Morrissey - This Is Morrissey (Parlophone, 2018)

Morrissey

This Is Morrissey
Parlophone
2018

Rating: <insert gif of a confused child shrugging their shoulders>

In the grand tradition of the classic Morrissey cash-grab , I present to you “This Is Morrissey.”  No one loves continually releasing and re-releasing his own music as much as he does, and I guess why not if people keep buying it?  I’m never entirely sure how to rate this things – if it’s purely on music, it’s a 10 out of 10.  A ton of his very best songs are here, including a remastered version of what might be my favorite track of his, “Speedway” (it’s at least top three with “Sing Your Life” and “Boyracer”).  If instead you rate the release for its necessity to exist, the number drops to almost zero.  Maybe the biggest issue is I have no idea what the theme is – there are some of his biggest hits like “Everyday Is Like Sunday” and “The Last of the Famous International Playboys”; obscure cuts like a live cover of Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” (really good, and probably the best argument for actually buying this) and a remix of “Suedehead” (one of the worst things I’ve ever heard); plus run-of-the-mill (but perfectly fine) album tracks like “Have-A-Go Merchant” and “Whatever Happens I Love You.”  It’s too pedestrian for the super fans, and has too strange a tracklist to be recommended to someone new to the curmudgeonly crooner.  Plus the track order is beyond bizarre – who puts “Everyday Is Like Sunday” as the last song on anything?  Honestly, I think the compilation might have been created by just loading every Morrissey song into iTunes, putting it on shuffle, and then taking the first random 12 songs and calling it a new release.  Good job by all!