singles is beyond me - oh and Ouija Board is a pretty bad single). But Disappointed, Hair Dresser on Fire and Last of the Famous International Play Boys are all worth turning up loud.
So as it is Bona Drag is a curious snap shot of Morrissey's solo carrier circa 1990. I would recommend getting the 88-91 CD singles box set instead, it costs a lot more but you get all the b sides and all the original art work so your pleasure is multiplied.
BUT.... This reissue comes with bonus tracks.
At the time of writing Amazon don't have these listed so here they are:
"Happy Lovers At Last United" (Outtake from "Sunday" sessions)
"Lifeguard On Duty" (Outtake from Viva Hate sessions)
"Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" (demo) (Outtake from Viva Hate, previously covered by Sandie Shaw)
"Oh Phoney" (Outtake from Bona Drag sessions)
"The Bed Took Fire" (early version of "At Amber")
"Let The Right One Slip In" (alternate long mix)
As is increasingly common with Morrissey's work, the bootleggers beat the record company by a country mile and all of these have been knocking around the fan community for some time. With the exception of The Bed Took Fire (a rather dull alternate version) they are all beauties and an essential part of any serious fans collection (especially Oh Phoney and Please Help the Cause... why these missed getting released until now is another Moz mystery).
So then, if you know your Morrissey you should do the decent thing and buy this for the official versions of the bonus tracks (let's just hope they outstrip the boot legs for quality). If you are a recent convert exploring the Moz back catalogue then you might want to get a few live albums or a singles box set under your belt before you get your teeth into Bona Drag, but it'll still be here when you're ready.
If you are a die hard Morrissey fan of course you have already pre ordered it to complete your collection, and good for you fine sir.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Vinyl
One can only lament that if this bunch of stunning songs were released as a "proper" studio album, rather than as singles, 'Bona Drag' would surely rank by many to be among Morrissey's best, right alongside 'Vauxhall & I'. Originally released in 1990, critics did not accord this compilation the more acute critical appraisal usually reserved for proper studio albums. Imagine an alternate universe where this 'proper' album is followed by 'Your Arsenal', and then 'Vauxhall & I' (while 'Kill Uncle' songs are released as singles and finally as a compilation!), Morrissey's solo career would have come dangerously close to emulating the majesty of The Smiths' peerless four-album run. The b-sides here easily rival The Smiths' own classic b-sides, particularly 'Will Never Marry' , 'He Knows I'd Love to See Him' & 'Disappointed' (the only song that makes my laugh, and I don't laugh). Alas, the song that could have nudged this compilation from a perfect 10 to an unabashed 10.5 would have been the inclusion of 'Girl Least Likely To', the b-side to 'November Spawned A Monster' 12inch. That single, along with its two b-sides, is surely more accomplished and satisfying than the entire discography of most other artists.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Oh I'm sorry but Morrissey's wave of re-releases (pension top up contributions more like) are becomingly increasingly feeble. The packaging on this album is ultra flimsy (probaly the thinnest cardboard sleeve ever made, free Cds in the Sunday Mail are packaged in sturdier material)and the liner notes that accompany the few B&W photoes do not really tell us much new about how this album came to be.Remastered? Really? It sounds a bit louder than the old one but the sound doesn't in any way sound any better. No lyrics - that's not good. As for the bonus tracks - it's nice to have them on an official CD (they've been floating around on the internet forever)but a double CD of his unreleased material would have been a far fairer deal for his fans. I've been shelling out my hard earned on Steven since I first heard 'This Charming Man' on TOTP in 1983 and because I think he's bloody marvellous I still do, but I'm not particularly happy about it. OK, you cry, don't buy it then! If only it was that easy, I'm a raving OCD completist and have to do these things.
Original Bona Drag 5/5
Re-release 3/5
Original Bona Drag 5/5
Re-release 3/5
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Thankyou but no."
Clearly a brilliant album with some of Morrissey's best work. "The Last of the Famous International Playboys," and "Hairdresser on Fire," are two of Morrissey's very best songs. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Markham
why?
I remember buying this the first time around and it was rubbish then. What's the point of digitally remastering it? Talk about trying to polish a turd.
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Craig R. Simmons
'Muddlesome Meddling With Genius'
I guess the whole thing about remastering something comes down to whether or not you are a lover of perfection or genius. Personally, I will take GENIUS every time. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Antony May
Superb collection
A superb collection of Morrissey's early solo works, now reissued with unreleased bonus tracks.
In terms of the highlights, 'Hairdresser On Fire', 'Dissapointed' and 'November... Read more
In terms of the highlights, 'Hairdresser On Fire', 'Dissapointed' and 'November... Read more
Published 19 months ago by R. D. Finley-day
Could have been done better.....
When news broke of this re-issue I was made up with the thought of it. Sadly I am a little disappointed. And here is why. Read more
Published 19 months ago by David Bentley Newman
The Age of the Downgrade
Why should an "Anniversary/Deluxe/Remastered" edition of an album be a downgrade from previous editions?
I could complain about the flimsy packaging, but I won't. Read more
I could complain about the flimsy packaging, but I won't. Read more
Published 19 months ago by David
sounds lovely
I bought this disc before and I've just bought it again. I took the risk and I'm glad I did. These perfect little songs sound so much better remastered and the extra songs are just... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Me
Lovely tunes and lovely Riah!
The music on this CD is superb. Sure, it's a nostalgic road trip but what a journey back! At the time of the original release `solo Morrissey' was, in my opinion, at his peak in... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Stephen Lloyd
They Giveth and They Taketh Away...
First off, can Smiths fans PLEASE STOP quoting Morrissey's lyrics from 'Paint A Vulgar Picture' every time a new CD of Smiths/Morrissey material is released- It's getting really... Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Muzyka
Good music, with bad intentions.
At the time of it's initial release, 20 years ago, Morrissey seemed to be at the end of his career. Having not toured for four years, nor released an album for two years, and his... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. M. A. Reed
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