My Early Burglary Years

by

Morrissey

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Arguably Morrissey's (DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIM STEVE) best compilation since "Bona Drag," "My Early Burglary Years" gives us die-hard fans a chance to rejoice. And while he is not a marketing wizard (how many times can you release "Suedehead," "The Boy Racer," or "Everyday is like Sunday"?), he truly shines when at his best. Prime examples are "Sunny," "Nobody Loves Us," "The Girl Least Likely To," and "Boxers." There are some lowpoints, which keep me from rating it 5 stars. I'm sorry folks, but I wasn't overly impressed with "The Boy Racer," or "Pashernate Love" the first time I heard them. It is a crime that these incredible B-sides did not make it onto any album (compiliations not included). "The Girl Least Likely To," while by no means a new track, is one of his best lyrical achievements ever (even with the Smiths). "Nobody Loves Us" is classic Morrissey and undeniably deserved A-Side status. I truly believe that Morrissey purposely walks the fine line of stardom and obscurity and ambushes his own career by deliberate choice. The singles he releases are usually not the best tracks on the album, and he sends hauntily brilliant songs into B-side obscurity which I can only explain as deliberate sabotage. Definitely not his worst, and at times close to his best, "My Early Burgarly Years" is an excellent musical choice for new listeners and a slightly bromic pill for the tried and true fan.

A useful but frustrating collection of Morrissey B-sides/rare tracks. Perhaps I can give a balanced view, now that most strange & scary cult fanatics have set their sights on Radiohead...

There are catchy & inspired moments on this compilation, but why lie? Morrissey's creativity and voice declined rapidly after the patchy yet wonderful 'Vauxhall and I' album. This CD could never be a Greatest Hits package, but it's useful as a collection of rare singles & B-sides for established fans. But sadly, like the cynical 'World of Morrissey' compilation, we get overlapping album tracks like the neat "Reader Meet Author" and the lame "Boy Racer". 4 of the other 14 tracks have appeared in some form on 'The World of Morrissey.'

This stinginess hurts both the record and Morrissey's reputation. I often love the music, but I can't ignore the money-grubbing music industry wheels turning. Although we get a lot of good B-sides, we don't get ALL of them, which means obsessives will still have to pay extra to get that last remaining B-side on every Morrissey single released in the '90s. (And we miss some great stuff: we don't get the catchy "East West", the thrilling KROQ "My Love Life", or rarities like "I Know Very Well How I Got My Name.") This complacent song-hoarding cynicism screams The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. Why don't we get a package like the Beatles 'Past Masters' or Joy Division's 'Still'/'Substance', which shored up all of the rare stuff worth hearing? Morrissey compilations provide just enough goodies for you to buy the countless singles. This is a greedy & mean way to play the market.