Review Summary: “Leave Me Alone, I Was Only Singing”
Morrissey’s crowning achievement was originally meant to be his second release, but instead he chose to release the majority of the songs as singles and B-sides. He rounded them up in a collection, and released it. All of the songs are in league if not better than some songs with the Smiths. Such as “Suedehead”, which charted higher than any single released by The Smiths. Morrissey was at the top of his game releasing hit single after hit single.
This wonderful compilation starts off with the single, Piccadilly Palare, which is a lovely tune to say the least, it showcases Morrissey’s voice and brings a sweet melody that provides the listener with a sense of amazement.
Morrissey touched upon subjects that aren’t discussed by most pop artists, such as the disabled, in which the song, “November Spawns A Monster”, is lyrically about. November starts off with a quick melody, in which Morrissey croons about the disgusting feeling that the disfigured individual is inevitability going through. The song naturally feels like its building up for a climax, in which it does which continues the same beat as the rest of the song, but faster. Making the song a bit danceable.
The Smiths like-ballads can be found in the song “Will Never Marry”, in which Morrissey taps his classic cynicism with classic lines such as “I will live my life as I will undoubtedly die – alone”, he was always such a lonely fellow. “Will Never Marry” is a sad soft-spoken song, but Morrissey shines luminously with emotion, and this song is full of it. The most aggressive song showcased in Bonadrag is also a danceable hit, “The Last Of The Famous International Playboys”, is one of the most funnest songs to jam to, the bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce who both were also in The Smiths really pound away to compliment Morrissey’s unique voice to provide a wonderful blend of musical brilliance with the dancibility factor.
Both his tracks, “Everyday Is Like Sunday”, and “Suedehead” make an appearance here despite being part of his debut album, Viva Hate. These pair of songs is his most famous, it has been covered by multiple artists, but they fail in the genius of Morrissey and then-guitarist, Stephen Street, “Suedehead” being his debut single gave Smiths fans hope in the future, because it sounded eerily similar to the former band.
Morrissey’s wit and humor is most present here, with songs such as “Hairdresser On Fire”, which was originally a b-side for “Everyday Is Like Sunday”. On Hairdresser, Morrissey sings about setting, well a hairdresser on fire. If you know Morrissey, he likes to be clean cut always, and is hair is very important for him, and his lyrics here highlight that, “Can you squeeze me into an empty page of your diary and psychologically save me I've got faith in you… I sense the power in the fingers within an hour the power can totally destroy me or it could save my life”. The music is one of his best, and it shines quite well with his other A side material.
This is the best collection of Morrissey songs ever gathered in an album. Every single track stands out, every single track is on par with the beloved Smiths, this is Morrissey at his best. Morrissey didn’t want that quick of an end to The Smiths and wanted to continually release albums all throughout his lifetime, with this album, he still has the heart, the emotion, the drive to create fantastic, heart churning and life changing music that drove The Smiths and Morrissey into stardom.
