Morrissey has always favored compilations, releasing such hodgepodges of singles, B-sides, and album tracks as
Bona Drag and
World of Morrissey, but the 19-track
The Best of Morrissey: Suedehead is the first official "hits" collection he has released in his solo career. Spanning his years at EMI -- from 1988's
Viva Hate to 1994's
Vauxhall and I, with the 1995 single "Sunny" added as a bonus --
Suedehead is an imperfect collection, especially since it's sequenced out of chronological order, but it's pretty great all the same, featuring a basic selection of singles such as "Suedehead," "Everyday Is Like Sunday," "Tomorrow," "Interesting Drug," "Our Frank," "Piccadilly Palare," "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful," "The Last of the Famous International Playboys," "Boxers," and "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get." There's also a handful of rarities, such as the extended version of "Interlude" and his cover of
the Jam's "That's Entertainment," but at its core, this disc is a solid collection that may convince skeptics that
Morrissey's solo records did indeed have a lot to offer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine