You might think that Morrissey's solo singles pale into insignificance when compared back-to-back with anything by The Smiths. But to paraphrase Moz, you are wrong and you will not change your mind. Or at least you should, because, as this 10-CD-single box set ably demonstrates, Morrissey's solo career is littered with dozens of marvellous, witty songs that can capture the heart as easily as anything by his old band. Solo, Moz's lyrics deal with loneliness, betrayal, crime in general and the Moors murderers in particular, and his own not-quite-out-of-the-closet, but-not-really-in-it-either, sexuality. Pretty much the same as the Smiths, really.

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OK, I will admit that the Marr-less Moz has to wear the absence of of Johnny with a brave smile. And there's little evidence to suggest that any of Stephen Patrick's subsequent writing partners, from Smiths producer Stephen Street to Fairground Attraction's Mark E. Nevin to rockabilly rebel Alain Whyte, have come close to Marr's lightness of touch when it comes to matching music to Moz's misanthropic moans. But don't let that put you off.

"Suedehead" is a killer track, as is "Hairdresser On Fire", a bonus on this first CD-single. "Everyday Is Like Sunday" might have been No.1 if it had been his debut instead of "Suedehead", and each of its bonus tracks were absolute classic Moz. "The Last Of The Famous International Playboys" was another Top 10 winner, and if "Interesting Drug" and "Ouja Board, Ouja Board" were middle-rankers by comparison, then "November Spawned A Monster", the dark, twisted tale of a girl confined to a wheelchair, more than made up for it.

The original title of this collection was "The HMV CD Singles '88-91". "HMV" has now been dropped but the question still begs: why does it include only the first 10 Morrissey singles, when he made 14 for the label? That gripe aside, this set, while offering no new material, does bring together for the first time 33 tracks - nearly two hours - of prime-cut Morrissey from the first quarter of his career. And with original artwork too.

Andy Davies