The Very Best Of

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. We also want the Smiths albums remastered and re-released but I'm praying that Johnny is given the majority oversight and control when this day eventually comes.

Please! No more poor product such as this. There is no defense for the way you are treating your audience presently and this makes me very sad indeed!

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

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.