Vauxhall & I (20th Anniversary Definitive Master)

Vauxhall & I was Morrissey’s return to the subtle sounds that he and Johnny Marr had explored with The Smiths. Two new comrades, Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer, helped Moz keep his standards up, and songs like “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get,” “I Am Hated for Loving," and “Used to Be a Sweet Boy” showed what age and wisdom could do for an engaged cynic like Morrissey. No one mistook the gentle, lyrical “Hold On to Your Friends” as an olive branch toward his old band, but rather a showing that Moz could do it without them. (Honestly, no one replaces Marr.) The album landed on many fans’ best-of lists, and this 2014 20th Anniversary Definitive Master edition features excellent remastered sound and the inclusion of a previously unreleased live concert recorded at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1995. Five tracks from Vauxhall & I were performed, along with a cover of Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini’s “Moon River”: a classic Morrissey choice and performance.