Customer Reviews

Essential Collection (Dig)

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I bought Morrissey's first album from him in person, after his performance in coffee house, about 22 years ago. Since then, I've purchased all his music and even bought his novel, "Edison". I understand that being a supportive fan needn't translate to being an astute critic, but by any reckoning this collection is not representative of his best work.

Morrissey's hard-lived life is evident from his songs themselves, and in the steady erosion of his limited vocal range that time has wrought. I'm guessing that Morrissey was involved in deciding which tracks to choose here and that he's not the best judge of his own material. There's a bias in this collection towards more recent material, and material that is less personal. Neither choice play to his strengths. These songs may feel more relevant to his life now, but they won't generate the kind of interest his body of work deserves. Perhaps he was reluctant to include songs that expressed the initial elation of relationships (and marriages) that didn't work out. "Married Man" is a classic that didn't make the cut. Also missing in action is the lighthearted "Love at First Sight" and the haunting "She's That Kind of Mystery". Missing also are Morrissey's deft characterizations of the backwards slide when relationships go bad: "Last Day of a Furlough", "As Long as the Sun," "Casey, Ill", "Walk Down these Streets," "A Problem with Logic," and "Run you through the Mill" among others. By comparison, these omissions would be like excluding "The Last Time I Saw Richard", "Blue" and "Court and Spark" from a CD assessment of Joni Mitchell's career.

The list of what's included on this CD seems almost self-defeating. It's not uncommon for a pseudo-greatest hits collection to omit one or two well loved tunes, but representing Morrissey's affection for acoustic blues with the run-of-the-mill "Avalon Blues" and "Joe Turner Blues" instead of his signature "Texas Blues", or titles already mentioned is more than strange.

From the short story perspective that has always appealed to Morrissey, I'd recommend "John Haber", "Night Shift" and "Live Free or Die" as exemplary. You'll have to find them among his past CDs, because they are all absent here. He's written some fine songs from the perspective of an outsider, and among them, "Birches" and "Different Currency" are representative and justly included.

On a positive note, "Barstow", "Handsome Molly", "Small Town on the River" and Ice Fishing" are here, in addition to what was just noted. If those songs, in particular, appeal to you than look to Morrissey's back catalogue for the songs I've listed above. He really is a uniquely observant storyteller and there's gold to mine in his earlier songs, when the productions weren't quite so sparse, the stories rang true and he supported them with finger picking that evidenced the influence of Mississippi Fred McDowell, much more than the weak CD of McDowell's covers he later released.

At some point in his career, Morrissey's songs went past his brilliant cut-to-the-bone narratives and began to seem like self-inflicted wounds. The song selection on this "Essential" CD strikes me as a continuation of that unfortunate turn. Here's hoping it's not irreversible.

If you were looking for a better place to start your collection, I'd highly recommend "Bill Morrissy" and "North" followed by "Standing Eight" in that order.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Rounder Records has produced a Heritage Series of thirty albums by artists who define the sound of American roots music recorded on some 3000 albums which make up the Rounder catalogue. Each has been remastered and includes new liner notes.

This collection of twenty songs is selected from the 20-year career of Bill Morrissey, with three new songs written and recorded especially for this album. Morrissey, who hails from New Hampshire US, became well-known on the American folk scene after his performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1985. His musical heroes are blues singers like Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson, and while his laid-back style sometimes reflects theirs, for example in "Joe Turner Blues", most of his songs are more in the country folk vein than blues. His poetic songs tell of everyday characters and their lives, drawn from his own acute observations on life in rural America.

The lyrics of songs like "Just Before We Lost the War" and "Ice Fishing" would stand alone as poetry, full of artistic imagery, others like "These Cold Fingers" and "Different Currency" are honest and believable ballads about real people.

His vocal style is not powerful by any means and won't be to everyone's taste, being conversational as if storytelling around a campfire to a few close friends. With sparse accompaniments, the effect is one of understatement, even blandness, but that belies the power of his lyrics and his fertile imagination. Notable session musicians include the late Johnny Cunningham on fiddle (to whom the album is dedicated), Patty Larkin and Suzanne Vega.

Bill's gravelly voice takes some getting used to, but it is definitely worth the effort. Once you "get him" his clever and powerful songs, mostly about life's troubled ordinary folks, will hold your interest through many hearings. He has been recording about 20 years, and these 20 tracks are indeed among his best efforts. I've owned three of the CD's, and love two of them. This collection is a fine introduction...some sad songs, some funny ones, but all well done. If you think you really like singer-songwriters, give Bill a chance. Listen at this three times before deciding you don't like him. I'm betting his writing talent will hook you first, and as you listen, you will realize this fellow is a fine musician. I hated his voice when I first heard it, by by the fourth song I was mellowing, and by the second listening to that disc, I was a fan. This is a very interesting mind to follow in folk music.

This is a wonderful collection of Bill's body of work. Brilliant and sensitive lyrics are Bill's craft, delivered by a distinctive voice and fine instrumentation. I love this CD. May you rest in peace Bill...

