Best of Morrissey [Import]

best of morrissey [import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese pressing of this 1997 EMI singles collection featuring 19 of his best solo hits, including 'Suedehead', 'Everyday Is Like Sunday', 'Interesting Drug', 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get' and more.

Best of Morrissey,Morrissey,Rock/Pop

Best of Morrissey [Import]

Average customer rating:

It's tough to be the voice of a generation
Personally half the album is not good
"Everybody's Lost, But Pretending They Are Not"
a nice surprise!
An Excellent Overview Of A Career

The Best of Morrissey
Morrissey
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Singles
The Very Best of the Smiths
The Best of the Smiths, Vol. 1
Ringleader Of The Tormentors
The Best of the Smiths, Vol. 2

ASIN: B00005R1QH
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Tracks:

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
Suedehead
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Glamorous Glue
Do Yur Best And Don't Worry
November Spawned A Monster
The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Sing Your Life
Hairdresser On Fire
Interesting Drug
We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
Certain People I Know
Now My Heart Is Full
I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
Sunny
Alma Matters
Hold On To Your Friends
Sister I'm A Poet
Lost
Tomorrow
Disappointed

Amazon.com

Morrissey hasn't released a new album in several years, but that hasn't put a damper on the willful eccentricity of his discography. "Best," in this instance, means not most popular but most characteristic. This American greatest-hits set is very different from its British equivalent, Suedehead, omitting half of his U.K. chart singles in favor of a curious lineup of high-aesthetic album tracks and B-sides, reportedly picked by the Moz himself. The original idea of Morrissey's solo career was to reach beyond the stylistic confines of the Smiths, but these songs are in basically the same line of work, with first Stephen Street and later Alain Whyte and others playing the Johnny Marr role of guitarist and musical foil. Generally, they're overmatched: "Interesting Drug" and "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" still have a wry buzz to them, but a lot of these songs are little more than vehicles for the star's lyrics and unstoppable vocal presence. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

It's tough to be the voice of a generation.......2007-02-11

When Morrissey decided he was done with The Smiths, it was the usual comments about wanting to grow beyond the confines of the band. While some of the solo albums do make the creative break form the sound of The Smiths, a great deal of this "Best Of" sound like The Smiths with a few minor variations. Which says that while Johnny Marr's guitar was the perfect foil for Morrissey's manic/depressive lyricism, Morrissey possesses such a strong individual musical personality that he will always just be Morrissey. He still played against strong musical personalities after The Smiths, like Stephen Street, Alain Whyte and Mick Ronson, to name three.

Even they were only the coloration to Morrissey's mythology...lovable but unreachable, accessable but self-absorbed, and the words that millions of alienated young folks could wrap themselves up within like foggy London cloaks. The initial solo forays like "Suedehead" or "Every Day Is Like Sunday" were perfect transcriptions of the contradictions of being Morrissey, sounding first apologetic for the tragedy then repulsed by the intrusion. "Come Armegeddon, come" indeed!

This is a pretty good thing for us. Morrissey's individually unique vocal style is welded to his weirdly poetic creeds for all of this CD's 21 tracks. It is a generous sampling from his solo CD's from 1990's "Viva Hate" to 1997's "Maladjusted," with one previously unreleased b-side single. These are also songs that Morrissey himself decided should go here. Because while his US Cult of fans managed to pull every album into the American Top 100, only one - really! - single ever cracked the Top 100.

"The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" managed to claw its way to 46 on the American charts. Naturally, it leads off this CD. Then we are treated to a wide variety of instantly recognizable moping as only Morrissey can deliver. While his personality overrides everything, the musical styles do manage a few surprises. My favorites are when producer Mick Ronson and Morrissey endeavored to become the second coming of Ziggy Stardust on "Your Arsenal." (Morrissey must have dug it, too; five songs are taken from that album.) Coming off like a Bowie or Mott acolyte, the glam guitars that grind through "Glamorous Glue" and "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" are as close as the Moz came to 'rocking out.' (After listening to the tracks from "Your Arsenel," you are left to ponder: Any wonder that Morrissey championed the re-issue of tragic glamster Jobriath's anthology?)

The lyrical sarcasm and emotional kinks are all here on glorious disarray. One of my favorites is from "Disappointed," where he croaks out "this is the last song I will ever sing...No, I've changed my mind again!" atop a riff that quotes "How Soon Is Now," one of The Smiths' best moments. Post-Smiths, Morrissey was also able to mature a little. In the song "Sing Your Life," which sounds produced to hit a commercial bulls-eye by the chart-topper team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Morrissey seems to be outlining his musical autobiography. "Others sang your life," he beckons, "but now is your chance to shine...so sing your life! All the things you love, all the things you loathe."

That just about sums up the idiosyncrasies of Morrissey at his best. This "Best Of" covers plenty of ground for those looking for a starter kit, along with The Smiths' "Singles."

