REVIEW: Morrissey, My Early Burglary Years (Reprise)
- Bob Gajarsky
In the same spirit as fellow Britoners including the Beatles, Oasis and Mansun, Morrissey has always used the flipside of singles - better known as B-sides - to highlight some of his best material. Far surpassing his last B-sides collection ( World of Morrissey ) and even his most recent full length on Mercury ( Maladjusted ), My Early Burglary Years contains sixteen tracks which vary in style, yet remain true to the career path which Morrissey has long since paved.
Ranging from the unavailable-in-the-States A-side "Sunny" (along with both its B-sides and an accompanying video), the T-Rex live cover of "Cosmic Dancing", and shoulda-been A-sides such as the acerbic "Girl Least Likely To" and a concert favourite, "Sister I'm A Poet". And, yes, lyrics are included here, for those who wonder what stimulates the enigmatic Stephen.
Even with the duplication of some album tracks and omission of a handful of B-sides and other tracks (the Morrissey/Siouxie collaboration "Interlude" jumps to mind), Burglary Years will help fill many of the missing gaps in the collection of Mozz-philes who don't wish to resort to buying bootlegs.