Tom Andrews, retired publisher of the Picayune Item and Poplarville Democrat, and I used to have a little boys club. Both of our papers are members of the Mississippi Press Association and we got to know each other at seminars and award ceremonies. I was quite active when we first started The Courier, but with our small staff, and the rising cost of travel, well, I don't attend all the get-togethers like I used too.
Anyway, Tom and I discovered we had a mutual love ... music, not cookie-cutter Top 40, but those talented artists on the edge.
So after each seminar we would sneak back to one of our hotel rooms and take turns playing CDs with someone new we'd discovered.
Some other press members started eavesdropping, and would sometimes tag along.
There was even a teacher, from Laurel, I believe, who came into my room, with Tom. He immediately looked into my CD box filled with an eccentric collection of music.
"Bill Morrissey," he said and smiled. "He's such a great songwriter. Not many know about him."
We let him stay.
I thought about that when I first heard Bill died recently in a hotel room in Georgia. The 60-year-old singer/songwriter had just pulled in for a stopover, after a series of successful gigs before heading up to Philadelphia to visit his mom. Yes, a lot of great artists still travel across the country in vans, or RVs if they're lucky.
Last time I saw my buddy Steve "Romeo's Tune" Forbert he pulled up to his Chattanooga stop in a Ford Taurus wagon.
Bill died of heart disease, after he'd gotten his life straightened out.
Bill made no bones about his trouble with addiction and the like. I last heard from him in 2009.
"Most everybody knows that I've had some rough sledding for the last few years including my well known battle with the booze," Bill said. "A couple of years ago I was diagnosed as bipolar and I am on medication for depression but sometimes the depression is stronger than the medication.
"When the depression hits that badly I can't eat and I can barely get out of bed. Everything is moving in the right direction now and throughout all of this I have continued to write and write and write.
"I now have enough songs for two new albums and I am very much looking forward to getting back in the studio. My health is better than it has been in a long time. I look forward to getting back on the road and seeing familiar faces and old friends who have stuck by me."
The New Hampshire resident released his last CD, Come Running in 2007.
Bill was a diverse artist who took bits and pieces from greats like Hank Williams, Count Basie, Lester Young, Robert Johnson and most especially, Mississippi John Hurt.
But it's his words that put him ahead of most songwriters. His storytelling has earned him Grammy nominations and garnered 4-star reviews in Rolling Stone.
I don't think I can compare Bill's lyrics to anyone out there, and you know me -- I know a lot of songwriters. It's not just the rhyme. You can tell he's hand-selected each word, for one reason most of his songs clock in at three or four minutes. Folks like Dylan (and I'm a huge fan of Bob) ramble. Bill tells the story, to the point but always with Prine-ish smirk.
One of his most creative songs "Birches" tells of a couple who's been together a long time. The man has become despondent. She is looking for the spark like when they first met.
She wanted to put birch in the fireplace, but he says no "oak will burn as long and hot as a July afternoon. Birch will burn itself out by the rising of the moon."

But after he goes to bed -- "she climbed back up with four logs, each as white as a wedding dress."
Masterful. Bill knew people. He knew what makes us tick and he put it into short concise songs.
My friends at Rounder Records sent me Bill Morrissey: The Essential Collection and that would be a good place for you to start if you love singer/songwriters.
I may go to the Mississippi Press Convention this January but now that Tom has retired, I guess it will just be me and Bill's music alone in a hotel room. That will be just fine with me.

Godspeed Bill and I hope the after-life is how only you could envision it, in one of my favorites (below).
Letter from Heaven
Mama Cass has dropped some weight
and Charlie Parker's clean
Django's fingers have both gone straight
and they've got driving lessons for James Dean
Jimi's playing faster
and sometimes we jam all day
And old Abe Lincoln is a happy boy
`cause he finally got to see the end of the play

It's a great life here in heaven
It's better than the Bible said
It's a great life here in heaven
It's a great life when you're dead

There ain't no egos anywhere
and no one talks show biz
And Gabriel, he's got a great big smile
He's taking lessons from Miles and Diz
Bing Crosby's on the green in one
and he's singing when he putts
And Elvis really likes to visit earth
just to drive you people nuts

And me, I couldn't be happier
The service here is fine
They've got dinner ready at half-past nine
And I'm going steady with Patsy Cline
And just last night in a bar room
I bought Robert Johnson a beer
Yeah, I know everybody's always surprised
to find him here

It's a great life here in heaven
It's better than the Bible said
It's a great life here in heaven
It's a great life when you're dead

Whats not to like about a coillection of Bill Morrissey. Each song an adventure told in notes and unique voicing. We will all be listening to Bill many years from now for his will be a lasting impression upon the face of American folk music.

I am a huge fan of catchy, quiet folk music with insightful lyrics. If you enjoy this album then I strongly recommend that you check out the following:
1) Ghosts Of The Great Highway by Sun Kil Moon
2) Kings Avenue Joe Kile
3) Subtitulo by Josh Rouse