Personally half the album is not good.......2006-11-03

my advice is to download the songs you like from i-tunes

"Everybody's Lost, But Pretending They Are Not".......2006-10-19

"The Best of Morrissey" is the Morrissey greatest hits collection for the American market. In Britain, and here in Australia, we get "Suedehead: The Best of". This version covers the first ten years of his solo career (1988-1997), and contains 21 tracks.

I remember when I first heard Morrissey's music. It was the last year of high school, and I was studying Oscar Wilde in literature. To help me study, I went on the net and searched the P2Ps for "Oscar Wilde", in case there was a reading or performance of one of his works I could download (I don't use that sort of thing these days, mind you). Nothing much came up except for something by a "Morrissey". I downloaded it, and there was a smooth voiced man speaking passionately on it about how incredibly quotable Oscar Wilde is, and how he thought that the upcoming "Importance of Being Earnest Film" was hopefully going to be really big. At the end of the track, there was a snippet of a song sung by Morrissey, singing his heart out. I found out much later the track was "Alma Matters", a kind of an appropriate song lyrically for the last year of high school. At the time, I had no idea, but I wanted to hear more, so I ended up getting a couple of compilations, one from his old band The Smiths, and the other from his solo career. Catchy tunes, witty lyrics, great voice, I quickly became a fan.

A lot of rock listeners prefer The Smiths to Morrissey's solo stuff. Though the quantity of classic tracks is a fair bit higher of a Smiths record than a Morrissey solo CD, I do prefer a good Morrissey solo song to a good Smiths one. The production is brighter, playful and colorful. The band toys with a lot more styles than The Smiths did. Morrissey sounds more like himself too, free to explore his interests more fully in his lyrics, be they "the romance of crime", boxing matches, or the music industry, along with his usual themes of unrequited love, boredom and the struggles of youth. It's a little deeper in its Britishness that the Smiths too (if that makes sense). He's a brilliant lyricist, and in this part of his career it's just as good as it was when he started.

If you're getting into Morrissey, I've got to warn you. Choose the compilation you get carefully. If you like what you hear and want to get more, you will end up with overlap, as Morrissey has rereleased and repackaged his songs in so many different ways. For that reason, I prefer the "Suedehead" compilation, as there are rare tracks there you won't find on any other full length CD.

Here's a rundown of how many of the songs on "The Best of!" you'll find on Morrissey's other full length discs:

3 are on "Viva Hate" (1988)
7 are on "Bona Drag" (1990, compilation)
1 is on "Kill Uncle" (1991)
5 are on "Your Arsenal" (1992)
3 are on "Vauxhall and I" (1994)
2 are on "World of Morrissey" (1995, compilation)
10 are on "Suedehead: The Best of" (1995, compilation)
1 is on "Southpaw Grammar" (1995)
1 is on "Maladjusted" (1997)
1 is on "My Early Burglary Years" (1998, compilation)
1 is on "Rare Tracks" (1998, compilation)

The "rare track" is Lost, a B-side originally from the "Roy's Keen" single. I would have preferred the B-side "I Can Have Both" (one of my favorites, and one Morrissey used to do live often), but "Lost" has grown on me. It's a mid-tempo song with lush production about a skywriter, a pilot of one of those planes that writes things with the smoke. It's well sung, and has some touching lyrics. "Everybody's lost, but pretending they are not." I know what he means...

This compilation comes with a nice thick booklet, which I always like. It contains full lyrics, a few pictures of Morrissey, a lengthy foreword of sorts by Michael Bracewell, speaking very highly of the music and its singer. I think he overanalyses a bit in it, but no matter. Where each song charted in both the UK and US is also listed, which is interesting. ("Lost" peaked at #671 in the UK. Hehe!). I also just notice that Morrissey himself recommends some albums for the listener to check out in the back page of the booklet. (Jobriath, Phil Ochs, The Ramones, Nancy Sinatra and Burt Bacharach). Interesting choices...

If you're looking for a one disc overview of Morrissey, this is probably the best one to get. If you think you may become a fan, (and if you like this, you probably will do) you might want to pick up another compilation (like "Bona Drag" or "Suedehead") to avoid a bit of overlap later.

a nice surprise!.......2006-06-04

I recently saw a video by morissey called tomorrow on VH1 Classic and thought the song was cool. So I decided to check this release out. I am so glad I did because their are so many great songs on this collection. Morrissey writes from the heart and has a wonderful singing voice. You can hear the pain in his voice in the song "tomorrow" This is a geat disc. Check it out!!!

An Excellent Overview Of A Career.......2006-05-15

When this album was released, it probably was a safe bet to say that Morrissey may have been finished. Granted, 3 years later, he proved that wrong, but in 2001, Morrissey simply was out of the field in music.

