Morrissey 9: My Early Burglary Years

We can’t think of anyone whose first nine albums included three collections of singles and B-sides, but that’s just one thing that makes Morrissey who he is. But My Early Burglary Years didn’t just collect leftovers since the last mop-up set. Tunes going back to the time of his first solo singles are scattered throughout the program, along with two tracks repeated from one album and—for some reason, possibly to irritate completists—two others that were already on another compilation. This was only released on CD, and of course, several B-sides still went uncollected.

“Sunny” was a little-heard standalone single dug out by one of his old labels; its B-sides are slotted in further on. “At Amber” is something of a postcard with an insistent riff that could be toned down a tad. The only real rarity is an acoustic live cover of T. Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer”, wherein our hero and the guitarist are all but drowned out by the rapturous audience. “Nobody Loves Us” is a terrific tune with an anthemic chorus, while “A Swallow On My Neck” has an orchestrated drone that overwhelms the mix. The original studio version of “Sister I’m A Poet” is finally rescued from obscurity, and then things turn a little weird. “Black-Eyed Susan” is a nice little strum, but for a two-minute interlude that sounds like it’s been lost in the back of a shopping mall that specializes in clock stores, and “Michael’s Bones” and “I’d Love To” are both spooky yet poignant-sounding, whatever they’re about.

“Reader Meet Author” from Southpaw Grammar gets things back on a rocking track, carried out by “Pashernate Love” and “Girl Most Likely To”, the latter of which brought some songwriting residuals to Smiths bassist Andy Rourke. “Jack The Ripper” is the live version from Beethoven Was Deaf, but fans already had it there on import or on World Of Morrissey. “I’ve Changed My Plea To Guilty” is a lovely little torch song with piano for a quieter side trip before the final stretch. “The Boy Racer” is also familiar from Southpaw Grammar, and while “Boxers” too was on World Of Morrissey, it’s nice to hear again.

My Early Burglary Years is very well sequenced, so it feels like an album, even with all the disparate collaborators. Most of these songs would easily have been welcome on any album proper, but he must have decided they didn’t fit with whatever thesis he was trying to push. It also capped a busy decade, as well as the century because, outside of 2001’s The Best Of Morrissey, which recycled singles and album tracks, in some cases for the third time, Morrissey wouldn’t put another album out for six years.

Morrissey My Early Burglary Years (1998)—3