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Album Reviews
Album Review: Morrissey – Swords (Universal)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 16 October 2009
Culled from the former Smiths frontman’s various single releases from his 2004 album ‘You Are The Quarry’ onwards, this collection of b-sides is a tad premature.
Had Universal waited a little bit longer, Morrissey may have released another batch of singles containing the sorts of b-sides that most other artists would be happy to have on their ‘best of’ albums. As it is, while tracks taken from the single releases that accompanied the soaring ‘…Quarry’ and the biting ‘Years Of Refusal’ fit into this category, they are let down by the songs that came out of sessions for ‘Ringleader Of The Tormentors’ – Morrissey’s dull, safe filler between those two great albums. Tracks which would otherwise have been sidelined, if not ditched altogether.
The dip in quality is all too evident when the likes of ‘Munich Air Disaster 1958’ and that anthem for virgins everywhere, ‘The Never-Symphonies’, put into context just what a remarkable selection of songs Morrissey had at his disposal five years ago. His interpretation of Bowie’s ‘Drive-In Saturday’, though dry, is full of awe and becomes a rare treat in the latter part of this compilation. Some other tracks on here fail to match the highlights.
There’ll be absolute no interest in ‘Swords’ for those who know and love the man, so it acts as more of a convenience, than a cohesive album, even if it is nice to hear ‘My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye’ again. TM
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