As of late, most news involving Morrissey has been tied to his battle with Harvest Records. So it’s refreshing to find a Morrissey-related music project not mired in controversy—mostly because it’s not his own music—as in the announcement that the singer has curated a Ramones best-of compilation for Sire/Rhino.
Beyond its title, Best Of The Ramones, information about the compilation remains sparse, with the brunt of the details coming from Morrissey fan site True To You. Exactly what Ramones songs Morrissey ended up picking, or when the compilation will be released, both remain a mystery. Meanwhile, Morrissey thanks the Ramones’ management for having him curate the project and allowing him to choose the album’s cover art seen above—which is slightly out of character for the Ramones, but spot-on for Moz.
Of course, all this stands in stark opposition to the opinions of 17-year-old Morrissey, who once derided the Ramones as “degenerate no-talents” who should be “ rightly filed and forgotten.” It’s an opinion he’d eventually renounce, when he told The Quietus the Ramones’ self-titled debut was his second favorite album of all time.