The album doesn't have any high ideas about itself. It simply tries to get a mix of the best A-sides and the best album tracks, and does a very good job. While it is sad that they didn't do a second disc of B-sides, considering that Morrissey's B-sides often were his greatest tracks, the disc gives not only a good overview of his career, but also offers a good entry point for neophytes.

The album starts off with the popular favorite "The More You Ignore, the Closer I Get". Clearly, the compilers were trying to get out of the way the one song the American audience would know. However, once it got the 'hit' out of the way (seeing how Morrissey really only had one minor hit in America), it could go on to cover the bases. It covers not only the required ("Everyday Is Like Sunday", "November Spawned A Monster", "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"), it also hits upon some of the songs that truly are his best, like "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday", and the never before released in America "Lost".

However, there are a few missteps. Annoyingly, they use the single mix of "Tomorrow", which sounds too clean, lifeless, and makes the vocal too prominent in the track. It kind of kills it. Then they used "Hold Onto Your Friends" from Vauxhall and I. Frankly, I would have preferred them to put on "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself", or "Speedway", instead of that cliche ridden tune.

Overall, the compilation does it job very nicely. It gives you what you want, and while it may not be what you need, it surely goes down nicely. If you aren't convinced about Morrissey's solo career greatness, this is the place to start.

Average customer rating:

ALL MUSIC IS AMAZING
all of the good things
Greatest Hits Albums are for house wives and little girls!
THIS CD ROCKS
THE SEX ICON OF THE 80's does it AGAIN!!!!!!

Suedehead: The Best of Morrissey
Morrissey
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Very Best of the Smiths
The Best of Morrissey
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Meat Is Murder
World of Morrissey

ASIN: B000005RS8
Release Date: 1997-09-15

Tracks:

Suedehead
Sunny
Boxers
Tomorrow
Interlude
Everyday Is Like Sunday
That's Entertainment
Hold On To Your Friends
My Love Life
Interesting Drug
Our Frank
Piccadilly Palare
Ouija Board Ouija Board
You're The One For Me Fatty
We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Pregnant For The Last Time
November Spawned A Monster
The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get

Album Description

1997 EMI singles collection featuring 19 of his best solo hits, including 'Suedehead', 'Everyday Is Like Sunday', 'Interesting Drug', 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get', etc.

Album Details

17 digitally remastered singles from the erstwhile leader of one of the premier early 80's British indie groups, the Smiths. Features 'Everyday is Sunday', 'We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful', 'Suedehead', 'The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get' & more.

Customer Reviews:

ALL MUSIC IS AMAZING.......2006-11-03

MORRISEY HAS AN EXCELLENT VOICE. THE MUSIC IS PERFECT.
TO RESUME IN ONE WORD ALL SONGS ARE PERFECT. SPECIALLY SUEDEHEAD.

all of the good things.......2006-07-29

this is a great sampler of morrissey for the beginner. and a must have for all of the dedicated morrissey fans out there. there are a couple songs missing that should be here but alas there isn't enough room for them all.

Greatest Hits Albums are for house wives and little girls!.......2004-07-17

Simply put, this album is great song wise, but let's face it: it is a quick ploy by the record industry to make money on previously released material which, up until MOZ's latest release, seemed for a while to be standard MOZ-fare. Save your money and if you are new to MOZ check out The Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead" to get you started on an exciting journey through the world of one of Manchester's (and the world itself's) favorite sons!

THIS CD ROCKS.......2000-08-06

THIS IS THE BEST OF MORRISSEY I LOVE THE SONG SUNNI

THE SEX ICON OF THE 80's does it AGAIN!!!!!!.......1999-01-06

If morrissey was here i would say come here you big sexy stud you.......19 songs!!!! Not only 19 songs but yet annother great compilation of hits by morrissey. I stood in line for half an hour and paid a little more then $30 for this gem. Yet i still dont feel cheated when the same cd is cheaper here. I WOULD GIVE-UP MY GIRLFFRIEND FOR THIS CD. ( she never ment more to me then morrissey anyways -teehee- ) What ARE YOU WAITING FOR??????

Average customer rating:

Best of Morrissey

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00061QVUQ
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Album Description

Japanese pressing of this 1997 EMI singles collection featuring 19 of his best solo hits, including 'Suedehead', 'Everyday Is Like Sunday', 'Interesting Drug', 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get' and more.

Average customer rating:

Best of Morrissey
Morrissey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000565HO

Average customer rating:

Suedehead the Best of Morris
Morrissey
Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000DZTQ
Release Date: 1997-12-03

Average customer rating:

Very Best of Morrissey
Morrissey
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005YKIW
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Average customer rating:

Very Best of Morrissey
Morrissey
Manufacturer: EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000DEO7U
Release Date: 2002-01-15

Music:

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