Customer Reviews

Very Best Of

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

"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.

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., 90% of his releases were on Warners and they issued that one... There's no such thing as Parlophone Records
in the U.S. That recent 3 CD set they put out, the blue one, no involvement of Morrissey.

So Morrissey has three compilations in Total that had his involvement:

1 for Warners U.S.
1 for Polydor Era
Now this one for the EMI/Parlophone Era.

I do, however, question the tracklist and the inclusion of the awful edit of "Ouija Board" though... which is why I will give this 3 stars vs. 5. The DVD is a welcome bonus though! If it were me compiling a VERY BEST OF MORRISSEY, and keeping it to ONLY the Parlophone/EMI years, this is what it would look like:

1. SUEDEHEAD / 2. SISTER I'M A POET / 3. EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY / 4. LAST OF THE FAMOUS... / 5. INTERESTING DRUG / 6. NOVEMBER SPAWNED A MONSTER / 7. OUR FRANK / 8. SING YOUR LIFE / 9. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT / 10. WE HATE IT WHEN OUR FRIENDS BECOME SUCCESSFUL / 11. YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME, FATTY / 12. CERTAIN PEOPLE I KNOW / 13. TOMORROW / 14. GLAMOROUS GLUE / 15. JACK THE RIPPER (Studio) / 16. THE MORE YOU IGNORE ME... / 17. HOLD ONTO YOUR FRIENDS / 18. NOW MY HEART IS FULL / 19. BOXERS / 20. SUNNY / 21. (BONUS TRACK) STRIPTEASE WITH A DIFFERENCE / 22. (BONUS TRACK) I'M PLAYING EASY TO GET <--- and Guess what??? ALL SONGS fit on ONE CD! Again, DAGENHAM DAVE and Southpaw Grammar, Maladjusted, You Are The Quarry and everything after are NOT on Parlophone/EMI

For all those people wheeling out the same Paint A Vulgar Picture quotes, please, you're not original, or even accurate. If you dont like it fine, there's plenty of us that are interested in the remastered tracks, the alt version of Interlude (with Morrissey singing solo) and the collection of remastered videos on DVD. OK, so most of us will have these tracks already (though not in remastered form presented here), but the unreleased material, DVD of videos (including a spine-tingling version of 'I've Changed My Plea To Guilty' from the Jonathon Ross show, plus the new photos is completely worth it. I've got mine and am certainly not disapointed.

Bought this as a gift for hubby, all Morrisey/Smiths goodies in one place. Good album that now stays in his car.

Always the same and the DVD brings the old videos, but hey, we love him for be the same always!!!