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Track Listings
| 1. The Last Of The Famous International Playboys |
| 2. You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side |
| 3. The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get |
| 4. Glamorous Glue |
| 5. Girl Least Likely To |
| 6. Suedehead |
| 7. Tomorrow (US Mix) |
| 8. Boxers |
| 9. My Love Life (US Single Version) |
| 10. Break Up The Family |
| 11. I've Changed My Plea To Guilty |
| 12. Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference |
| 13. Ouija Board Ouija Board |
| 14. Interesting Drug |
| 15. November Spawned A Monster |
| 16. Everyday Is Like Sunday |
| 17. Interlude (Morrissey Solo Version)* |
| 18. Moonriver |
Product Description
Review
Compilation albums of this ilk have always been subject to a certain sense of snobbery and suspicion, but even by the standards of a man re-issued and re-packaged more than most, this set is downright bizarre. This is where – to dial a cliché – the joke just isn't funny anymore.
The main problem resides not really in what's being sold, but how it is presented. This is not – as the title misleads – the very best of Morrissey's solo work, but a selection of material from his HMV and Parlophone albums (basically, those released in the early 90s via EMI – an irony in itself given past disputes), a few unreleased tracks and a DVD featuring a performance "rarely seen" to those without access to the internet. Sadly, there is no tacky badge.
Of course, this isn't a criticism of the quality of the songs themselves, although the inclusion of material such as Ouija Board, Ouija Board and Interesting Drug – two of his worst – is bemusing. These days musicians would kill a kitten to make a song even half as good as the glistening stomp-pop masterpiece of The Last of the International Playboys or as powerful as November Spawned a Monster – one of Moz's most original and controversial creations due its subject matter of attitudes towards the disabled. His songwriting skills are not in doubt.
Yet you have to wonder: beyond the most fervent of fans (who'd buy a bottled Moz fart if they could) who is this compilation for? Seeing as it doesn't feature anything from career highlights such as the You Are the Quarry and Vauxhall and I albums, as an introduction to Morrissey's solo work it's woefully inadequate and certainly, as covered earlier, not the very best. For fans there's nothing new here beyond three ‘unreleased’ tracks that they surely already have – even if his solo version of Interlude (originally released as a duet with Siouxsie Sioux) is beautifully sad.
As his re-mastered version of Bona Drag earlier this year proved, Morrissey is perfectly capable of releasing re-issues and best of packages that justify your money; but this is not one of them. Buy it if you like, but make sure you play it loud – there's a barrel being scraped somewhere and it's making an awful racket.
--Stephen Kelly
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
2LP
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 66 people found the following review helpful
By Stephen Lloyd
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Never thought the day would come when I awarded 1 star to a Morrissey release but here it is!
I feel fully qualified to disrespect this CD having followed the man religiously since the release of `This charming man'. I was there at the `Queen is Dead' concerts, there for his solo debut tour in 91, there in the half empty halls for the `Maladjusted' gigs and there, paying ridiculous amounts of eBay monies, to secure tickets for the `Quarry' and `Ringleader' tours when he became popular once more.
I have bought every release with commitment, tolerating compilation after compilation but this is unspeakably bad and, although I'm loathe to admit it, smacks very clearly of greed. If you think greed and Morrissey are unlikely bedfellows then question why `Glamorous glue' was released in 4 formats requiring the collector to purchase all 4 in order to acquire the `unreleased' material. Shocking!
It's not that the music on this CD is bad, It is certainly not (though I defy anyone to argue successfully that `Ouija board', `Moon river', `Interlude' et al constitute the `very best' of Morrissey) but the fact that he yet again bleeds his following with a smattering of remastered tracks is abhorrent. The packaging is flimsy, no booklet (the `rare photographs' blurb surely constitutes enquiries under the trade description act!) and the release suggests little thought, care or incentive for the potential buyer.
We want the albums re-released and remasterd Morrissey but we want them as whole unedited pieces and with relevant `extras'. I point you towards the forthcoming Suede reissues for guidance on how to approach such releases.... Read more ›
I feel fully qualified to disrespect this CD having followed the man religiously since the release of `This charming man'. I was there at the `Queen is Dead' concerts, there for his solo debut tour in 91, there in the half empty halls for the `Maladjusted' gigs and there, paying ridiculous amounts of eBay monies, to secure tickets for the `Quarry' and `Ringleader' tours when he became popular once more.
I have bought every release with commitment, tolerating compilation after compilation but this is unspeakably bad and, although I'm loathe to admit it, smacks very clearly of greed. If you think greed and Morrissey are unlikely bedfellows then question why `Glamorous glue' was released in 4 formats requiring the collector to purchase all 4 in order to acquire the `unreleased' material. Shocking!
