Girl-with-the-Thorn
Still here.
I'm sure GWTT isn't blaming Morrissey for this turn of events; at this point, it seems as thought the main reason these compilation releases are happening are because of contractual obligations -- rarely are there other reasons at all (that is, for artists who don't wish to milk their fans with songs they already have). I'm not sure Morrissey himself cares TERRIBLY much about the compilations -- even for the reissue of 'Bona Drag' he did not proceed with the planned promotional spots on TV. To me it appears that he's doing this to proceed with what he wants to do, because as I said, there doesn't seem to be any other overall motive for these releases presenting itself. I feel like finding an adequate record label for him to stick with SHOULDN'T be as difficult as he claims, he's just particularly picky about it. I'm certain that there is an abundance of decent independent labels that would release new material by Morrissey without the hassle of meeting obligations like compilations to rake in extra profits every other year. But I suppose it's understandable for someone with a career as prolific as his to expect a certain degree of publicity that a smaller independent might not be able to finance. So this is the trade-off. We understand that 'Greatest Hits' and 'The Very Best of Morrissey' are compiled by two different labels. What is being called into question is the fact that this is what Morrissey feels he has to resort to to get a good deal on releasing new material (which is what we're hoping this is all about).
Exactly, thankyou. I also get the feeling that he's doing all these re-releases in order to please the record label so he can proceed with new stuff, and what you said here about his pickiness with record companies and how that might affect this situation seems quite probable. And in any case, is there any need to pick holes over what songs from what era/label are on the compilations? The point I was making was that it seemed strange so soon after Greatest Hits, which would support the idea that this is a means to an end.