In a career of odd reissues and collections, however, they at least make a welcome addition to this 20th anniversary release-- all genuine curiosities for completists that will please non-fans. There is not a bad track on this album and the new vinyl version with 5 extra tracks is even better. Instead of choosing to produce an immediate follow-up album, he decided to release a string of independent singles in the hopes of achieving success in that market. Moz was instead often writing songs about England's past-- whether the dissolution of key facets of its national identity in "Everyday Is Like Sunday", decades-old gangsters in "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", or out-of-fashion slang in "Piccadilly Palare"-- while the generation behind him was re-writing UK indie's future. Morrissey decided to scrap the idea of a full-length LP and release a compilation of singles and B-sides instead.

Issued in a gloss sleeve with a top opening picture/lyric inner sleeve which has a small die cut thumb section. He had fallen out with producer Stephen Street, plus former Smiths bandmates Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke-- all of whom had played key roles in that successful string of hits. The years covered by Bona Drag coincided directly with the crossover of acid house and subsequent emergence of Madchester, a hopeful injection of youth, optimism, and hedonism, traits met with suspicion if not outright hostility in Morrissey's worldview. And without the weight of being an A-side, buried in the middle of the record, even "Ouija Board" comes off as charming.

Bona Drag launched Morrissey's career in the US, and in many ways it marked the turning point after which he became less popular in the UK but achieved increasing success in America.

Even without those additions, this would be one of the most complete and necessary compilations in rock history, working both as a functional and utilitarian way to catch up with Morrissey outside of the UK and as a way to re-assess him within it.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Morrissey explained, "People will view it suspiciously in England but not in the rest of the world where all those funny little singles were never released. As a title, if not a studio creation, Bona Drag was rescued in 1990 and issued as a compilation record piecing together that first run of seven singles-- six of them rich and eclectic and rightly beloved, one of them the song that derailed his progress. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. The album is also significant for including the first tracks by Morrissey to chart in the United States.