It's not that the music on this CD is bad, It is certainly not (though I defy anyone to argue successfully that `Ouija board', `Moon river', `Interlude' et al constitute the `very best' of Morrissey) but the fact that he yet again bleeds his following with a smattering of remastered tracks is abhorrent. The packaging is flimsy, no booklet (the `rare photographs' blurb surely constitutes enquiries under the trade description act!) and the release suggests little thought, care or incentive for the potential buyer.
We want the albums re-released and remasterd Morrissey but we want them as whole unedited pieces and with relevant `extras'. I point you towards the forthcoming Suede reissues for guidance on how to approach such releases.... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A Really poor release from the Mozza. As per other comments this is a comp too far and the promise of photos etc are misleading...
As for the music , mainly great , BUT, how many times can the man repackage this stuff, Take track one, "..Playboys" , look at its history on cd alone, (ignoring the viynl I originally got it on)
Released as a non album cd single to start with, then, oh the irony included on 1)Bona Drag 2) World Of Morrissey 3) Suedehead , Best of Morrissey 4) Best of Morrissey (USA Release) 5) Greatest Hits 6) The HMV/Parlophone Years 7) Bona Drag "Remaster" and now 8) The Very Best of...
Not including live versions etc, 8 times the exact same version released to date, Compare say, U2, "With or Without You" by U2, released half as much for an older and bigger "hit " song of the 80's..
Oh well, I keep buying these things, but no wonder downloading rules these days, when you tfr these albums to your ipod you realise just how much is a duplicate...
STILL, Great cover!
And am still awaiting The Smiths albums to be remastered properly, a nice Smiths box set etc....and wish Mozza would do a "Suede" with some outstanding remastersSuede
As for the music , mainly great , BUT, how many times can the man repackage this stuff, Take track one, "..Playboys" , look at its history on cd alone, (ignoring the viynl I originally got it on)
Released as a non album cd single to start with, then, oh the irony included on 1)Bona Drag 2) World Of Morrissey 3) Suedehead , Best of Morrissey 4) Best of Morrissey (USA Release) 5) Greatest Hits 6) The HMV/Parlophone Years 7) Bona Drag "Remaster" and now 8) The Very Best of...
Not including live versions etc, 8 times the exact same version released to date, Compare say, U2, "With or Without You" by U2, released half as much for an older and bigger "hit " song of the 80's..
Oh well, I keep buying these things, but no wonder downloading rules these days, when you tfr these albums to your ipod you realise just how much is a duplicate...
STILL, Great cover!
And am still awaiting The Smiths albums to be remastered properly, a nice Smiths box set etc....and wish Mozza would do a "Suede" with some outstanding remastersSuede
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ok the selection of songs could be better, but thats the thing about a greatest hits/best of album, usually some of your fave tracks are missing...
My annoyance is the packaging. Where are the unseen photographs? And not even a booklet! I know this follows the tradition of a kind of gatefold sleeve package that he's been doing since You are the Quarry, but to be a basic sleeve with no booklet is really bad!
It could have been done so much better - especially since there have been so many collections, so as to entice people to buy it....
If you're just buying it to get the videos its ok, but as a definitive Morrissey collection it is not.
My annoyance is the packaging. Where are the unseen photographs? And not even a booklet! I know this follows the tradition of a kind of gatefold sleeve package that he's been doing since You are the Quarry, but to be a basic sleeve with no booklet is really bad!
It could have been done so much better - especially since there have been so many collections, so as to entice people to buy it....
If you're just buying it to get the videos its ok, but as a definitive Morrissey collection it is not.
20 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Buy this CD! I know you've got these tracks already - but look, it's got a DVD with it! And there's a picture of me on the front! In the bath!!!!"
So, Stephen, that's nine studio albums.... and we'll confirm the number of compilations & reissues once we've finished getting them off the truck.
What for, Mr. Morrissey? And didn't you use to rail against this sort of thing? When exactly did you turn into Nick Clegg?
There is some ace music here. But I've had to mark you down for your greediness. You insist on re-heating your old dinners and expect the fans to consume them all the same. You rail against Cameron but are still asking his flagellated subjects to dig deep to fund your separatist L.A. decrepitude. Bah!
So what do we get for our shekels? Well, it's not the best of Morrissey. It's not at all bad but it's such a head-scratchingly random collection that you can't help but wonder what deals have been thrashed out to line which publishers' pockets.
And the fact that there's not one song here from the last decade seems like a tacit admission from the man in the bath that the very best is well and truly in the past.
