Morrissey Swords on iTunes


If you are a Morrissey fan do yourself a favor and use iTunes to buy the tracks you need from his new b-side collection, Swords.

The reason I say this is that I purchased the "deluxe" version with the mini-live album from iTunes without paying too much attention.

First of all, a full 7 tracks are already in my possession from the similar "deluxe" edition of his 2004 album, You Are The Quarry.

Another track, the lackluster "Shame is the Name" with backing vocals from Pretender Chrissie Hynde, was appended to the US iTunes version of Morrissey's last studio album, Years of Refusal.

So that leaves a fair 10 b-sides on Swords that I didn't already own and another 2 bonus tracks on the iTunes version.

Of these, I think "Because of My Poor Eduction" and "I Knew I Was Next" are clearly as good as some of the man's recent album tracks and are worth seeking out.

The others? Hmm. Nothing earthshaking but fans will probably enjoy them.

However, the mini-"live" album attached to the "deluxe" edition is really not worth the money -- there are clips on YouTube with better performances!

Morrissey's voice, buried far in the tinny mix, sounds horrible as it strains to hit the notes.

Compared to some other recent live albums from Morrissey, I am quite disappointed with this.

If I purchased all the b-sides I did not already own individually on iTunes, it would have been around $12 so buying the whole "deluxe" edition for $14.99 didn't set me out too much -- just wanted to express my disappointment with the entire package.

Here is a link to buy the album -- or tracks -- from iTunes.