Very Best of Morrissey EMI ***

There are 18 tracks on this, a reminder that Morrissey's solo career has lasted almost five times longer than The Smiths'. Curiously, his individual work echoes that of the band, beginning with the directness of tracks such as Suedeheadand maturing into more musically complex work such as The More You Ignore Me, The Closer You Get. What is most striking is the bold, adventurous November Spawned a Monsterand the evergreen Everyday Is Like Sunday. But given Morrissey's label- hopping over his solo years, no best-of collection will ever have the full story, which is where this collection falls short. morrissey-solo.com

Download tracks: Everyday Is Like Sunday, The Last of the Famous International Playboys