I'm still waiting for a tacky badge, Moz. Go on. I double dare you.
So, Stephen, that's nine studio albums.... and we'll confirm the number of compilations & reissues once we've finished getting them off the truck.
What for, Mr. Morrissey? And didn't you use to rail against this sort of thing? When exactly did you turn into Nick Clegg?
There is some ace music here. But I've had to mark you down for your greediness. You insist on re-heating your old dinners and expect the fans to consume them all the same. You rail against Cameron but are still asking his flagellated subjects to dig deep to fund your separatist L.A. decrepitude. Bah!
So what do we get for our shekels? Well, it's not the best of Morrissey. It's not at all bad but it's such a head-scratchingly random collection that you can't help but wonder what deals have been thrashed out to line which publishers' pockets.
And the fact that there's not one song here from the last decade seems like a tacit admission from the man in the bath that the very best is well and truly in the past.
I'm still waiting for a tacky badge, Moz. Go on. I double dare you.
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Steven C.
Format:Audio CD
The Yawn is for all of those unoriginal Morrissey fans who misintepret the lyrics to "Paint a Vulgar Picture" more than 20 years ago. Lyrics talk of a DEAD STAR whose name and legacy are being milked by record company executives to cash in on this dead star. It's not about a living star reissuing his own work.
Here's the truth:
The Smiths:
"Best ...1"
"Best ...2"
No involvement of Morrissey or Marr. They were NOT consulted and didn't select tracks or receive royalties.
"SINGLES"
Not a bad compilation, but no involvement of Morrissey or Marr. NOT Consulted again. They received no royalties.
"The Very Best Of The Smiths"
Morrissey and Marr not involved, received no royalties
Morrissey: "Suedehead, The Best of Morrissey" - 1997
NOT Consulted. Morrissey not involved in anyway, not paid royalties.
In fact, Morrissey lashed out about the cover art: "The artwork was shockingly bad and Charles Hawtrey is in no way relevant to The Smiths"
"THE SOUND OF THE SMITHS"
2 cd SET including the singles, b-sides, etc.
The First Smiths' issue with Morrissey and Marr involved.
Marr oversaw the remastering.
Here's my point. Number of Approved Smiths' compilations????
ONE! Just 1. And this one gets a bad wrap by the so-called fans citing Paint a Vulgar Picture when it's the best of the lot??
Just 1 Approved Smiths compilation
For the SOLO stuff Morrissey was never approached or paid for any previous Parlophone/EMI release. This is actually the first in which they asked for his involvement and offered royalties. The "Greatest Hits" had his involvement, but that was POLYDOR Records.
He was consulted for the 2001 "BEST OF", but that wasn't EMI. In the U.S.... Read more ›
Here's the truth:
The Smiths:
"Best ...1"
"Best ...2"
No involvement of Morrissey or Marr. They were NOT consulted and didn't select tracks or receive royalties.
"SINGLES"
Not a bad compilation, but no involvement of Morrissey or Marr. NOT Consulted again. They received no royalties.
"The Very Best Of The Smiths"
Morrissey and Marr not involved, received no royalties
Morrissey: "Suedehead, The Best of Morrissey" - 1997
NOT Consulted. Morrissey not involved in anyway, not paid royalties.
In fact, Morrissey lashed out about the cover art: "The artwork was shockingly bad and Charles Hawtrey is in no way relevant to The Smiths"
"THE SOUND OF THE SMITHS"
2 cd SET including the singles, b-sides, etc.
The First Smiths' issue with Morrissey and Marr involved.
Marr oversaw the remastering.
Here's my point. Number of Approved Smiths' compilations????
ONE! Just 1. And this one gets a bad wrap by the so-called fans citing Paint a Vulgar Picture when it's the best of the lot??
Just 1 Approved Smiths compilation
For the SOLO stuff Morrissey was never approached or paid for any previous Parlophone/EMI release. This is actually the first in which they asked for his involvement and offered royalties. The "Greatest Hits" had his involvement, but that was POLYDOR Records.
He was consulted for the 2001 "BEST OF", but that wasn't EMI. In the U.S.... Read more ›
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful gift
Bought this as a gift for hubby, all Morrisey/Smiths goodies in one place. Good album that now stays in his car.
Published 23 months ago by SueLynx
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always Morrissey
Always the same and the DVD brings the old videos, but hey, we love him for be the same always!!!
Published 24 months ago by Frank Bozic Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stop The Same Quotes
For all those people wheeling out the same Paint A Vulgar Picture quotes, please, you're not original, or even accurate. Read more
Published on 26 April 2011 by Mozaphile
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